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Steve Hockensmith

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Holmes on the Range: A Western Mystery Series (Holmes on the Range Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Steve Hockensmith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 1,334 ratings

Book 1 of 7: Holmes on the Range Mysteries

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SHERLOCK HOLMES MEETS THE OLD WEST IN THIS THRILLING MURDER MYSTERY ON A KILLER RANCH.

It’s 1893, and wandering cowboy brothers Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer are down to their last few pennies. When a job becomes available at a ranch run by a confident and enigmatic foreman, neither brother can say no.

Although the work is tiresome and their boss is bad-tempered, they have a welcome distraction—the Sherlock Holmes stories Old Red has come to love so much.

But when someone discovers a dead body on the ranch, a menacing game is afoot. Old Red is determined to catch the killer using Holmes’ infamous methods, and Big Red is dragged along for the wild ride—whether he likes it or not—while his brother tries to deduce his way to the truth.

Can Old Red and Big Red solve the mystery with stampedes, rustlers, Holmes-hating aristocrats, and a cannibal named Hungry Bob standing in their way?

Unleash your inner detective and saddle up for an unforgettable adventure as you dive into the thrilling world of the Amlingmeyer brothers today!

From the Publisher

western fiction series; historical private eye detective; US historical mystery; humorous books

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Sherlockians, western fans and mystery lovers who enjoy their whodunits leavened with humor should all be delighted by Hockensmith's captivating debut, which features Montana cowboys and brothers Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer (better known as Old Red and Big Red, respectively). One night in 1892, Old Red becomes smitten with Sherlock Holmes on hearing his brother read "The Red-Headed League" around the campfire during a cattle drive. Determined to follow in his hero's footsteps, Old Red gets the chance to apply the master's methods after some unsavory characters hire the pair to work at a ranch, whose general manager is soon found dead after a stampede. Another man turns up dead, apparently a suicide, just before the British aristocrats who own the ranch arrive to inspect their property. The melding of genres will remind some of the late Bill DeAndrea's western Nero Wolfe pastiches, while the skillful plotting and characterization augur well for the sequel. Hockensmith writes a monthly column for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The Amlingmeyer brothers--Big Red, our narrator, and Old Red--grabbed a job at the mysterious Bar-VR Ranch to avoid a winter without food or money. One of the hands at the ranch is found with a bullet in his brain and another ends up seemingly trampled, but no one can recall a stampede. The shadowy miscreants had best watch their backs, however, as the Amlingmeyers are not your ordinary cowpokes. Old Red can't read but has been entertained trailside by Big Red's reading Sherlock Holmes stories from Harper's Weekly. Old Red thus considers himself a budding master of what he calls "deducifyin'." With Old Red as a six-gun Holmes and Big Red as a skeptical, nervous Watson, the pair ferrets out the killers and motives from a colorful cast of characters with names such as Puddin-Foot, Tall John, and Swivel-Eye. The Amlingmeyers have graced the pages of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and their initial book-length case is every bit as memorable. At times, they may remind readers of Joe Lansdale's Hap Collins and Leonard Pine with their smart mouths, penchant for trouble, and unflagging loyalty to each other. This is a great reworking of the Holmes conceit, and one suspects Hockensmith will have a steady readership as long as the Amlingmeyers are on the case. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Skillful plotting and characterization augur well for the sequel."

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

Captivating.... The skillful plotting and characterization augur well for the sequel.-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review"

"This is a great reworking of the Holmes conceit, and one suspects Hockensmith will have a steady readership as long as the Amlingmeyers are on the case."

-- "Booklist (starred review)"

From the Back Cover

1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar-VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favorite pastime: scouring Harper's Weekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes. When another ranch hand turns up in an outhouse with a bullet in his brain, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to put his Holmes-inspired detective talents to work and solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.

About the Author

Steve Hockensmith is the author of the New York Times bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls and the Edgar Award nominee Holmes on the Range. He lives in Alameda, California.

