The Only One in the World

What if Sherlock Holmes was Polish? What if he or John Watson were Indian or Irish or Australian or Japanese? How would their worlds look if one or both was from a completely different background?

In The Only One in the World, we asked a baker’s dozen of writers to answer these questions, and the marvelous results are adventures in Ancient Egypt, Viking Iceland, and 17th century England; in 19th century Ireland, Germany, and Poland; in South Africa of the 1970s and New Orleans of the 1920s; and in contemporary Australia, USA, Russia, India and Portugal.

The stories and contributors taking a new look at our old friends, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, include:

  • The Affair of the Purloined Rentboy by Greg Herren
  • S.H.E.R.L.O.C.K. by Atlin Merrick
  • The Path of Truth by Jack Fennell
  • Sharaku Homura and the Heart of Iron by Jason Franks
  • The Adventure of the Disappearing Village by Natalie Conyer
  • The Saga of the Hidden Treasure by Kerry Greenwood and David Greagg
  • The Problem of the Lying Author by Lisa Fessler
  • Mistress Islet and the General’s Son by Lucy Sussex
  • A Scandalous Case of Poisoning by Katya de Becerra
  • The Adventure of the Fated Homecoming by Jayantika Ganguly
  • Prince Ha-mahes and the Adventure of the Stoned Mason by LJM Owen
  • The Enemy Within by Raymond Gates
  • A Study in Lavender by JM Redmann
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Praise for The Only One in the World

"A delightful collection for lovers of nimble crime."
- Aurealis #144 
"Smart, entertaining, and fresh." 
- The Weekend Australian
"What a brilliant idea - to put together an anthology of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson short story mysteries in which the central characters come from vastly different cultural backgrounds, from any gender and sexuality, and set in any time period. The stories are witty, moving, and full of surprise. It kept me entertained into the wee small hours." 
- L.A. Larkin, author of The Safe Place and other critically acclaimed thrillers
"A prize-winning collection that riffs on the stories and mythology of Sherlock Holmes is sheer, unadulterated fun." 
– Eric Mayer, ArtsHub
"What a terrific anthology this is!…I think you will enjoy these stories as much as I did" 
– Jennifer Cameron-Smith, Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large
"Cool…cool…cool" and "Cool!" 
– Phil Brown, Courier Mail
"I seriously loved all the different takes on Sherlock! So many good stories!" 
– Candace Robinson, author of The Bone Valley and Faeries of Oz series
"What a wild romp… there is something in this anthology for everyone… highly recommended." 
– Kirsten McKenzie
A welcome addition to the enormous library dedicated to H&W.” 
– The Torr, The Journal of The Poor Folk Upon the Moors