The game is afoot once again when Holmes and Watson take on the Egyptian Hall Adventure. They receive a visit one evening from a famous conjurer, currently playing at the Egyptian Hall theater. It seems that one of his tricks went awry .... a titled woman's ring was given to him to use in a trick whereby the conjurer would smash it up, then reproduce it a couple of minutes later attached to a nosegay. But in this case, the ring did not magically reappear and the woman's not really happy about it. So enter Holmes and Watson, off to the Egyptian Hall theater. As they're watching the conjuror's performance, the show is interrupted, the conjuror goes off the stage, and soon there's a call for a doctor in the house. I won't say any more about the plot.

I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes pastiches; some are better than others and yet none match the quality of the original stories. So I do not judge the pastiches against the originals ... that would just be wrong. This one is much better than many I've read, as far as the story goes.

I'd recommend it to people who enjoy these kinds of stories, or to those who have read the originals and want something a little different. It's a very small book, but the story will keep you entertained. ( )