'The Wandering Corpse': *** This one is set early enough in the Holmes-Watson relationship that Mrs. Smallbone requests Dr. Watson's help without knowing he has a famous flatmate. Professor Smallbone has published an interesting article about his experiments with electricity. Things get quite painful for our good doctor, on more than one level.

'The Horror in Hanging Wood' -- **** Lestrade calls in Holmes and Watson because a man has been found brutally murdered and mutilated. I didn't suspect the solution. The killer may have thought the perfect selection method had been found, but no.

'The Paddington Witch' -- ***1/2 Mrs. Hudson's friend and her sister run a good bakery Local thugs Garth Ransome and brother want protection money, more than the sisters can afford. Then murder is done. Holmes and Watson get more on their plate than they expected.

'The Phantom Organ' -- *** The Hembury family is proud and arrogant toward the villagers, even the vicar and his wife. Unlike some other aristocrats, they get a phantom organ heralding their deaths instead of a phantom coach. Holmes need not expect to be thanked for his efforts.

'The Devil's Tunnel' -- *** Watson is seeing an actress. She and her two aunts are with Watson on the train when it goes through the Devil's Tunnel. One of the women is missing when the train comes out. Watson and the police are baffled.

'The Battersea Worm' -- *** For two years Angel Holland has been living at the top of a tower with no method of entry to his room except an elevator. His son, who went to medical school with Watson, wants to go on vacation. Watson agrees to substitute for his old classmate. Can he keep Angel safe until his son returns?

None of these radio episodes is bad, but they aren't great, either. They were entertaining. ( )

Inspired by the Original Stories of Arthur Conan DoyleFun audiobook to listen to since all the characters were played by different actors. The plots were pretty easy to figure out who the villains were and where the story was going. Six short stories. ( )

An interesting collection of stories written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally written to accompany a radio series that I would still like to get my hands on.

The linking theme of the stories is the supernatural, with a strong hint of ghosts, ghouls, witches and curses, and it is down to Sherlock Holmes to bring the human villains to justice.

John Taylor does a far better job of writing like Conan Doyle than most. This is shown particularly in the opening of the stories in 221B Baker Street, where instead of settling for the parody that most authors accomplish, and in Dr. Watson's foreword.

Of the 6 stories, there are 3 I particularly like - The Wandering Corpse, The Paddington Witch and The Devil's Tunnel. I am less fond of the other three stories although the Phantom Organ's ending fits in well with stories in the actual canon. The mysteries are not as tightly wound as the originals, but have their own quirks and some nice stylistic touches, particularly the Wandering Corpse.

An enjoyable collection. ( )