''A Three-Pipe Problem'' is a 1975
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
detective novel
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
by the British writer
Julian Symons
Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
.
[Bargainnier p.220] A
pastiche of the original
Sherlock Holmes stories by
Arthur Conan Doyle, it takes place in the present day. The title refers to a line spoken in ''
The Red-Headed League
"The Red-Headed League" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It first appeared in ''The Strand Magazine'' in August 1891, with illustrations by Sidney Paget. Conan Doyle ranked "The Red-Headed Leag ...
'', referring to a particularly tricky problem that will take Holmes the time it takes to smoke three
pipes
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
to solve. It was followed by a sequel ''
The Kentish Manor Murders''.
Synopsis
Overbearing and reactionary actor Sheridan Haynes has a fascination with Sherlock Holmes, and is cast to play him in a new television series. Overidentifying with the role he sets out to investigate three murders that
Scotland Yard have failed to solve.
References
Bibliography
* Bargainnier, Earl F. ''Twelve Englishmen of Mystery''. Popular Press, 1984.
* Caserio, Robert L. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century English Novel''. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
* Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015.
1975 British novels
Novels by Julian Symons
British detective novels
British crime novels
British mystery novels
Novels set in London
Collins Crime Club books
Sherlock Holmes novels
Sherlock Holmes pastiches
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