Story Profile: “The Heinous Half-Crowns”

 Story Profile: “The Heinous Half-Crowns”

 

In yet another anthology from Belanger Books, there is a pastiche of mine that expands upon the Sherlock Holmes universe.

 

Beyond the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a trilogy of anthologies, all of which center around the earliest volume of Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, consisting of twelve tales.  In each volume of Beyond the Adventures, the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories is reprinted, each followed by at least one and often more newly-written sequels to the classic tale. 

 

My story appears in Volume Three.  “The Heinous Half-Crowns” is a sequel to “The Engineer’s Thumb.”  In the original story, a man is mutilated after he inadvertently uncovers a counterfeiting scheme.  The story’s ending is rare in the Canon, as the villains get away.  Or do they?  In my sequel, the criminals have been caught, but their remaining cache of fake coins is a matter of great concern for the British government, and it’s up to Holmes to save the nation from scandal and financial devastation.

 

Beyond the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Three, and the first two volumes in the series, are all available for purchase in paperback and Kindle editions.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

Story Profile: “Raguel”

 Story Profile: “Raguel”

 

The Trench Coat Chronicles is a new anthology of murder mysteries where every story has to feature a trench coat in some capacity.  This seemed like an interesting topic, and since my series detective, Funderburke, wears a distinctive long coat that has become a personal trademark.  For a while now, I’ve been plotting a story about how he first got his favorite garment, and it all started with one of his earliest cases as a private investigator.

 

Before he started working at a school, Funderburke was working at a rundown P.I. agency, not quite making ends meet.  He hadn’t started to focus on helping young people in need yet, but “Raguel” is set in a seedy motel, where a teenaged boy is accused of killing his own father.  This kind of investigation is new to Funderburke, but this origin story sets Funderburke on the path to realizing his calling is for helping those who can’t help themselves.

 

The Trench Coat Chronicles is available on Kindle, and the paperback edition will be released soon.

 

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

 

Story Profile: “Intruders at Baker Street”

Story Profile: “Intruders at Baker Street”

 

I have two stories in the anthology The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Some More Untold Cases Part XXII: 1887-1897.  Other than “Merridew of Abominable Memory,” the volume includes my story “Intruders at Baker Street,” which is inspired by a reference to the “Darlington Substitution Scandal” in the original Canon.

 

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are inextricably linked with 221B Baker Street in the public imagination.  It is very probable that multiple people lived at that famous address before the most famous inhabitants lived there.  Holmes lived at 221B by himself during Watson’s marriage to Mary Morstan, and the sleuthing pair left the premises after Holmes’ retirement.  Someone probably moved in soon after they left, but we have no clue who those people could be.

The thought of anybody but Holmes and Watson living at 221B just seems wrong somehow,  That’s when I got the idea.  What if, at one point during Watson’s marriage, he returned to 221B for a visit and found someone other than Holmes living there?  And what if he had trouble convincing the authorities that the intruders were not the true residents?  Who would supplant Holmes in his own domicile and why?  That was the genesis of “Intruders at Baker Street.”

 

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Some More Untold Cases Part XXII: 1887-1897 is available for sale now from Amazon.com and MX Publishing in both hardcover and paperback.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile: “Merridew of Abominable Memory”

 Story Profile: “Merridew of Abominable Memory”

 

As stated in earlier posts, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories is a series of original mysteries by an assortment of authors.  The proceeds from the sales of the books goes to the Stepping Stones School which teaches students with special needs.  The Stepping Stones School is based in one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s homes.

 

Some volumes in the series have a theme, and in the books released this November, the connecting theme is “Untold Cases.”  In the original Sherlock Holmes Canon, the characters often refer to investigations that have never been committed to paper, such as “The Giant Rat of Sumatra.”  Sometimes Dr. Watson explains that the cases were so politically sensitive that the details can never be revealed due to national security, every so often Holmes hasn’t told his friend about  certain events, and on occasion it appears that the good doctor never got around to putting these tales to paper.

