Mr Stamford and Sherlock Holmes witness the death of a pugilist in a demonstration, but do not suspect it will propel them into another investigation. Another mysterious death and a previous death in the ring make it likely there is something sinister afoot. Holmes must use all of his skills to discover the truth of the mystery.

As with the previous books, I enjoyed this one a lot! I’m fascinated by the author’s ability to capture Holmas as a young man. I especially enjoyed getting a glimpse into how Holmes might have learned his skills at boxing and the physical arts. And, as before, seeing the case unfold through the eyes of Mike Stamford was entertaining. Watson, he is not, but he is a loyal companion nonetheless.

I don’t know much about boxing of the Victorian era so I was fascinated by the details in the story. The story really did keep me guessing and I was delighted by the ending. The whole story was well-written and captured the spirit of the original stories.

This is a book and series that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys stories about Sherlock Holmes as a young man.

Sherlock Holmes and his friend, Mr Stamford, are attending an exhibition boxing match when one of the pugilists dies suddenly. His death is determined to be from natural causes. However, shortly after, another young boxer is discovered murdered, clutching an ebony idol to his chest. The owner of the idol is arrested but Sherlock is not convinced of his guilt and sets out to discover the real culprit. But the more he digs, the more he learns that this was not the first suspicious death in the boxing community and, if Sherlock’s suspicions are correct, it likely won’t be the last.

Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol is the third in The Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes series by Linda Stratmann and I have enjoyed them all. Stratmann does an excellent job of recreating the historical period and the tone of the story matches Doyle’s style nicely. I liked that young Sherlock is just learning his trade and is not quite as accomplished at, for example, disguises as he is to become and Stamford makes a fine foil for the young detective. Overall, a vey nice edition to the Sherlock Holmes canon.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review<\i>

As a 'dyed-in-the-wool' Sherlockian, I don't usually read Holmes pastiches, keeping usually to the accepted canon, but I thought I would give this a try and I am very glad I did (although to call this book a pastiche is possibly to do it a disservice). It was thoroughly enjoyable, bringing a level of believability to the detailing of the early life and career of Holmes that one would have thought impossible today. Admittedly, there hovered an air of 21st Century contemporary in the use of such PC terms as 'disabled' instead of 'invalid' and such modern parlance as 'he hoped to have answers', but these can be forgiven in a book written in todays enlightened times that features non-white characters but does not make a fuss or furore about the way in which they were often unfairly and prejudicially treated. It was just the way it was, and that was that, A light and enjoyable read, although the title is very misleading, since the titular Idol was no more than a side issue to the main plot.

Thankyou NetGalley and Sapere Books. I love anything Sherlock Holmes and this is said from the Stamford (Sherlock's friend). The story picks up from a death that takes place in a boxing ring, this is a second death due to boxing. I personally like it how the story revolves around three different deaths. Read this book, if you (A) like Sherlock Holmes (B) Pieces various pieces of information as a puzzle and (C) You think you know how it will end but it ends up being different. Amazing penmanship by the author, and I highly recommend this book!

This is the first Sherlock Holmes book I have read by Linda Stratmann, but is the third in the series. Not having read the previous books did not hinder my enjoyment of the book.

Holmes is a university medical student, and his sidekick is Stamford, another medical student, they are both keen boxers.

A boxer dies during a match, supposedly of natural causes but Holmes isn't convinced, throw in the death of a doctor, another boxer clutching a talisman that belongs to someone else, and some fortifying powders and you have an enthralling tale!

Recommended, especially for those who enjoy the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories.

Would read more by the same author

This is the first Sherlock Holmes I read by Linda Stratamann and I think she did a good job in delivering an entertaining novel even if Holmes it's not very canon-like.
The characters are fleshed and the plot flows, solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I don't mind a good Sherlock Holmes novel and Holmes is at it again with his own style of detective work.

This is the story told by Holmes's friend Mr. Stamford and is a book of clues, hints and a mystery that has to be solved. There are twists and turns, as you would expect. It is well written and easy to read even though I hadn't read the previous books in this series (which I now must do!).

I enjoyed this book and the story, the mystery kept me reading and kept me wanting to read more. A great read.

