The "missing years" following the purported loss to the world of Sherlock Holmes at Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, at the hands of the villainous Moriarty, until the seemingly inexplicable reappearance of Holmes in "The Adventure of the Empty House" are ripe territory for contemporary authors to imagine all-new Holmes adventures. Indian author Vasudev Murthy has taken up this quest, and his first in the Series is SHERLOCK HOLMES THE MISSING YEARS JAPAN. The grieving Dr. Watson, amanuensis and sidekick, receives a request to accompany Holmes' violin to Yokohama! On the voyage, Watson is confronted with an "impossible" locked room murder on shipboard, intensifying the story's complexity. An imaginative look into a previously unforeseen possibility and a new adventure for Holmes and for Watson.

I apologize for being very tardy in my review. An interesting and cross cultural book, dealing with Sherlock and the Japanese culture. I enjoyed it, and learned a fair bit about the new culture.

They mystery of what happened after the Reichenback Falls, the form of this story keeps true to the style of Conan Doyle. Called a "seriocomic" - this is adventure with humour, with the call of the East seeing Holmes and Watson in Japan, with Moriarty skulking in the shadows.

This book looks at what happened to Holmes between the Reichenbach Falls and his return to London. In this book Holmes makes his way all over the world. Moriarty is alive and dangerous, and Holmes is under surveillance and in constant danger. I enjoyed reading about Holmes's strategies for travelling undercover. Watson takes off across the globe with Holmes in this adventure. While this book was a pleasant enough way to pass the time, it didn't necessarily stand out for me among other Holmes pastiches. If I found another book in this series, I'd probably read it. This is a classic three-star read for me- pleasant but unmemorable.