Official Site of Award-Winning Author Gretchen Altabef
The Keys of Death, Remarkable Power of Stimulus, These Scattered Houses - Three out of twenty top audiobook titles are Gretchen Altabef's Sherlock Holmes Novels. And narrated wonderfully by J.T. McDaniel. I am an MX author of new Sherlock Holmes novels. My writing springs from the same sense of justice as Dr. Watson’s, and Dr. Doyle’s. My… Continue reading OMG, 3 OF MY NOVELS ARE TOP 20 Sherlock Holmes Audiobooks of 2023!
Ms. Altabef has done a sterling job. Holmes’s voice rings clear and true in this excellent novel. Grand Staircase Palais Garnier, Paris These Scattered Houses is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche written by Gretchen Altabef and published by MX Publishing, London. Set in New York near the end of the Great Hiatus – Sherlock Holmes finds… Continue reading These Scattered Houses Review by Margaret Walsh
Let us establish one fact immediately. Gretchen Altabef is a remarkably talented author . . . she eschews the formulas that so often appear in Holmes pastiches and sets about creating a new format. Let us establish one fact immediately. Gretchen Altabef is a remarkably talented author. In These Scattered Houses, the first book in… Continue reading Harry DeMaio’s Book Review of These Scattered Houses
I looked at him anew, with an understanding I never had before and with awe for the magnitude of such a mind. In a flash I understood the cocaine, his moods, and his genius. MX Publishing has bundled together These Scattered Houses and Remarkable Power of Stimulus. My action packed original story of Holmes alone,… Continue reading Two-fer: 1 Novel + 1 Sequel
Henry Gritten, Mathew Vassar's Springside, View of Gardener's Cottage, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1858. "Of the hundreds of Sherlock Holmes pastiche mysteries available to the Sherlockian, very few can match this book for a depth of historical research, finely crafted sentences and paragraphs, and a heart-stopping thrill of a story." Ms. Altabef takes the reader on… Continue reading These Scattered Houses Review by Craig Stephen Copland
The author also captured Holmes’s voice very neatly. As I wrote my first three novels from Holmes’s point of view, I know all too well how difficult it is to make that voice sound authentic. The story takes place during The Great Hiatus, that period in Sherlock Holmes’s life when the world believed he was… Continue reading These Scattered Houses Review by Geri Schear
Rarely does a pastiche capture so many elements of an original Sherlock Holmes story as Ms, Altabef’s These Scattered Houses. Written in the first person, we are privy to Holmes’ thought processes, which are also evident in his often poignant journal entries intended for Dr. Watson’s later use. These entries recall the use of a… Continue reading These Scattered Houses Review by Wendy Heyman-Marsaw
The pace of this novel is well-judged. From the outset it is a gripping and colourful adventure with lots of action. Clear respect for the Canon is demonstrated in the many neat references and affectionate nods to the characters, stories and intrigues of the original texts, and some real-life characters, such as Harry Houdini and… Continue reading SHSL Journal Book Review of These Scattered Houses
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