Edward G Pettit

Had a great time at Port Richmond Books today at the book release party for Duane Swierczynski's The Crimes of Dr Watson.  Crimes is an interactive mystery book with pull out clues and the solution sealed in the back pages.  Duane has taken a break from his usual criminal mayhem to edit a11 year-old unpublished manuscript which was found behind a wall of a building in Philadelphia.  Along with the manuscript was a collection of clues, which the publisher has reproduced for Crimes in all their authentic glory.  Turns out that Dr. Watson was involved in a dangerous case during the Great Hiatus (the three years when Sherlock Holmes was thought to have perished in a death-grapple with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls) and Watson sought the help of the American Civil War hero, Col H. Kelsh Resmo, residing in Philadelphia.  Why was Watson lingering in a London jail cell, charged with arson, torture and murder?  Without Holmes how can he redeem himself?  And there's a Philly connection!  How can you beat that. 

I also picked up a couple books that have been on my list for a long time: Peter DeVries' Reuben, Reuben (loved the Tom Conti movie and have always wanted to read the book) and Walter de la Mare's Memoirs of a Midget (Paul Dry Books has a reprint, but it was nice to find an old copy on the shelves) .  Greg Gillespie has a great used book shop.  If you're in Philly, be sure to stop by Port Richmond Books.