 

One instance of an untold story is a fleeting reference to “Merridew of abominable memory.”  What does that mean?  Many readers have interpreted those words as saying that Merridew was a vile man whose terrible actions bring up horrific recollections in those unfortunate enough to know him.  I looked at those four words and approached them in a very different manner.  What if Merridew’s memory was impaired?  What if he had a form of amnesia that came from a terrible attack?  And what might have caused him to be assaulted in such a violent manner?

 

I took these thoughts, and expanded them into a story…

 

 

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Some More Untold Cases Part XXII: 1887-1897 is available for sale now from Amazon.com and MX Publishing in both hardcover and paperback.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile: “The Screw You House”

Story Profile: “The Screw You House”

 

Maybe I should have called this story “The Spite House.”  It would raise a lot fewer eyebrows.  Then again, it would defeat the whole purpose of the BOULD anthology, which is supposed to be as outrageous as possible.

 

This story is more of a Funderburke narrative than a mystery.  As the story opens, Funderburke and his girlfriend Nerissa are on a double date with a couple they can’t stand.  While the other couple subtly try and fail to make Funderburke and Nerissa regret their life decisions, Funderburke commandeers the conversation with the story of one of his student clients, whose parents have split up and are now in the middle of an assets split negotiation gone horribly wrong.  As part of the settlement, the father was given a long, thin strip of land overlooking a cliff, his ex believing that no one could build on the land, and it was worthless.  This proved wrong, as the angry man built a “screw you house,” a tall and very narrow structure not designed so much for living in, but to be an eyesore blocking the view of the person one despises.  As the acrimony mounts, the tension leads to an unexpected resolution.

 

“Screw you houses,” also called “spite houses” and by other, even more vulgar names, are a real thing.  They have been built solely for the purpose of preventing other people from being to look out windows, and to reduce the value of the neighboring properties.  One does not want to get caught up in a conflict involving a “screw you house.”  It can be very destructive.  And depending on how twisted your sense of humor is, it can also be very funny.

 

“The Screw You House” won third place in the 2018 BOULD Awards.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile: “Death on the Toilet”

 Story Profile: “Death on the Toilet”

 

The BOULD Awards (Bizarre, Outrageous, Unfettered, Limitless, Daring) honor eccentric storytelling, and when I was trying to think of a story for this year’s anthology, I tried to think of outrageous things connected to people’s fears.  Is there a ghastly fate that most people seek to avoid?

 

I found inspiration when watching an SNL skit starring John Mulaney on YouTube.  What if a man with a pathological fear of an undignified death plotted such a demise for a wealthy relative?  And what if there were some sort of unsettling yet poetically just comeuppance for the villain?  I drew from a real-life bizarre death when crafting my climax, and so, “Death on the Toilet” was born.

 

This is a flash fiction story, not featuring any of my recurring characters.  The BOULD AWARDS 2020 is available for sale now in both paperback and Kindle editions.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile: “An Afternoon in Lake Park”

Story Profile: “An Afternoon in Lake Park”

 

In this flash fiction story, a sullen, disinterested girl is compelled to chaperone an elderly retired lawyer around Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  As she pushes the man in his wheelchair, the ex-lawyer, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, blurts out a series of shocking revelations, but the girl, with her ear buds blasting music, isn’t paying attention.  Is the lawyer confessing to his own crimes, or is something else going on here?

 

I first got the idea for “An Afternoon in Lake Park” when I was quite young, when I had soccer practices in Lake Park.  I often thought that it was a beautiful place, but sometimes when my mind was elsewhere I wondered about hidden treasure being buried in the thick woods around the soccer fields.  In adulthood, I took these childhood imagination memories and added a much darker twist to them.

 

“An Afternoon in Lake Park” can be found on Akashic Books’ “Mondays are Murder” blog.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.