Any mystery fan who professes not to like Sherlock Holmes is likethe man (allergic types exempted) who says he doesn't like dogs. Bothtypes are not to be trusted.
The vast majority of readers do dote on A. Conan Doyle's mastersleuth, however; that's why you can't go wrong picking as a holidaygift More Holmes for the Holidays, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, JonL. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Waugh (Berkley Crime, $21.95).
The editors have corralled 11 noted mystery writers to contributeChristmas-related short stories about Holmes and Dr. John Watson, andeach tale glows with Victorian warmth in this new round ofadventures. It is a fitting sequel to the first such collection lastholiday season.
You don't need plot summaries to know you'll relish accompanyingHolmes on intrigues with Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Tiny TimCratchit and other famous names of the late 19th Century. And withwriters as talented as Anne Perry, Loren D. Estleman, and Edward D.Hoch, among others, your enjoyment is double.
Nordic Nights (Walker, $23.95), Lise McClendon's third novelfeaturing art dealer Alix Thorssen, explores Norse mythology andViking culture in a whodunit that is both breezy and informative.
Set in Jackson Hole, Wyo., during a winter carnival celebratingScandinavian tradition, the novel opens with the murder of aNorwegian guest artist, with Alix's step-father found standing overthe corpse.
Events force Alix to investigate to absolve her stepfather of thecrime. She becomes a sniper's prey; the mystery is resolved, but thebest thing about the story is gleaning all the Norse knowledge younever knew you didn't know.
In Innuendo (Delacorte, $21.95), R. D. Zimmerman continues theexploits of Minneapolis television's top investigative journalist,Todd Mills, who two novels ago openly disclosed he was gay.
Mills determines to interview Tim Chase, a handsome film star,temporarily living in the Twin Cities to shoot his new movie. Chasehas been hounded by recurring rumors about his sexual orientation,despite having a beautiful wife and child. Mills wants to clear upthe mystery.
A 17-year-old runaway is murdered, a slaying that touches onChase's life in ways not immediately apparent. Zimmerman displayscrafty skill in fooling the reader about the identity of themurderer; the "certain" suspect keeps changing until the stunninglast chapter, when you feel foolish for not having guessed it allalong. This is Zimmerman's talent at its peak.
Academic mysteries are a delight; in no other sub-genre are thecharacters so deliciously wicked, so cravenly jealous, and sointellectually maddening. That is the milieu invoked once again byJoanne Dobson in The Raven and the Nightingale (Doubleday, $21.95).
Her series heroine, Prof. Karen Pelletier, comes upon newinformation indicating that a poet who knew Edgar Allan Poe killedherself for unrequited love of him. More important, the evidencehints that Poe's masterpiece, "The Raven," may mot have been whollyoriginal.
The findings greatly dismay Enfield College's resident Poescholar, who is expecting career advancement based on hisscholarship. But lo! he is stabbed to death before he can refute thenettlesome evidence.
From this point on, Pelletier wades through speculations galoreabout Poe, his genius, and the malign motives of those who dislike oridolize him.
For the mystery-addicted reader, a welcome, though expensive, giftwould be The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing (Oxford,$49.95).
Rosemary Herbert, the editor, offers a mind-boggling compendium onthe subject, from biographies of major writers, analyses of mysteryformats and cross-references linking authors and clues, to a 20thCentury catalogue of all types of mystery writing.
This is the most scholarly mystery reference tome in many years.Not for the casual reader, but a treasury of gold for the seriousstudent.
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