The Hapsburg Falcon (2013) by J Trtek
Good Reads meta-data is 182 pages, rated 3.73 by 15 litizens.
Genre: Krimi; Species: Sherlock.
DNA: Brit.
Verdict: Elementary.
Tagline: The stuff that nightmares are made of.
The Woman reappears, having twice outwitted the incomparable Sherlock Holmes, she turns to him for help in an hour of need: the one, the only Irene Adler.
It seems an overweight, gregarious, duplicitous, and garrulous Man thinks she has what is his – dat boird – only she doesn’t. It beggars belief but Irene is engaged to a young wastrel who schemed to get that bird, make a fortune, and whisk her away to parts known. But both wastrel and bird have taken flight.
Enter Holmes.
There is a coda that traces the characters in this tale, including Sam Spade, to 1940. That alone is worth the price of admission.
But it lacks that early line in The Maltese Falcon that said it all: ‘We didn’t believe you; we believed your $50.’