Holmes on the Range

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. 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.

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  • Bill Dufris had just returned to the US after ten years working as a voice talent in the UK when I met him. He came out to the studio and recorded two Harry Nile adventures with us before he moved back East. A pleasant man andvery talented.
    Larry
    • I agree, Never heard of Dufris before this book. I thought the name Holmes on the Range a catchy title. When I listen to the sample and the reader sounded so great, i bought it.

      I may get the next one in the series, On the Wrong Track shortly. There was also a new one came out in February, The Black Dove. All are read by Dufris and are Holmes on the Range mysteries.
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