The Unfortunate Tobacconist and the Paradol Chamber

Rating:
Summary: The Best of Holmes -- The Worst of Holmes
Review: "The Unfortunate Tobacconist" showcases how well Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green can craft a Holmes mystery. The plot is well-constructed, the characters engaging, and Holmes is refreshingly humble. The story's only real flaw is that it suffers from a somewhat obvious solution--a shortcoming of many of the Boucher-Green collaborations. "The Paradol Chamber" on the other hand is as contrived and silly a piece of work as one could hope to imagine. In Boucher's and Green's defense, you must admit that Conan Doyle, who only wrote 56 Holmes stories, wrote several stinkers himself. Boucher and Green cranked out over 200 stories, and they did it on a much tighter schedule than Conan Doyle worked against. Regardless of the poor quality of "The Paradol Chamber," the chemistry between Bruce and Rathbone is perfect, and they never fail to entertain.