The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Improbable Prisoner

First, the positives: The author writes Watson's voice well, and the behavior of both Holmes and Watson is generally true to character. He exhibits an impressive knowledge of the milieu. In this story, some nefarious villain decides to frame Watson for a murder he didn't commit, and much of the story takes place within the walls of Holloway Prison, where Watson runs afoul of guards, inmates, and the Governor himself. In addition, much of this happens because Watson happens to be the target of an up-and-coming Inspector Potter, of Scotland Yard, who - on the weakest of evidende - is determined to see Watson hang. What doesn't work: The "police work" is the sloppiest imaginable, with Potter having already convicted Watson in his head, and telling the world this. There is one point (minor spoiler alert!) where, after Watson is released to Holmes' recognizance, Potter shows up with "new evidence" that sends Watson back to the prison: An anonymous note claiming that Watson committed the murder. Anonymous notes are NOT evidence. That wouldn't happen in anything short of the Spanish Inquisition. The whole story fell apart for me, there. This is really lazy plotting, and the author - and the story - dropped several levels in my estimation. Generally, an unpleasant enough read. Until the "additional evidence", I was hoping for it to be over soon. I trudged about 70% through this book, then gave up. The plot is flimsy, and the characters of Inspector Potter and Sir Campbell MacLachlan are simply not believable. I will try another of this author's books, in hopes that it's stronger. The plot of this one simply collapsed, and I can't recommend it at all.