Give it a listen!

FIVE MILES OF COUNTRY – A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure is out on audio. Just in time for the holidays. A FIVE-STAR Sherlock Holmes Mystery written from a women’s perspective by Gretchen Altabef. Brilliantly narrated by J.T. McDaniel.

J.T. McDaniel’s Scottish lilt adds authenticity to the voices of Doctor Watson and Mrs Hudson. Five Miles of Country is the third book in the Rachel Holmes series.

When the first in the series, These Scattered Houses was released, I worried that it lacked Doctor Watson. My first Sherlock Holmes book and there was no Watson? The story of These Scattered Houses took place during the final six weeks of Sherlock Holmes’s “great hiatus”. At the time Watson thought he died at the Reichenbach Fall. Because of this, my story was told by Holmes. When my publisher introduced me to J.T. McDaniel, I knew my worries were over for he would bring Doctor Watson to the book with his narration. The novel was written in Holmes’s words, yet in the audiobook it was read aloud by Watson. What a perfect solution! If one questioned what a narrator brought to the making of a book, I can say unquestioningly, J.T. McDaniel brought perspicacity, an actor’s good sense and experience, the ability to think on his feet, and Doctor Watson’s presence to my books.

Five Miles of Country is no different. Only here J.T. has a wider range of voices to narrate, including a Scottish Mrs Hudson. His Theodore Roosevelt is Bully! Arthur Conan Doyle, Parisian filmmaker, Georges Mélies, Arsene Lupin, a NYC reporter, a Russian-Jewish waiter, and young Holmes running towards Watson in Bart’s Chemical Lab, “I found it!” Absolutely great fun!

“In 1896, Holmes meets Edison at the dawn of moving pictures. Murder, ghosts and mystery intertwine as Holmes and Watson navigate New York’s diverse landscape alongside police chief Theodore Roosevelt.” – Sherlock Holmes Magazine.

FIVE STARS for Gretchen Altabef’s Sherlock Holmes: Five Miles of Country! The novel is likely to draw those who like innovation and a twist. Even those well-read in the genre cannot claim a complete knowledge until they’ve read this tale. The author’s handling of the real history that surrounds the murder of the vaudevillian is impressive. The mystery is solid, and its murder resolution is clever!” – Vincent F. A. Golphin for Reedsy Review.

“A  boldly portrayed Holmes. Exciting, ingenious, and a delight to read.” – John Sheppard for The Sherlock Holmes Journal.

“This elegant publication… cleverly develops an ingenious and original new plot, finally delivering to the reader a stunning conclusion to the novel.” – Review by Julia Stoneham for The Historical Novel Society.

“A Must Read! I encourage enthusiasts of mysteries and thrillers to travel through Five Miles of Country. They will find the journey thrilling. For Holmes fans and lovers of historical fiction the book will feel, like a visit from an old friend, a pleasing homage. Altabef does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proud with a smashing conclusion.” – Robert Carpenter for Reedsy Review.

“Gretchen Altabef is, beyond doubt, one of the most preeminent writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches.” – Wendy Heyman-Marsaw.

Gretchen Altabef is an award-winning author of new Sherlock Holmes mysteries, sci-fi and historical stories. Her books brim with imagination and a news reporter’s excitement for the true history of the day. THESE SCATTERED HOUSES brings Holmes to New York during his ‘great hiatus’ REMARKABLE POWER OF STIMULUS follows in London. During the investigation of a gruesome murder, Holmes is given a second chance with The Woman. The trilogy continues with FIVE MILES OF COUNTRY, where Holmes returns to New York to solve a murder in Thomas Edison’s moving picture studio, and Mrs Irene Adler-Holmes takes on Broadway. THE KEYS OF DEATH is a genesis story of the world’s most famous address, 221B Baker Street, told by it’s landlady, Mrs Hudson.