Fandom: SHERLOCK HOLMES
Pairing: Gen
Length: 3,000 words
Author on LJ: no
Author Website: none

Why this must be read:
Just for something a little different, I present this. Never fear, I'll also post a review of a slash story tonight.

Rex Stout, in addition to being the author of the Nero Wolfe mysteries was a well-known member of the Baker Street Irregulars (the Sherlock Holmes readers group.) At one meeting he gave a slightly tongue-in-cheek presentation entitled "Watson Was A Woman."  He goes through the canon (Doyle's stories) to find quotes that sound feminine and presents them in his paper. The speech, which did not go over well with the group, was later printed in a magazine.

He demonstrates through the use of numerology, acrostics and other "proofs" the name of Holmes's wife and the details of their marriage.  I like it because it gets a little over-the-top and I find it a good parody of several books I've read that profess to find hidden messages in some item.

Stout maintained for many years that Holmes and Irene Adler were involved and had a child. He wrote articles defending his theory that their child was Lord Peter Whimsey.

( read an excerpt )

apiphile

( He pulled the front door open just as Gwen, on the other side, was about to put her key in the lock. )

Ianto raised his eyebrows. "Your cunning plan is all backwards."

"My plan?"

"You're meant to make me think you took it and admit to Gwen that you didn't."

Fandom: SHERLOCK HOLMES
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Length: 5,700 words
Author on LJ: cimness
Author Website: cimorine.net

Why this must be read:
This tale is woven around and into Doyle's tale "The Bruce-Partington Plans." In that story Holmes asks Watson to help him break into a house to locate evidence. In this story, told from Watson's POV, we see his reaction to the request as well as his deep feelings for Holmes.

Flush with success, too filled with adrenaline to sleep, the two men repair to Baker Street. There Holmes invites Watson into his room for a brandy and tells him of some further action he has planned. Given that they are in Holmes's bedroom, wearing their dressing gowns and drinking brandy, you can guess what that action might be.

I thought the peek into Watson's mind was very well done. He is portrayed as a more complex and feeling man than usual, and I was really drawn to him and his emotional struggles.

( read an excerpt )

derryderrydown

derryderrydown

( “Tell me, Ianto,” Jack murmured. “Am I just a convenient warm body?” )

lauramcewan

It was over.

Two months, thousands of taxpayer dollars, miles of video and audio tape, and one weary detective had finally led to this: bringing down the largest child prostitution ring in L.A. And the only part of that equation David Starsky cared about now was the weary detective.

Starsky stood leaning against the wall of the mastermind’s study, a controlled confusion of FBI and LAPD and ATF and CIA and a half-dozen other acronyms swirling around him. His eyes tracked a single figure in the midst of the chaos, as Ken Hutchinson answered questions, pointed out evidence to the officers, made a photo ID of a suspect. He was the eye of the storm that revolved around him, isolated, apart even as he did his duty.

Starsky crossed his arms and kept vigil with hooded eyes.

He was watching over his partner as he had from a distance these past two months. But more than that, he was looking for the man he knew underneath the stranger only a dozen feet away. The pale blond hair was now a mass of permed, darker curls, and a thick beard covered the lower part of his face. A cigarette protruded from his lips, and as soon as it burned low, it was replaced by another. The easy grace was gone, replaced by sharp, jittery movements, the whole body language shifted into tones of anxiety and tension. Hutch looked ill, what little body fat he had, gone now, face sunken, cheeks flushed. And his eyes...