An eclectic mix of eight stories drawn from the annals of the MX Series of New Sherlock Holmes stories and the many Holmes anthologies of Belanger Books, all from the pen of emerging pastiche author Stephen Herczeg.

Sherlock Holmes has been a beloved character from his first story, and his mystique endures to the modern age in print and on screen, but he has had a long life in the theater, as well. Where did it begin? What are the themes, stories, and characterizations that make his stage presence unique and just as enduring?

Increasing numbers of crime shows and movies have featured detectives on the autism spectrum. Portrayals of such characters have been met with acclaim and criticism. Is the entertainment industry celebrating neurodiversity or is it reinforcing stereotypes? In The Autistic Sleuth, over two dozen characters appearing in filmed productions from around the globe will be analyzed to explore how film and television present atypical minds through some of the world's most popular detectives.

On New Year's Day 1891, Sherlock Holmes summons the limping street urchin, Wiggins, to Baker Street and decrees he must die at dawn. Wiggins, however, has other plans. To fulfil the dying wish of his mother, Irene Adler, he schemes with his two formidable American aunties to keep two important facts from the great detective: Mrs. Hudson is actually his Aunt Grizelda, and he is both Holmes' child and a girl pretending to be a boy. Through a series of mysterious letters Adler bequeathed to Wiggins, the dark backstory of her parents and all their long-kept family secrets unravel.

Sherlock Holmes, the best-known detective (sorry, consulting detective) on Earth, celebrates his 160th birthday on January 6, 2014. As a tribute to his genius, and to mark the occasion, The Holmes Sutra is presented (by a crazed fan) as: a compilation of 160 mantras (aphorisms/slogans/sayings - call them what you will) - some original, some canonical, some based on various print/media adaptations - that are aimed to make Sherlock Holmes (and his fans) smile and a test of the readers' Holmes Mania Quotient (HMQ).

Here are a few essays about puzzlers in and about Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.

"Of all the conundrums that have puzzled Sherlockian scholars, few have been thornier than the "vexed question" of Dr. Watson's wives. In these ten stories, listeners will meet the all-but-unknown women who preceded and succeeded Mary Morstan, as well as learning more about poor Mary's fate. Other cases involve Our Heroes with all levels of Victorian society, including prime ministers and prostitutes, aristocrats and generals, amateur sleuths and Scotland Yarders, composers, novelists, and even ghosts.

"There is a spirit that moves amongst us. They call him the Messenger of Death. And tonight... tonight... he called my name." The Loxworths are a family of clairvoyant mediums. Sitters at their seances are dying. Their deaths predicted by a mysterious entity known as The Messenger of Death. Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade must stop the deaths, before someone close to them becomes the next victim.

Holmes and Watson are on the trail of seemingly unrelated deaths preceded by sudden unexplained madness as they work to solve the case of the abominable worm. Are the deaths murders? And if so, what is the motive and who is responsible? Can Holmes and Watson solve the mystery of the abominable worm before her Majesty's navy experiences an unprecedented two-fold loss. Rebecca St. John has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in London's mysterious spiritual world and the hidden world of London's private clubs. But she wants more.

In Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, a day after Imogene's obnoxious step-cousins pay a visit, her mother's pearls go missing. When Sherlock Holmes is called in, Imogene, harboring a secret desire to become a detective, sees her chance to learn from the great Mr. Holmes.

When a half-naked man is found gibbering on the moor, Sherlock Holmes uncovers a series of bizarre murders. At their heart lies a shadowy figure known only as The Sorcerer. He can talk to the dead, they say. He can bend any will to his own. Even a will as formidable as the detective's. The investigation leads from Dartmoor to Ireland and, ultimately, back to one of the most terrifying scenes of his career. Can Holmes survive the Reichenbach Falls a second time?

Are librarians meek and mild bookish types with orthopedic shoes and granny glasses? Or are they ruthless killers with voracious appetites for wine, women, and song? Can a young widow solve a murder with the help of a Chicago policeman and an affinity for Sherlock Holmes? The Murder in the Library reveals all. It is elementary, my dears.

Sherlock Holmes concluded that it was because the intruder was known to the dog. Madsen’s new mystery questions whether the identity of one of the greatest criminals of all time, Jack the Ripper, was deduced by Conan Doyle. Conan Doyle was already famous with his popular Sherlock Holmes stories when Jack the Ripper struck London in October 1888. So why was Conan Doyle silent about this case? This thrilling adventure may well hold the key....

Did you ever wonder where Sherlock Holmes found the Persian slipper he keeps his shag tobacco in? Had Holmes and Watson ever met before that day at St. Barts? Did Holmes really believe in curses when he said he did? Dr. John Watson reveals the answers to these questions in The Persian Slipper and Other Stories, along with cases involving the putative Naval Man, a night spent at a gentlemen’s club, Holmes’ second marriage proposal, a movable tree, and a surprising wedding ending.

Emily Watson lives in a quaint English manor house with her twin sister, confined to a 20-mile radius around the estate for reasons she has never known. When the mysterious Professor Moriarty comes to visit and her sister goes missing, she discovers she is the half-sister of Dr. John Watson. Traveling to London to meet him, she finds that he is the biographer and flatmate of famed consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, in whom Professor Moriarty has expressed a sinister interest.