A resident of Waynesville, Boyer (pictured) is author of the newly published “The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes,” a collection of five full-length stories based upon the legendary detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Returning to his literary roots was, well, simply elementary for an author whose career highlights range from an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel presented by the Mystery Writers of America for the first work in his popular Doc Adams mystery series, to critical acclaim and commercial success for his best-selling nonfiction work “Places Rated Almanac.”

“Basically, Sherlock Holmes is and remains the greatest consulting detective the world has ever known,” Boyer said. “I thought that since I was going to give it my best to become an author, I had better select the ideal author to act as my example and my mentor.”

Boyer’s debut novel, “The Giant Rat of Sumatra,” was first published in 1976 in paperback. Based on a famous Sherlockian adventure mentioned in passing in Doyle’s “The Sussex Vampire,” the story was hailed by the late John Bennett Shaw as “the best and most authentic modern Sherlock Holmes tale yet written.”

“I never thought this book would last over a year’s time in the marketplace – especially in the crime and suspense marketplace, which is very, very tough,” Boyer said. “But 30 years have come and gone, and guess what? ‘Giant Rat’ has been continuously in print for 33 years, and it remains published all over the globe in many languages.”

Even as he turned his attention to the Doc Adams mystery series – a sequence of nine novels centered on the misadventures of a New England oral surgeon who frequently finds himself in the midst of murder, mayhem and mystery – Boyer continued to also write novellas featuring Sherlock Holmes. “I wanted to open cases never seen before in the public eye,” he said.

Those works are now published together for the first time in “The Quintessential Sherlock Holmes,” a limited edition tome featuring leather binding and Kevlar slipcase. It is published by Alexander Books of North Carolina.

“I have had no major feelings of apprehension about following in the footsteps of Arthur Conan Doyle,” Boyer said. “I had some trepidation, to be sure, but soon found myself engaged and engrossed with Victorian England, London and the English countryside. After all, Sherlock Holmes will never die. He’ll never even catch a cold.”

Boyer said he sees the continuing adventures of Sherlock Holmes as a refuge for those readers seeking an alternative to the sensationalistic, violence-ridden fare being offered up by so many of today’s contemporary authors.

“There are millions – no tens of millions – of Sherlockian fans out there all over the world, speaking all sorts of languages and dialects. The enthusiasm and excitement never wanes,” he said. “Frankly, I am disappointed with America and all she is producing lately. The BBC is tenfold better than anything on American TV. Their books are better, and their sense of decency and fair play (all exemplified by Sherlock Holmes and faithful sidekick John Watson), will never leave the literary stage.”

For information about Boyer’s latest book, visit http://www.sherlockholmeslives.com/. To learn more about Western’s English department, call (828) 227-7264.

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Last Modified: Friday, July 18, 2008