Showing results by narrator "J.T. McDaniel" in All Categories

A man is killing people in York. Initially the murders appear to be the random acts of a maniac. Detective Jason Smith is put in charge of the investigation. It soon becomes clear that the murders are all connected to him in one way or another. All of the killings correspond to events in Smith's life and the murderer leaves dates at the crime scene which tie up to important dates in Smith's history. When one of the dates is a time before Smith was even born, he realizes he must look deep into the past.

The London of the late 19th century was home to both Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous detective Sherlock Holmes. This book looks at some of the many locations in both central and outer London that have connections to one or both of these famous names. In addition to examining the history this book also looks at some of the theories that have been woven over the years around Holmes and these locations.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of the most written about men who ever lived but despite this, some parts of his life get little attention. One such period is between 1891 and 1894 when he lived in South Norwood in present day south east London. During this period, he wrote and published much of his best work including the first two series of Sherlock Holmes short stories. This book looks at his life during this period and, in contrast to other biographies, spends time looking at some of his input into local Norwood life.

Picking up the trail with the incredibly influential films of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Volume II goes on to explore the antiheroic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1970s, and then the somewhat rocky journey of Holmes into the medium of television (actors Alan Wheatley, Douglas Wilmer, and Peter Cushing all declared their respective TV series as the worst experience of their professional careers).

In the early 21st century, Benedict Cumberbatch gave the world the definitive portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC's Sherlock. Then again, Jeremy Brett had been declared the "definitive" Holmes in Granada Television's series in the 1980s. In short, four actors were declared to be the "definitive" Holmes, and yet their various interpretations of the greatest character in fiction could not be more different. Graced with a foreword by Sherlockian guru Roger Johnson, this audiobook sets out to trace the evolution of Sherlock Holmes and his audience across three centuries.

Is Sherlock Holmes really as rational as he seems? He talks about the importance of reasoning and logic, but why then does he sometimes seem like a “strange Buddha”? On the other hand, why in The Sign of the Four does Watson smash a Buddha? What is going on in all the original 60 stories in “the canon”? In this study of the stories, Sheldon Goldfarb explores questions like these, from the significance of the eggs in “Thor Bridge” to the reason Watson keeps leaving Holmes for an insubstantial wife.

The late 1890s saw Arthur Conan Doyle return to England after several years abroad. His new house, named Undershaw, represented a fresh start, but it was also the beginning of a dramatic decade that saw him fall in love, stand for parliament, fight injustice, and be awarded a knighthood. However, for his many admirers, the most important event of that decade was the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes—the character that he felt had cast a shadow over his life.

Christmas Eve, 1890. Thanks to the tireless pursuit of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty’s criminal empire stands on a knife edge. Still, three ghostly visitors may yet convince the Napoleon of Crime that his destiny lies in another direction.

Sherlock Holmes has been a beloved character from his first story, and his mystique endures to the modern age in print and on screen, but he has had a long life in the theater, as well. Where did it begin? What are the themes, stories, and characterizations that make his stage presence unique and just as enduring?

The year is 1896. Sherlock Holmes meets Thomas Edison. At the dawn of Cinema, a beautiful Broadway danseuse is murdered in Edison's New Jersey Laboratory. Irene Adler encounters ghosts on Broadway. Harry Houdini mystifies the New York Vaudeville circuit. Holmes and Watson go hunting in New York City's Badlands with Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt. Meanwhile, Rachel Holmes journeys to the Pine Barrens to film the Jersey Devil and the denizens of Poughkeepsie reel in Kipsy the Hudson River Monster.

The Keys of Death is Baker Street bedrock. In Gretchen Altabef’s 1880 novel, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson, and Mrs. Hudson begin something great in the world.

Dragons, mythical beasts, mighty warriors, and perilous forests. This is England in AD 1066. The Anglo-Saxon king Harold is bound north to repel a strong force of Norsemen - unaware of the approaching threat upon the southern shores of his kingdom. Among his army of thousands, from noble thegns to battle-hardened housecarls and staunch fyrdmen, is the ambitious, loyal, and proud Leofwin.

East meets West as one of the most talented British Sherlockian scholars, John Hall, and a Japanese member of the Baker Street Irregulars, Hirayama Yuichi, argue important Sherlockian questions. One offers the other three questions, and the other answers them with all their Sherlockian knowledge. They are serious Sherlockian battles between an English Knight and Japanese samurai! This volume also includes Hirayama's Sherlockian papers published in The Musgraves, The Baker Street Journal, The Canadian Holmes, and The Shoso-in Bulletin.

The Sherlockian Canon, as prolific as it is, contains few accounts in which Mr. Holmes and his medical colleagues Doctors Watson and Verner solve cases involving frightening medical conditions. It strikes me that many more such cases were successfully solved by Mr. Holmes and his associates. It is unlikely that Doctors Watson and Verner would allow such mysteries remain unsolved.

The life and career of Mr. Sherlock Holmes has inspired the interest of many of the brightest intellects in the world. They have expended great efforts to penetrate beyond the glimpses afforded us in the 60 published adventures - to detect the real underlying character of "the best and the wisest man" Dr. Watson has ever known (The Final Problem by A. C. Doyle).

A tale set during the start of World War II that involves the passengers of a cruise ship on its maiden voyage from New Brunswick to Iceland to pick up some European refugees. Once the new passengers are on board a group of Nazis take over the ship with the hope of finding the inventor of a doomsday bomb. The noble captain uses a snowstorm to head the ship straight into an ice-field at the Arctic Circle, thus leaving them snowbound. Decisions have to be made as to staying with the ship or making a dangerous trek across the snow and ice to a remote village.

Soon, an entire British army will climb out of their trenches to attack the German lines, only a few deadly yards away. For Lieutenant Oliver Black, this will be his third attack. He's wondering if his luck will hold. Only five of the original 30 platoon members are still with him. The rest have been killed, or so badly wounded they'll never return to the line. The replacements are green, mostly untried. One of them manages to get himself shot in the head only hours before the attack.

Speedway, Indiana native Ricky Wills is a hotshot racecar driver with a chip on his shoulder. As one of the brightest rising stars in the racing world, Ricky competes for a chance to race in the legendary Indianapolis 500, and struggles to maintain his small-town identity as he is swept up by industry fame and the charms of big-city celebrities.

A master criminal known as The Voice has returned from retirement to mastermind a new crime. Unfortunately, Jerry finds he has several highly diverse matters on his hands: the protection of a visiting diplomat's headstrong daughter, a shipment of gold by rail, and a scientist who claims to have discovered the trick of creating gold in the laboratory. Is The Voice's planned caper connected with any of these events?

A collection of new one-act plays, on such subjects as the fate of Jack the Ripper, just why Claudius killed Hamlet's father, the motives of an obsessive-compulsive killer with a computer fixation, a brother and sister at their father's funeral, and a 45-year marriage starting to come apart as the husband begins to forget his life. Written by the author of Coming Out, these five plays are a wonderful addition to any night of one-acts.