The multifaceted J. C. Masterman published this slight send-up of a Holmes story in 1952, and it still stands as one of the more complex entries in that genre.
So much so that one might even ask if it’s a send-up. The story is narrated by Inspector Lestrade, who is being interviewed at a Surrey nursing home by a writer digging for Holmesiana. As is so often the case, Lestrade is less interested in Holmes’s exploits than he is in his own, being the hero of his own story. He does, however, manage to recall this tale of the theft of the Dark Diamond of Dungbura from a semi-locked room (we know who went in and out of the room, and that the thief couldn’t have been anyone else). The reason he shares this story with the interviewer is because he sees it as casting Holmes in a bad light, as little more than the “gifted amateur” he wants to make him out to be.
But does he? It’s a quick story with a nifty trick to it, as there’s one person with access to the room who we don’t suspect. The real question though is whether Holmes might be ahead of the game, and is only looking on with a sense of irony as the culprit falls into what was a trap while the Gifted Amateur ends up getting paid.
That’s the feeling I had anyway, coming away from the story thinking that it was another example of Lestrade being too thick to understand, even after the fact, that he’s been played.
Alex Good 
Are these standalones that you’ve picked up or do you have a “Big Book of Holmes Fanfic”?
I also think it goes to show how well done the originals were that they can not only survive but thrive in stories like this and others.
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I have a bunch of Holmes anthologies of stories written by other people. This one comes from a big one edited by Otto Penzler.
Yep, and in the case of Holmes it’s interesting because it’s not like he created some whole “universe.” Just a handful of characters. But the fascination has been endlessly productive.
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and that interest in those characters is almost endless. I just found the tv show Elementary on prime. It’s fascinating 😀
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Hadn’t heard of that one. I’m only about halfway through watching the Cumberbatch Sherlock series, because I’m really slow when it comes to watching series.
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I was very hesitant at first, because John Watson is now Joan Watson, but she’s played by Lucy Liu and she is nailing the modern take.
Not as faithful to the source material as the Cumberbatch version, but a lot more of it 😀
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I’ll probably check it out if it shows up on DVD. But Prime shows often don’t.
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It was originally a cbs production, so it might? it ran for several seasons. I just watched the first 2 episodes and was ok with all the changes. I went in expecting to get a hate post out of it 😀
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There is also Young Sherlock series on Prime, which is a Guy Ritchie thing, getting good reviews but I haven’t had time to watch it yet.
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yeah, that keeps getting “recommended” to me by Amazon since I added Elementary. Once I’m done Elementary, we’ll see if I’m still in the mood for more Sherlock or not 😀
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Saw an ad for that. Don’t know if I want to see Sherlock as a snooty Oxford kid.
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I just watched a trailer, and he might speak nicely but he doesn’t come across as snooty, and I’m proper English so I know what real snooty is. His brother Mycroft however….
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Also you don’t have prime so this is a moot point! 🤣
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OK, the library does have it in. So I will catch it at some point. I don’t have a lot of free screen time though given all the quality movies I watch …
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“Quality” being the operative word there 😉
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Reminds me of “The Biter Bit” by Wilkie Collins, which is also about a cop who thinks he’s smarter than he really is. Very funny if you haven’t read it.
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I haven’t read it. I think The Moonstone is the only Collins I’ve read. Thanks for the recommendation!
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