I remember writing a sort of 'book report' when I was at school, and the subject that I chose was Sherlock Holmes (I suspect it may have been a piece written for the dreaded GCSE 'coursework'). I don't remember the detail of what I wrote, but I do recall being proud of my efforts, as they reflected something I was actually interested in - I had read and enjoyed a fairly large number of Conan Doyle's short stories by then.
No doubt my observations weren't especially insightful - no doubt referencing some of Holmes's well known traits along with his methods of observation and deduction. One thing I could have commented on was the role that Watson plays in the stories - as loyal and trusted friend, and chronicler of the famous detective's exploits. One other point I could have made about Watson was that he never gets anything right, and never fails to be amazed when Holmes sets out his solution to a particular case.
It was probably reading Sherlock Holmes that first got me into detective fiction, and it has been something that I have enjoyed ever since then. One of my favourites is Inspector Morse - I think I probably enjoyed John Thaw's portrayal before I went and found Colin Dexter's books, but they are a joy to read. Knowing that I have never read the last and tragic tale, I decided that what I needed to do was start again at the beginning with The Last Bus to Woodstock (which I re-read almost three years ago) and work through the series in order.
So, that's what I have been doing, reading one of the novels every three to four months. Well, I have just arrived at "Morse's Greatest Mystery", book 11 in the series, and the only one that isn't actually a novel, but rather a collection of short stories. And, it turns out, that despite owning a rather lovely first edition copy, the stories are not familiar to me at all - I don't think I have read it before.
So far, and I am about half way through, the stories have alternated between Morse and non-Morse tales, and the one that I have just finished, called "A Case of Mis-Identity" is actually a Sherlock Holmes story. It follows a familiar pattern, that is to say Holmes receives a visitor at Baker Street who is in distress and in need of his services, and following a few sharp deductions, he appears to solve the case. In fact the story - that of a man who disappears without trace just before his wedding, is almost exactly the same as "A Case of Identity" which is one of the stories that appears in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. (The man in question is called "Hosmer Angel" in Conan Doyle's story: Dexter calls him "Horatio Darvill".)
However, whilst the story is almost the same, there are a couple of extra twists that Dexter throws into the tale. In Dexter's version, Holmes puts forward the same solution as in the original, but Mycroft, who happens to be present, then takes pleasure in picking holes in his brother's analysis, and explains to him both where he has got it wrong, and also what he believes the answer to be.
But then, best of all, Holmes's trusty sidekick Watson takes great delight (having by coincidence stumbled upon what had actually happened) in shouting them both down. And so, once, just for once, Watson is the one with the solution.
Nice one Dr Watson, and nice one Mr Dexter too!