Things are finally looking up for the Amlingmeyer brothers. Otto aka Big Red has become a published author, having written up the cases solved by his brother, Gus, aka Old Red, the so-called Holmes On The Range. Despite the trauma suffered by Gus in The Crack In The Lens, it’s time to get back in the sleuthing saddle, because in two days’ time, in Chicago, the Pinkerton Detective Agency are running a competition to find the World’s Greatest Sleuth at the Columbian Exhibition.

Up against the finest that England and France have to offer, along with Colonel Crowe and Diana Corvus, the one-true-love of Otto’s life (in his opinion at least), it looks as if the competition will be fierce – even if it transpires that the brothers were Otto’s publisher’s third choice. But when the competition setter is found face down in the World’s Largest Cheddar, and most of the sleuths come to the conclusion that he accidentally passed out from cheese fumes and suffocated, Old Red decides it’s time to hunt for a murderer… because the victim’s hair has a very familiar smell…

Finally caught up with my Holmes On The Range re-reads – so now I can get on and read the new ones! There was a seven year gap between this and the following The Double-A Western Detective Agency, so this was clearly written as a conclusion of sorts of the brothers’ quest to be taken seriously as detectives, and a very satisfying conclusion at that.

It’s funny, moving and while probably best read as the fifth in the series, there’s still a lot to like here. It was the first books that I awarded the Puzzly to, and it’s always interesting to look back and see if my tastes have changed. Yes, there are some books from fourteen years ago that I probably wouldn’t consider for book of the month – heck, there’s even one or two that I’m not sure I’d enjoy – but I was delighted to see this wasn’t one of them.

It’s just wonderful – I’m not going to re-write what I said back in 2012, but here’s a link to the review if you need more convincing. But if you want something a little different, I strongly recommend this five book series from Holmes In The Range to this one. Marvellous fun, and I’m looking forward to diving back into the range very soon…