Exclusive!; Author Interview with Mark Sohn

The latest addition to the plenitudinous array of Sherlock Holmes novels is out on Amazon this very week; The Absentee Detective is Mark Sohn’s second Holmesian work, following on from Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Murders, an Amazon best-seller. We’ve managed to secure an exclusive interview with the Author – which, to be honest, wasn’t that much of a scoop seeing as I am Mark Sohn… still, work with what you’ve got, as the Magistrate said to the flasher…

Ahem. So, I decided to ask – erm, myself some searching questions…

So, why ‘The Absentee Detective?’

Well, the book’s an anthology; four stories set in and around the World of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes himself makes an appearance, but only in one of these tales – and you won’t be sure which one until the very end.

Why not just do four Sherlock Holmes stories?; isn’t that the point?

You can get that in a thousand other books; I wanted to go beyond that, to explore what Sherlock Holmes really means – and to do that I had to explore other angles; in one story, for instance, the actor Basil Rathbone finds himself facing danger – not as his famous alter-ego so familiar to millions on the silver screen, but as a flesh and blood man facing a terrible dilemma. If you just want some run of the mill detective fiction, this book won’t be for you, but if you want to go deep into the experience of being Holmes, I think I’ve found a way for you to do that while still giving the readers plenty of good old-fashioned thrills, mystery and suspense.

So the stories place the reader, as it were, in the position of Sherlock Holmes?

To an extent, yes. I’ve used other characters – even myself in one instance, as a kind of metaphorical Holmes; actors that play him feature in two of the stories, while in one Doctor Watson has to work to solve the mystery. How does a ‘normal’ person attempt to solve the sort of crimes only Sherlock Holmes can tackle – how do you go through those legendary thought processes without such a first-rate mind? That’s what you get as you go through the stories.

The theme of airships – I’ve noticed that you keep returning to that… any reason?

Well, since I asked, erm, me – yes; I’ve always been fascinated with dirigibles – airships, blimps, call them what you will – I’d like to see them used more in everyday transportation, for a whole range of practical and environmental reasons… but really, they are just so cool I couldn’t resist ‘popping one in’ one of the tales. As I’m interviewing myself, can’t you ask how I manage to look so sexy or something?

No. No I can’t; the cover of Absentee Detective is fairly striking. Can you expand on that?.

Happy to; a very talented chap named Brian Belanger does the covers for my books, as well as quite a few other writers’ - I spoke to him at length and mentioned I was a huge fan of Saul Bass, the legendary artist who did such striking work on posters such as Hitchcock’s Vertigo. His angular silhouettes struck a chord and Brian came up with a terrific concept where a stylised Holmes stands in silhouette in an open doorway; it really stands out and I think is, if anything, even better than his work on the first book.

Finally; what’s it like interviewing yourself?

Frankly, bizarre; where’s my fee?

Already spent; Mark Sohn, thank you very much…

The Absentee Detective is available now from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Absentee-Detective-Conspiracy-Connivance-Intrigue/dp/1787053407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539219472&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AMark+Sohn