This was the last of a series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches written by Andrews for Breese Books (a small imprint that specialises in Sherlock Holmes stories), shortly before his death.
This one is a bit unusual in that instead of the familiar territory of the late 19th or early 20th century, we are taken back to 50s London where an American writer fleeing the McCarthy witch hunts takes the lease on 221B Baker Street only to discover that its already home to the great detectve's ghost.
Needless to say they are soon involved in a mystery when the TV producer working upon said writer's debut TV series is arrested on suspicion of the murder of one of McCarthy's aides in London. Also in the frame, thanks to the paranoid American "reds under the beds" investigator are a number of actors and actresses including Orson Welles and the writer himself.
The problem is that the investigation relies a bit too much on coincidences and Holmes' ghostly ability to be wherever he wants rather than deductive reasoning and the final denouement owes more to an Agatha Christie style "its the person you expect to be the killer least" moment at the conclusion. I found that in itself a little odd as during the narrative Holmes rubbishes this kind of plot device and it also left the killer with a very feeble motive.
However, while he may not be a great writer, Andrews is very good on the period detail and he certainly knew the period well when London became home to so many of Hollywood's political dissidents blacklisted by McCarthy, having had a ringside seat workng in the entertainment industry. It is this detail that prevents the story being just another piece of hack writing.
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