R. Holmes & Co.

R. Holmes & Co. is a collection of short stories written by American author John Kendrick Bangs. The book is a parody of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories featuring a bumbling detective named Raffles Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson. The stories follow Raffles Holmes and Dr. Watson as they attempt to solve various cases ranging from stolen jewels to missing persons. However Raffles Holmes' methods are unconventional and often lead to humorous misunderstandings and mishaps. But how will the cases be solved by Raffled and Dr Watson? In one story Raffles Holmes mistakes a janitor for a notorious criminal while in another he employs a team of actors to stage a fake crime scene in order to catch the real culprit. Throughout the book the author pokes fun at the conventions of detective fiction with Raffles Holmes constantly breaking the fourth wall to address the reader and comment on the absurdity of the situations he finds himself in. Despite its parody status R. Holmes & Co. is an entertaining and well-written collection of stories that offers a fresh take on the detective genre.