THE CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, VOL. 1

Here is another fine entry in the BBC Sherlock Holmes radio series, featuring a full-cast production. Each episode begins with a moody violin, and stories are presented in episodic flashes. Background sounds are subdued and effective: workmen milling about, sounds of the seashore, echoes in a wood-paneled room, a gunshot and falling body, and the occasional violin. Clive Merrison is effective as a clipped-voiced Sherlock Holmes; Michael Williams plays Watson straight (not befuddled) as do the stories. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 98]