Review: Mystery Weekly Magazine

 I was recently sent a PDF copy of the above title and asked for my thoughts. So here they are....

Well, to begin with, it's certainly an attractive periodical. Jeremy Brett stares out at you from the front cover and the smart layout is maintained throughout. It is also quite meaty at 105 pages long. From the PDF it is not clear what the magazine usually costs (unless I missed it).

It's mostly, but not entirely, Sherlock Holmes related. It opens with an interesting look at the world of Sherlock Holmes by Vincent W. Wright before launching into a short pastiche entitled The Adventure of the Missing Princess. We are also given The Case of the Masticated Hand and a wonderful non-fiction piece entitled MacGuffins on Baker Street which looks at characters in the Canon who do nothing more than move the story on - they are apparently known as MacGuffins (you learn something new every day).

We also have a thinly veiled pastiche called The Mystery of the Bee's Egg featuring Sherwood House and Dr Waters. I do wonder why people bother with such obvious name changes.

Amidst all these are a few non-Holmes mysteries such as The Pit of Hell and Acid Test.

As a stand-alone issue there is much for the Sherlock Holmes fan. These are traditionally focused pieces so the fan of modernised Sherlock may not find it quite to their taste.

What I cannot determine is whether a Sherlock Holmes fan would be interested in further issues. If you are a fan of murder mystery in general then you may find something in future issues. If, like me, your interest is very Holmes centred it is debatable. Perhaps try a couple of issues and see.

Written by Alistair Duncan Buy my books here

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