Holmes on the Range

By: Steve Hockensmith

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar-VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favorite pastime: scouring Harper's Weekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes.

When another ranch hand turns up in an outhouse with a bullet in his brain, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to put his Holmes-inspired detective talents to work and solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.

©2006 Steve Hockensmith (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Mystery Writers of America 2007 Edgar Nominee, Best First Novel by an American Author

"Sherlockians, western fans, and mystery lovers who enjoy their whodunits leavened with humor should all be delighted by Hockensmith's captivating debut." (Publishers Weekly)
"This first novel will keep both mystery fans and afficionados of Westerns grinning from the first page to the last." (Library Journal)

Great Fun!!!

This is an enjoyable romp through the old west with a Holmes feel to it. There was plenty of light humor mixed in. Not a deep thriller, just good entertainment. William Dufris was right on the money. There was some rough language, but not vulgar. Enjoyable to find a book not filled with sex, vampires, zombies, etc.

Fantastic little western detective story

This was a great story that is fit for all ages and was definitely worth listening to. I will be sure to listen to the whole series.

Uneven

It started out fun. Great premise. Two good charachters, the story just sort of petered out. Loved the short story it was based on and so got this. It's well read but I probably won't listen to it again.

If you love Sherlock...

Folksy and funny, and a good puzzling mystery. I will definitely look for more Gustav and Otto "Holmes" prowling the range.

Ranch Hand Holmes

A Montana based contemporary of Holmes who has followed Watson's stories and faithfully duplicated the great detectives methods. It is a witty and entertaining story.
I really look forward to more Old Red and Big Red!

A fun listen

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, if they were looking for something entertaining & light.

Which scene was your favorite?

Now, that'd be giving away something!

Any additional comments?

This is a story of a cowboy inspired by the stories of Holmes in the paper, no direct connection to the great detective otherwise. As such, it's a lot of fun as our determined cow puncher & his sidekick sort out what's amiss on the ranch.

What a fun listen this was!

I was looking for a new genre and found myself downloading this, although westerns don't usually grab my interest and I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book. I'm certainly glad to have found this series! I loved the story--not too much of a mystery to confuse the daylights out of me; enough western to give it a bunkhouse flavor, and colorful characters abound. The author's pace is perfect.
Certainly, the reader has done a brilliant job of things. If you go into this realizing it's read like a vaudville play, you'll get great pleasure from the listening.
I'm off to download the next in the series now...

Amazing Narrator is great fit for this series.

I first read about this book and it's series in MysteryScene and I was definitely intrigued. Then I go to my audible account, find myself with 4 credits, and decide to take a chance. The moment I heard William Dufris's voice, my interest was caught and after a few minutes, I immediately came back on and bought the next 3 books in the series with my credits.
Dufris's voicework is amazing and he has quickly became my favorite narrator. And with this series, he is an incredible fit because his "voice" works so well with the main character's persona. Think of a warmer Jeff Foxworthy aww shucks type voice and you may have it nailed. As for the book, a great start to a fantastic series and I will be buying the last book in the series tomorrow and I simply can't wait.

Happy Surprise

I'm not sure why I even chose this one, but I'm so glad I did. Although it's not a favourite genre for me, I was entertained all the way. The writer is very funny and fairly original.

Audio: This reader came so close to being in the top rank, but he has a tendency to over-act slightly. Much of the time he sounds more like he's telling a story on a Vaudeville stage rather than imparting to you something that really happened. Still, he's endearing and talented.

Good story, salty language

I enjoyed this a lot. It's a light hearted mystery set in the old west about two brothers who go about "Holmesifying" when murder strikes the ranch where they work. It's an interesting mystery with an entertaining setting and memorable characters. The narrator does a good job with the main characters, but a few of the minor ones are English and his accent is not good. His English ladie's maid voice is down right horrible. They are small characters, so it didn't bother me that much. Also, the characters curse a fair amount. Even using the N word a few times. It fits in with the setting, though, and it's not too exessive. I really liked it overall.