From AudioFile

The great detective Sherlock Holmes finds a lost American cousin in this rollicking entertainment. Narrator William Dufris shuffles accents and characters like a deck of cards. His portrayal of the Amlingmeyer brothers, Gustave, a "Holmes wannabe," and his younger sibling, Otto, a "Doctor Watson stand-in," is emotional and affecting. Few narrators could genuinely pull off a Swedish cook, a pompous English duke and his prissy daughter, and a cowboy with a Cockney accent, sometimes in the same scene. No listener's imagination could come up with a better experience than hearing this title. Let's hope there are more adventures with the Amlingmeyer brothers, inspired by Holmes and Watson. R.O. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C575CZKJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rough Edges Press (June 13, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 13, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2722 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0851KBYBY

Best Sellers Rank: #77,008 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #8 in History Humor (Kindle Store)
- #31 in History Humor (Books)
- #124 in Lawyers & Criminals Humor

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,334 ratings

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Steve Hockensmith

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Steve Hockensmith’s first novel, the mystery/Western hybrid "Holmes on the Range," was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Dilys awards. He went on to write several sequels (with more on the way!) as well as the tarot-themed mystery "The White Magic Five and Dime" and the New York Times bestseller "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls." He also teamed up with educator “Science Bob” Pflugfelder to write the middle-grade mystery "Nick and Tesla and the High-Voltage Danger Lab" and its five sequels. Learn more about him and his writing at stevehockensmith.com.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

1,334 global ratings

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Kindle Customer

Loved This One

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021

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I really did enjoy this novel for its originality, great character development, and intriguing plot. It was well written, humorous in parts, philosophical in parts, and a wonderful mystery set in the Old West. I have already ordered two more of the series and hope they are as enjoyable. This plot kept me guessing throughout. The cowboy language inserted at times didn't bother me at all. There was clear variation between the drovers' language and the English visitors' language, as is to be expected, and that just added to the realism and humanity of the story. This was an excellent novel.

2 people found this helpful

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Hank9924

What happened to Nathaniel Horne?

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2023

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Great book. Funny and interesting characters. But I still don't know the circumstances of Nathaniel Horne's death.

One person found this helpful

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Timothy F. Canny

A fun western mystery

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2024

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A great tribute to the Holmes mysteries with a satisfying puzzle, fun characters, and a great big brother/little brother cowboys relationship holding it all together.

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2014

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I really liked the premise of the book--a cowboy trying to be like Sherlock Holmes. Now the plot was mostly pretty good, & funny as well, but I was put off by 2 things:

1-- The branding episode never had any repercussions.

2-- Sherlock being real. I read the 1st half of the book thinking it was just a misunderstanding that the brothers didn't know that Holmes was a fictional character, as was Dr Watson. However, the book apparently was written about a parallel universe where they WERE real.

2 people found this helpful

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HAL

What an entertaining narrative mystery! 4.75 stars!!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023

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Otter is the younger brother to the Sherlock-wanna-be and his turn of phrases pull you into the group of cowboys sitting around the fire as he tells this story. Not that they're sitting around for the drivers are basically unarmed captives at the mercy of the ranch they signed up to work. As if one suspicious accident wasn't enough the body in the outhouse does call for attention. Holmes is determined to solve this mystery but at what cost?
I'm an old granny so can't recommend for young folk but only because of the swearing. It rates a heavy moderate in that category and the rest was all cattle work with no time for the gals, so that area is okay. The plot, solution and narrative are superb and Hockensmith has this narrative style honed like the strike of a rattler on the desert floor. I really enjoyed this book so much I highly recommend it with the reservations about the language.

2 people found this helpful

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farmerglen

Excellent story

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024

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This was a very good read as I could almost feel the sensations that the author tried to convey to all of us that were reading the book. I think that I can say that anyone who likes western stories will find something that will be interesting to them.

One person found this helpful

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Pauline

This is a feel good book

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023

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I was hankering for tall tales. I was hankering to read a story about the old west, about cowboys, about horses and cows, and this book fell into my lap. Just finished reading it this morning and will certainly be looking at other books in the series. I really like how Steve Hokensmith writes. It's plain English, it's honest, and I'd like to write like him.

2 people found this helpful

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J. Garlen

When will the next one come out?

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2006

Verified Purchase

What a fun and fast-paced mystery this novel presents! It offers such a blend of genres that you might think combining them would be difficult, but Hockensmith manages the mix with a deft hand. He is a little prone to telling rather than showing, but one might lay the blame for this mistake on his narrator, a cowboy new to the writing habit. The protagonists are engaging, but the colorful background characters really make the novel move. As a Holmes connected novel, this book resembles the well-reviewed Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time more than a mere pastiche, and, if you like the one, you will probably the enjoy the other, too.

This would make great summer reading for anyone who enjoys westerns, mysteries, comic novels or Holmes-inspired fiction. I want Hockensmith to write more Big Red and Little Red novels soon!

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Holmes on the Range: A Western Mystery Series (Holmes on the Range Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From Booklist

Review

From the Back Cover

About the Author

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Product details

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About the author

Steve Hockensmith

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