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Title details for The Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith - Available

The Crack in the Lens

#4.0 in series

by Steve Hockensmith
William Dufris
Audiobook
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In 1893, Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer and his brother, Gustav "Old Red," find themselves in a situation that they never expected: they have a bit of money and time to do something other than scramble. It's enough to confound even that most unconfoundable of men, their mutual inspiration, Sherlock Holmes.


So Old Red decides that it's time for the two of them to head off to the Texas hill country, to San Marcos, and deal with the greatest tragedy of Old Red's life. Five years ago, when Old Red was a cowpoke in San Marcos, he had a sweetheart—a fallen woman at the local house of ill repute. They had made plans, but before they made their big move, his fiancee was murdered and the case was swept under the rug by the local authorities. Now Old Red is determined to find out what really happened and to finally find a measure of justice for his beloved. But Big Red and Old Red find themselves facing a wall of silence and in some of the worst situations of their lives: ensnared in a riot at the local cathouse, on the wrong end of a lynching party, and, perhaps worst of all, having to do the one thing you never want to do in the state of Texas: steal horses.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Holmes on the Range

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 4, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400192823
      • File size: 292538 KB
      • Duration: 10:09:27

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 11, 2009
      Set in 1893, a few weeks after the events of 2008's The Black Dove
      , Hockensmith's excellent fourth mystery to feature Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his older brother, Gustav (aka “Old Red”), takes them to San Marcos, Tex. The laconic Old Red, whose life took an unexpected turn after his brother introduced him to the deductive methods of Sherlock Holmes, reveals that the love of his life, hooker Gertrude Eichelberger, was murdered in San Marcos five years earlier. The pair's efforts to investigate put them at odds with the local pimps as well as the law. The brothers discover that Gertrude was but the first victim of a serial killer, who modeled his crimes after Jack the Ripper. The personal stake Old Red has in catching the murderer adds an emotional dimension to the puzzle, which Edgar-finalist Hockensmith nicely leavens with witty prose and cliffhanging chapter endings. Author tour.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Brothers Otto and Gustav Amlingmeyer are the Holmes and Watson of the American West. On their fourth, case they investigate a series of murders involving prostitutes, one of whom was Gustav's truelove. Bill Dufris's "aw-shucks" reading somewhat blunts the gory reality of the story's Jack-the-Ripper-style killings, but his performance is in line with the setting and characters. Of course, having narrated the other three Holmes on the Range adventures, he's had lots of practice. Both men's and women's voices have an appropriate rough edge, and the action moves right along. It's difficult to take these sagebrush Sherlocks too seriously; one wonders what Conan Doyle would think. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 28, 2009
      Hockensmith returns with this superb mystery featuring two brothers, Otto “Big Red” and Gustav “Old Red,” who journey off to the Texas hill country in search of answers to a tragedy that befell them and Gertrude Eichelberger, a young prostitute, five years earlier. Of course, there's trouble along the way, and the boys find themselves scrambling at every corner, using Sherlock Holmes's methods to solve Gertrude's murder. As unique and exciting as the story is, William Dufris does not do the material justice and gives a laughable reading that seems miles away from his usually stellar performances. Dufris goes so far over the top that the story loses its subtle humor and becomes a farce. A Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, May 11).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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