I received this ARC From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is the third in the series of “The Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes”. This was the first book that I have read in the series, and I found myself fascinated with how Stratmann had a great fix on the young mind of Sherlock Holmes. I felt that I was reading a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book. It is always fascinating reading about the thought process of how Holmes solves a case. This case starts off with Mr. Stamford who is narrating the story telling how he had been invited to a boxing match and is amazed to see Holmes stepping into the ring. When a fighter dies and another fighter is accused of his murder because the police believe that he put poison on an ebony idol that he was trying to steal. Homes decides to help this young fighter and clears his name. Holmes then finds out about another death that could be connected and the chase is on. Plenty of action and a great whodunnit! It's a great read and one that will immerse you into Sherlock Holmes' thinking while solving the case.

This is the first book I have read by this author and found it very close in style to the original books by ACD which I appreciate as I have always loved the originals. The plot was a great twisty mystery although boxing isn't a favourite subject of mine I still enjoyed the mystery. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the third book in the early Sherlock Holmes' era and probably my least favorite but that is mostly based on the subject matter surrounding boxing, which I don't care for, though I know Holmes is a participant from his later works. I was expecting the ebony idol to be a mysterious artifact or some other bit of history but it's just a talisman carved by a father for his son.

When a young boxer dies under odd circumstances with the idol clutched to his chest, his opponent and owner of the idol is fingered for murder. Holmes of course suspects this is far from the truth and uses his astute powers of observation to learn the truth.

I like the way Ms. Stratmann writes because the books have the very similar feel to Doyle's original works. I am very much enjoying this series and look forward to a fourth book, and maybe a book about what really happened at the falls...

tl;dr
A twisty mystery with narration that strongly evokes the feel of the original series.

About
A pugilist dies at a boxing match - supposedly of natural causes. There's no reason to suspect foul play until another man from the same group also dies. Budding detective Sherlock Holmes is on the case, but the deeper he gets, the more it seems like everyone in this group has something to hide.

Thoughts
This book is the third in an original series featuring Sherlock's pre-Watson cases from the POV of Stamford (the man who introduced Holmes to Watson in the canon). Like most of the canon, it can be read in basically any order, so knowledge of previous books is not necessary. Also like the canon, the POV character does very little to characterize himself, focusing his narration entirely on the mystery at hand. Fans who prefer the plot-centric approach will find a lot to like, with several intertwined mysteries all happening at once, plenty of twists, and a satisfying solution. I was also pleased at how much research went into keeping the time period authentic. Author's notes in the back list sources for anyone curious to learn more. Overall, a great read for Holmes fans looking for a good mystery with a similar feel to the original stories.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for a review copy of Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol, the third novel to feature the early career of the great detective, set in 1876.

Holmes and his friend, Mr Stamford are attending a boxing exhibition when one of the boxers dies. They are interested in the cause of death, which turns out to be natural causes, but while investigating this death a second boxer dies, clutching a wooden statue, the eponymous ebony idol. When they hear about a third boxer’s death they are firmly on the case.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol, which is the usual fiendish brain teaser that contains all the clues needed to solve it. There’s no point in beating about the bush, I might have had some small inkling about one of the deaths, but not enough to get anywhere near the full story, so basically I was in the dark until the denouement.

The plot is clever and ingenious in its solution. The author drops all sorts of hints and clues, but the reader, or perhaps just this particular reader, has no way of knowing what is important and what is simply either window dressing or misdirection. On reflection, most of it is important in one way or another, but where or how it fits in is a puzzle. It is also a novel of twists with missing people turning up in the most unexpected places and under the most unexpected guises. I liked the explanation of how these men died, which somehow seems to fit the overall narrative where nothing is quite as it seems and I loved that Holmes managed to unearth another murder that had passed as natural.

The novel is told in the first person by Mr Stamford, no first name given, and is related years after the events described, so it has both the benefit of hindsight and the ability to comment on Holmes’s later life and cases. It is very effective.

Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol by Linda Stratmann.
Sherlock Holmes dons his boxing gloves to catch a killer…
London, 1876
When a pugilist dies at a local boxing demonstration attended by medical student Mr Stamford and his acquaintance Sherlock Holmes, a post-mortem reveals the death is due to natural causes.
I really enjoyed this book. I love sherlock Holmes. I've never read this author though. I will be looking forward to more from her though. 5*.