A Bonus Holiday Gift: “Ornamental, My Dear Watson”

One of the giveaways in my recent author newsletter was my story “Ornamental, My Dear Watson”—a holiday-themed tale published in by Crippen & Landru as a standalone, limited-edition pamphlet for their subscribers. (Their giveaway was intended for last Christmas, but ended up a post-Christmas story—published in January 2021. Blame me.)

While I couldn’t offer to send a copy of the pamphlet to everyone who entered the drawing (winners here), Crippen & Landru has graciously allowed me to share a PDF of the story here as a seasonal giveaway.

“Ornamental, My Dear Watson” was a fun story to write—inspired by William Maxwell’s “The Lily-White Boys” (one of my own favorite holiday tales) and informed by my love of Sherlock Holmes. You can read a bit more about the story here, in addition to reading the full story below.

Hope you might enjoy—and happy holidays to all!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.