Exclusive interview with The Baker Street Translation author Michael Robertson about the third book in the series. Rating: Four Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
Rating: Four Stars
“I got the idea more than 30 years ago, when I read a newspaper article about how letters written to Sherlock Holmes were being delivered to the corporate headquarters of a bank in London that just happened to occupy the entire 200 block of Baker Street,” says The Baker Street Translation author Michael Robertson. “From there it was easy to imagine what might happen if someone other than the bank staff, say a slightly unconventional barrister like my protagonist, took a leasehold on that address and began to receive the letters.”
Sherlock Homes is always in vogue. The Baker Street Translation is the third book in The Baker Street Letters series. In it we meet Reggie and Nigel Heath, brothers and lawyers with offices at 221B Baker Street in London. As part of the rent agreement they have to answer mail addressed to Sherlock Homes. There is a formula to answering the letters, but occasionally Nigel doesn’t follow the formula which ends up with cases to be solved. A kidnapper wants some letters that were sent to Sherlock Homes for the release of publishing magnate Robert Buxton. Mr Lui was translating nursery rhymes. The person he’s working for refuses to pay him saying his work is sub-par. The next day Mr. Liu’s found horribly murdered. Can Reggie find Robert, and who murdered Mr. Lui?
The writing style is dialogue-driven and using the letters adds a level of fun and suspense to the novel. Robertson’s characters are quirky and engaging. The premise of each case starting from a letter gives the author many opportunities to add books to the series. Can’t wait for the next book.
“When I was marketing my first screenplay version of the idea in Hollywood, all the way back in the mid 1980s, I stopped in for happy hour at the Marie Callender’s on Wilshire by the La Brea tar pits,” says Robertson. “I tried to impress a waitress there with what I was working on, and I realized after a few minutes of conversation that she was one of those people who in fact didn’t know that Sherlock Holmes was fictional.”
For research, Robertson spent a lot of time in London. “I got footsore walking about in Picadilly Circus, Baker Street, and Regent’s Park, where much of the action takes place. I considered, and then refrained, from trying to tramp down into the sewers, formerly underground rivers that run below Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, and which are important in the book. It’s illegal to venture into those, and not necessarily good for your health, especially if you don’t have thigh-high waders.”
“Recently I’ve been doing most of my detailed research online,” says Robertson. “But I also have a ton of old reference books from used bookstores and from the Goodwill. And years ago, when I was doing the first book in the series, I spent a lot of time going through microfiche in the library. It’s hard on the eyes, but sometimes you still have to do it. Not everything has been digitized.”
Robertson didn’t set out initially to write books. “Many years before the first one was published, I wrote screenplays and sitcom pilots, all on spec, until I finally had to give it up and get a real job,” says Robertson. “I’m a southern California native, but for years I’ve had a day job in which I collaborated with people in England. That helped me immensely in capturing the way my characters think and talk.”
Robertson is currently finishing the fourth book in the series, to be published early 2014. Robertson is based in San Clemente, California. He was born in San Diego.
The Baker Street Translation: A Mystery by Michael Robertson. Hardcover, 288 pages, Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition (April 2, 2013). Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-1250016454 $24.99 Kindle $10.67
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