The Case of the Disappearing Beaune by J. Lawrence Matthews Narrator: Thomas Judd
Published by Book Fluent on September 9, 2022
Source: Purchased
Genres: Christmas, Mystery
Length: 1 hr 4 mins
Pages: 47
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Audible
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Beaune [bōn] noun: a red Burgundy wine from the Côte de Beaune region of France.
Christmas morning, 1902: Sherlock Holmes discovers that the wine in a bottle of French Beaune (intended as a gift for Dr. Watson) has been switched with sand, and he suspects it means threat to the newly crowned King of England. Or does it? With Dr. Watson's help, he soon finds out...
How could I pass by Sherlock at Christmas? The Case of the Disappearing Beaune opens with Watson stopping by Sherlock’s rooms to invite him to Christmas dinner. Sherlock, of course, refuses, but as he gives Watson his Christmas gift, a bottle of beaune, the pair realizes the wine has been replaced with sand. And Sherlock knows where that sand is from. Sherlock is sure it signifies a threat to the king, so off the two go, on a race through London to solve the case.
For a short story, there were several twists and it showed off Holmes’ detecting style well. We also encounter several old friends along the way.
It’s a sweet, light Christmas story with a rather surprising ending. It makes a perfect holiday story, but perhaps a slightly disappointing mystery.
About J. Lawrence Matthews
J. Lawrence Matthews has contributed fiction to the New York Times and NPR’s All Things Considered, and, as Jeff Matthews, is the author of three non-fiction books about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. One Must Tell the Bees: Abraham Lincoln and the Final Education of Sherlock Holmes is his first novel, the result of twin passions for the original Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and American history as told on the battlefields of the Civil War. Matthews is now researching the sequel, which follows Sherlock Holmes a bit further afield—to Florence, Mecca and Tibet.