The Black Dove by Steve Hockensmith
Review by Thomas F. (hardtack)
This is book three in a send-off of the great ‘consulting detective.’ However, in this series Holmes and Watson are portrayed by two brothers: Gustav ‘Old Red’ and Otto ‘Big Red’ Amlingmeyer. It is the latter part of the 19th century and Gustav and Otto were enjoying themselves as real American cowboys, when Otto, who is literate, started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories in Harper’s magazine to his brother Gustav, who isn’t literate. It doesn’t help that Gustav, the more serious of the brothers, believes that Holmes is a real person.
Gustav catches the detecting bug and tries to convince Otto to give up just being a cowboy and start investigating crimes in the first novel—Holmes on the Range. 
This gets them into one royal mess after another, as Gustav just doesn’t know when to quit when the going gets really tough and dangerous. Fortunately, being an expert on reading trail sign helps Gustav unravel crime clues.
The Black Dove has our two retired cowboys trying to make their few dollars last in San Francisco after losing their jobs as railroad detectives in the second novel—On the Wrong Track. While Gustav mopes, Otto keeps hoping he will once again meet the lovely, female railroad detective he fell for. As the saying goes… be careful what you wish for.
While taking a short cut through Chinatown, the brothers see an old friend, a Chinese herbal doctor, they met on a train in the second novel. Imagine their surprise when the first thing the Chinese doctor tries to do is kill Otto. However, it was all a mistake, but this is just the beginning of their third adventure, a trail of bodies and numerous narrow escapes for our heroes.
Solving the mystery in this novel requires the brothers to go places they never imagined in a foreign culture—Chinatown— that bewilders them with its customs. Opium dens, herbal medicine shops, slavery, Tongs, hatchetmen and white racists are among the stumbling blocks the brothers and their female companion must overcome before Gustav finally reasons out the motive for the several crimes they uncover.
As with Watson, Otto is the foil for his brother Gustav. Otto does the narration for their adventures and it helps that he has a well developed sense of humor that his brother lacks. Otto does a marvelous job keeping the story light-hearted with his numerous asides, even in the face of sometimes certain death.
Even if you are not a fan of the numerous non-Arthur Conan Doyle tales of Holmes, by various authors, you should still read this fun series featuring Big Red and Old Red. There are five novels in the series, followed by a collection of short stories explaining how the cowboy brothers got stampeded into the detecting business in the first place.
Holmes on the Range Series
