The Baker Street letters

Title:

Author:

Robertson, Michael, 1951-

ISBN:

9780312538125

Personal Author:

Robertson, Michael, 1951-

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Information:

New York : Minotaur Books, 2009.

Physical Description:

277 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

"A Thomas Dunne book for Minotaur Books"--Title page verso.

Abstract:

Reggie is thrilled when he learns that his new office is in the same space where famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes used to ply his trade. However, when he starts to receive mysterious mail, written for Holmes, his excitement soon turns into intrigue. As Reggie's brother, Nigel, begins to investigate one of these letters, he inexplicably disappears. Now, Reggie must find his brother while simultaneously solving a murder case.

Personal Subject:

Holmes, Sherlock-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Brothers -- Fiction.

Letter writing -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

London (England) -- Fiction.

Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Electronic Access:

Contributor biographical information http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0910/2008045668-b.html
Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0910/2008045668-d.html

Document ID:

SD_ILS:1932266

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Collection	Collection	Call Number	Status
Searching... Beale Memorial Library (Kern Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Mystery Fiction	M FIC ROBERTSON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Merced Main Library (Merced Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Adult Fiction	M ROB	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Politi Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Mystery Area	ROBERTS MI Baker	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Reedley Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Mystery Area	ROBERTS MI Baker	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Tulare Public Library	Searching... Unknown	Adult Mystery	Robertson Michael	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Visalia Library (Tulare Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Fiction Area	FIC ROBERTSO MICHAEL	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

First in a spectacular new series about two brother lawyers who lease offices on London's Baker Street--and begin receiving mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes

In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route--and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter, in her desperation, turns to the one person she thinks might help--she writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.

That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man about town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother, Nigel. Instead of filing the letter like he's supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he's flying off to Los Angeles, inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie's sometime lover, Laura---a quick-witted stage actress who's captured the hearts of both brothers.

When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans will adore.

Summary

"First in a spectacular new series about two brother lawyers who lease offices on London's Baker Street--and begin receiving mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes
"In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route--and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter, in her desperation, turns to the one person she thinks might help--she writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.
That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man about town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother, Nigel. Instead of filing the letter like he's supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he's flying off to Los Angeles, inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie's sometime lover, Laura---a quick-witted stage actress who's captured the hearts of both brothers.
When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans will adore.

Author Notes

Michael Robertson works for a large company with branches in the United States and England. The Baker Street Letters is his first novel and has been optioned by Warner Bros. for television. He lives in Southern California.

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Robertson's engaging debut, the first in a projected series, offers one of the more original premises involving the Sherlock Holmes character. London solicitor Reggie Heath, who's just leased office space on Baker Street, finds his obligations include making sure letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221B are answered, if with formulaic replies. After a senior clerk is bludgeoned to death and Heath's younger ne'er-do-well brother disappears, the lawyer suspects both events are connected to a letter an eight-year-old girl, Mara Ramirez, sent nearly 20 years earlier asking the great detective to locate her missing father. Heath follows the trail to Los Angeles, where he succeeds in tracking down Mara and learns current crimes may be connected with her father's disappearance. Readers will want to spend more time with the appealing Heath and company, but the conceit of having future mysteries to solve based on letters to Baker Street may be hard to sustain. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

It's a well-known and rather curious fact that some people write letters to fictional characters, that fictional creations can become so real that someone can actually believe they exist. Robertson, a first-time author, takes that premise and runs with it. Brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath are a couple of London lawyers whose offices are located in the 200 block of Baker Street. Their lease requires them to answer all letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street. Nigel opens one such letter, and soon he's gone, disappeared, leaving behind a dead body and a whole lot of confusion. Next thing you know, Reggie is on a plane to Los Angeles, tracking down his brother and solving a decades-old mystery. This is a very entertaining novel, lighthearted but with a solid story, and mystery fans, whether they're Sherlock Holmes addicts or not, will thoroughly enjoy it. The book is billed as the first entry in a new series, and, judging by this installment, it should be a popular series indeed.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist

Kirkus Review

A transatlantic mystery draws two brothers into a web of murder. When attorney Reggie Heath rents office space on Baker Street in 1997, he begins receiving letters from various places addressed to Sherlock Holmes and appealing, naturally, for his detective help. Reggie considers the letters an amusing nuisance. But his mentally fragile younger brother Nigel, who's working as a clerk for his brother after being suspended from the practice of law for misconduct, becomes obsessed with the continuing correspondence of a young Californian searching for her missing mother. Reggie's often distracted from his needy brother's clashes with abrasive senior clerk Robert Ocher by his vigorous affair with American actress Laura Rankin. On the night that Laura is to return stateside for a major engagement, Reggie finds Ocher's bludgeoned body in Nigel's office. There's no trace of Nigel, so Reggie covers for him. When he finds evidence that Nigel's flown to Los Angeles, he follows, hoping to learn that his brother is innocent of murder or, failing that, is simply alive and well. Reggie's retracing of Nigel's footsteps takes him to a seedy hotel, another dead body and an encounter with the LAPD, who take him in on suspicion of murder. It's cold comfort to Reggie that witnesses mistake him for his brother. Upon his release, Reggie begins sleuthing in earnest. His investigation leads to a welcome reunion with Nigel and a rockier one with his ladylove Laura. Robertson's sure-footed debut is lively and inventive. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

When attorney Reggie Heath rents new offices on Baker Street, his lease requires that he answer arriving letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes. He assigns this task to younger brother Nigel. Soon the siblings are in Los Angeles, out of their depth, looking for the woman who once asked the most famous detective of all time for help finding her father. Great characters, a complex plot, and the wonderful feeling that people still believe in Sherlock Holmes round out this debut treat. [Television rights sold to Warner Brothers; library marketing campaign; Minotaur First Edition Selection.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Excerpts

"Nigel, Laura is waiting. Will you tell me what is wrong?" Nigel separated the letters and displayed them on the desk in front of Reggie. "Part of my job is to reply to correspondence that should have been delivered elsewhere--or rather, not at all." "What's the problem? If it's misdelivered, send it back." "I can't. It's in the lease." "What is?" "That the tenant receive these letters, and not complain to the postmaster to get them stopped, but instead respond to them--with these bloody forms I have around here someplace." "I still don't know what you're talking about." "The in-basket is full of them. Just take one off the top." Reggie did so. He began to read one letter--and then he abruptly stopped. He stared at the name of the addressee for a moment, and he gave his brother an incredulous look. "Nigel, is this a joke?" "It's not a joke." Reggie read aloud the address on the envelope: "Mr. Sherlock Holmes, 221b Baker Street, London." He tossed the letter dismissively back onto the desk in front of Nigel. Nigel was unfazed. "Look at the others," he said. Reggie picked up another letter and read the address: "Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, 221b Baker Street." And another: "Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Bee Keeper, c/o 221b Baker Street." Nigel nodded and folded his arms as though he'd made his point. "Are you telling me everything in this basket is addressed to him?" demanded Reggie. "Yes--they're pretty much all like that, although most aren't so much interested in the beekeeping aspect." Reggie stared at the letters in his hand and then back at Nigel again. "You mean simply because our address is--" "Yes," said Nigel. "Simply because you've located your chambers in a building that takes up the entire Two Hundred block of Baker Street." "But surely no one could actually believe--" "Apparently some would do." Reggie looked again at the letters that had piled up in the basket. There were dozens of them, in all kinds of formats--scrawled in longhand and typed on ancient Remingtons; laser-printed and hand-lettered on lined yellow pads. In fact, the letters to Sherlock Holmes outnumbered all the legitimate correspondence. This was annoying. "Doesn't it occur to these people that if he were real, that he'd be long dead and rotten?" Nigel shrugged. "What can I tell you? Dorset House has been getting and responding to the letters for years. The Baker Street Tourist Board loves them for it." "Then let them handle the responses. Why should we worry about--" "Because the letters have always been delivered to this floor of this building--and now you've taken a leasehold on it. And as you know, the lease specifically says that the occupant of these premises takes responsibility for the letters." Reggie said nothing for a moment, and now it was Nigel's turn to give the older brother an incredulous stare. "You did know this, of course," said Nigel. "I mean, you did read the full lease agreement before signing?" "Of course," said Reggie. "Article 3d, paragraph 2a, of addendum G?" Reggie was silent. He knew what had happened, though he was loathe to admit it--especially to Nigel. The lease terms had been too favorable--and he had been too eager. Excerpted from The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson. Copyright (c) 2009 by Michael Robertson Published by St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher. Excerpted from The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.