This year we got a new Solar Pons collection from Belanger Books that finally takes him to the United States: The American Adventures of Solar Pons. Edited by David Marcum the collection features a dozen stories by various authors.
I’ve posted on Solar Pons before, recently doing a re-reading of both the original stories by August Derleth, the follow-up works by Basil Copper, and covering the newer ones by or under the editorship of Marcum.
Pons is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche created by Derleth when he learned no new Sherlock Holmes stories were forthcoming. Instead of making him a copy, he is a separate character who sees Holmes as his mentor and predecessor. Holmes had retired to Sussex Downs around the turn of the century (1903 to be exact), though he did come out of retirement to aid Britain during WWI (and a few other times).
Pons’ career was mainly in the 1920s and ’30s, though he started in 1907, with a pause during WWI for military intelligence work, and in 1918 (or was it 1917?) started living on Praed Street with Dr. Lyndon Parker.
They returned to military service in WWII, with Pons again working for military intelligence. He most likely retired after that. But as he occasionally visited or consulted with Holmes during his career, there were opportunities for them to work together either in the teens, 1920s, or ’30s.
As noted, David Marcum has been overseeing the new Pons revival, teaming up with Derrick Belanger who has been publishing all of this through Belanger Books.
This time, we get Pons and Parker’s adventures in America with a dozen stories by 10 authors. As Pons apparently had residences in both New York and Chicago, then certainly he has had cases there. Now, we learn of some of them. The stories are apparently arranged by internal chronology, but I’m not sure if that’s the actual case.
We start off with a story from I.A. Watson set in Louisiana in the 1920s. Pons and Parker are on a tour of America and visit the Baton Rouge coroner. There, the two get pulled into a bizarre murder at the nearby state penitentiary. A prisoner on death row is found murdered with the brand of a criminal gang on his forehead. Can Pons figure out how this was done, as well as deal with the gang? And as typical for his Sherlock Holmes stories, there are several endnotes.
Will Thomas has Pons and Parker in New York City before they head home when they are approached by a magician and his ghostwriter. The magician spends his time exposing false mediums and invites the two to join him for a séance that night. So what happens? Hopefully, readers may figure out who some of the characters are supposed to be.
The next story by Stephen Herczeg finds them returning to New York, but that’s just a stop for them heading to Chicago. There the grandson of the Pinkerton Detective Agency is taking over, and they are there for this event.
We find the pair in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in Gustavo Bondoni‘s story. There they have been summoned by a professor at the University of Alabama as he fears an attack on one of his rival professors, most likely due to his forcing higher standards on the football team. Football is important in the South, don’t you know? Can Pons figure out what the threat is and thwart it?
It’s Thanksgiving in Milwaukee where Chris Chan has the two staying after solving one case. But at the event, one of the family members wants Pons to solve the murder of his cousin, who died an apparent suicide in Cuba. He blames the man’s wife. How, then, can Pons do this without access to the crime scene or any evidence?
Derrick Belanger’s story is set in 1935 San Francisco. Pons has just solved a serial ax murder in Napa Valley and stayed longer to examine the security of the new prison on Alcatraz when he receives a message. A lawyer has been murdered. The police are making no progress, and his widow asks Pons to take the lead. The victim was found stabbed and missing at hand. His body was in a building where he had apparently been renting a studio apartment for several months, meeting with Asians. As Pons is busy, he has Parker do the legwork. Will they succeed in solving this mystery?
We have another story set in San Francisco from Paul Hiscock, though just after the end of Prohibition. Here, a grieving girlfriend believes that her boyfriend, who died of an apparent suicide, is somehow haunting a cable car. Can they figure out what is going on?
Near Chicago is the locale for Ian Millsted‘s tale. While there on a lecture tour in the States, Pons and Parker are asked to look into a murder at a family’s summer estate. A stranger was killed, pushed off a cliff, and it seems as though one of the family members is to blame, but the family doesn’t believe it. Can Pons figure out the real story behind it all?
An invitation to speak at a conference in Michigan kicks off Brett Fawcett‘s story set in 1938. The location is also the location of the popular broadcasts of a Catholic priest (based on a real person). Once they get there, they find the reason for the invitation was to help with investigating threats to this priest from certain nefarious elements (also based on real groups). What is ultimately behind these threats, and can Pons expose them before they can succeed? Fictional detective Philo Vance is involved off-stage, and we learn that yet another literary character is a cousin of Pons. Is this something new, or did I miss something?
And finally, from David Marcum, we get three stories. The first is set in the late 1930s as we move towards WWII. Pons and Parker are sent on a mission to the United States, landing in New York. There, after meeting with an old friend, they go to the Empire State Building to recruit another to their cause. But he’s not there. Instead, they run into a professor who works for Rockefeller and needs help. As they go out, he tells them of his bizarre tale. But in a large crowd, the professor is knifed — but there is no weapon. Under pressure from several, including his own government, can Pons work out what is going on? The title is taken from a planned but never-completed Solar Pons comic strip. Hopefully, readers can pick up on the allusions to other fictional characters.
The second and third stories are linked and set in the 1940s. In the first part, it is 1942, and our friends in Washington, D.C., after the conclusion of a mission for the United Kingdom. They are asked to head to eastern Tennessee to look into issues surrounding the setup of an important research project. They also get help from a notable veteran of WWI. In the next story, they head to California, Hollywood to be exact, where they get involved with the new Sherlock Holmes movies being made.
It’s another great collection of stories. What will come next? At the time I was reading this, the Kickstarter campaign started for the next issue of the Pontine Dossier, which I pledged. I look forward to it.
What new Pons stories will be coming in the future? I was thinking that since this volume has his American adventures, due to his residences here, his bio notes residences in several European cities. We haven’t had many Pons adventures there. Those may be interesting, especially as he was involved in both WWI and WWII. That could possibly be two to three different collections, maybe with stories set around the wars and in between. We’ll just have to see what the future holds for us.
Add Comment