Holmes on the Range
5 primary works
Book 1
Somewhere due west of Deadwood, a pair of unlikely cowboy sleuths investigate murder just like their hero, Sherlock Holmes. 1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar- VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favourite pastime: scouring Harpers J,Veekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes. When another ranch hand turns up in an outhouse with a bullet in his brain, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to employ his Holmes-inspired "deducifyin" skills, puts his ranch work squarely on the back burner, and sets out to solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.
Book 2
Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer is an old-fashioned kind of guy: he prefers a long trail even when a train ticket can get him where he's going in one-tenth the time. His brother Big Red, on the other hand, wouldn't mind climbing down from his horse and onto a train once in a while if it'll give his saddle-sore rear end a rest. So when it's Old red who insists they sign on to guard the Pacific Express, despite a generations-old Amlingmeyer family distrust of the farm-stealin', cattle-killin', money-grubbin' railroads, Big Red is flummoxed. But as usual, he'll follow his ornery brother just about anywhere. So, it is that Big Red and Old Red find themselves trapped on a thousand tons of steam-driven steel, summiting the Sierras en route to San Francisco with a crafty gang of outlaws somewhere around the next bend, a baggage car jam-packed with deadly secrets, and a killer hidden somewhere amongst the colourful passengers. All of the wit, flavour, humour, and suspense that made "Holmes On The Range" one of the most dynamic mystery debuts in recent memory are evident in Steve Hockensmith's wonderful second novel.
Book 3
Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer and his brother, Ctto (a.k.a. "Big Red"), cowpokes by training, discovered Sherlock Holmes through the stories and are now devotees of his method of detectifying". The two brothers are in San Francisco in 1893 with an eye towards a real detective job. But that's not working so well and they are footloose, a little broke, and not-so-fancy-free. But serendipity is on their side. They run into an old acquaintance in Chinatown, who takes a shot at them. The girl Big Red has been searching for shows up bearing bad news. And a group of hatchet wielding Chinese tong members are out for their blood.Yep, their luck has changed - what was once merely bad is now truly catastrophic.
Book 4
In 1893, Otto 'Big Red' Amlingmeyer and his brother Gustav, 'Old Red' find themselves in a situation that they never expected. They have a bit of money and time to do something other than scramble. It's enough to confound even that most unconfoundable of men, their mutual inspiration, Sherlock Holmes. So Old Red decides that it's time for the two of them to head off to the Texas hill country, to San Marcos, and deal with the greatest tragedy of Old Red's life. Five years ago, when Old Red was a cowpoke in San Marcos, he had a sweetheart - a fallen woman at the local house of ill repute. They had made plans but before they made their big move, his fiancee was murdered and the case swept under the rug by the local authorities. Now, Old Red is determined to find out what really happened and to finally find a measure of justice for his beloved. But Big Red and Old Red find themselves facing a wall of silence and in some of the worst situations of their lives: ensnared in a riot at the local cathouse, on the wrong end of a lynching party and perhaps worst of all - having to do the one thing you never want to do in the state of Texas: steal horses.
Book 5
In 1893, the Amlingmeyer boys venture forth from the west in response to a summons from Otto's ("Big Red") publisher - they are to come to Chicago immediately, to the World's Columbian Exposition, and compete with some of the most famous detectives in the world. Set to coincide with the closing days of the first World's Fair and the publication of the story revealing the death of Sherlock Holmes, Gustav ("Old Red") will be competing for the title of World's Greatest Sleuth! Hating train travel and cities, the real draw is the chance to meet up again with the intriguing and elusive Diana Corvus. But the competition has barely begun before there is a murder in "the White City" - the organizer of the contest is discovered face down in the Mammoth Cheese from Canada - and from there, the game is really afoot.