Hugh Greene. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971)

     Hugh Greene. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971) Collection of stories published at the same time as the Holmes tales. Generally not up to Doyle’s standard, very formulaic, and derivative, i.e., the writers are imitating each other, not writing from experience and knowledge. Most are at about Boys Own Paper level, which is not a bad thing, but does mean they are for enthusiasts only. The detection is either of the pure ratiocination kind, or the action-hero-winner kind. Romance, IOW, but generally of a mediocre standard. Despite Greene’s claims, these writers don’t merit a wider audience. 'tec story enthusiasts will find some pleasure in these tales, and some grad student working on a thesis about Edwardian pop culture will find it a useful source text. * to ** (2004)