Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Secrets

Boxed Set (Books 1 - 6)

By: Madalena Melchior

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

"Brilliant! Six really well written SH tales that capture the atmosphere of the era to perfection. I can't praise this enough." - Goodreads (paperback edition)

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY SECRETS is a Victorian/Edwardian detective short fiction collection featuring Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, as well as several other characters of the Holmesian universe created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The following six stories are included in this volume:

SECRET CHILD

Miss Clara Anderson, a young Canadian heiress visiting England, seeks out Sherlock Holmes, hoping he can save the life of her fiancé, Simon Martel—who insists on keeping silent in the face of a murder charge and the possibility of ending up on the gallows. What terrible secret can force an honorable young man to accept such a horrible fate? Can Sherlock Holmes discover the truth in time to save his client’s engagement?

SECRET HAND

After a meeting with Sherlock Holmes, Sir Albert Allerton returns home and (apparently) decides to commit suicide along with his wife. Sherlock Holmes must discover the truth about these and other deaths linked to an old Allerton family secret. Were they all suicides, or the result of something unfathomably grimmer?

SECRET GAME

In the absence of Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft helps to solve a deadly mystery – while sitting on a sofa in Holmes and Watson’s apartment at 221B Baker Street. There’s another mystery besides the crime – and Mycroft Holmes will solve that one, too.

SECRET PRINCE

A few days before King Edward VII’s rescheduled coronation (9 August 1902), a plea for help mysteriously signed “I. Adler” lures Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and Doctor Watson, into solving a murder at the center of an international intrigue while trying to avoid a scandal that could damage the royal event.

SECRET NAME

Samarkand. Could the name of an ancient city at the heart of the Silk Road be the key to solving a murder — and help save the life of a wrongly accused man? Sherlock Holmes will get to the bottom of this mystery, summon the ghosts of erstwhile tragedies, and expose the truth behind a carefully hidden name.

SECRET GUILT

London, 1905. Under the pretext of retrieving some books he has left behind at Number 221B, Sherlock Holmes temporarily trades his small farm upon the Downs, five miles from Eastbourne, and his beehives, for Baker Street. Before he has time to unpack his Gladstone, however, there’s already a client at the door asking for his help with a case. So much for retirement…

This book is written using American English spelling, and was originally published by the author under the title Deadly Secrets Complete Casebook.

Flat narration

AI narration makes more books available, which I appreciate. However, some stories truly require human expression. AI voices often lack the nuance—changes in tone, accent, or emotion—that bring characters and meaning to life. For certain books, only a human narrator can deliver the depth they deserve.

Not much

Meh. It’s certainly not the work of Conan Doyle, but better than no Holmes at all!