If you are a fan of classic murder mysteries like I am, you will simply lose your mind over the title of this book, written by the prolific James Patterson and coauthor Brian Sitts. Although HOLMES, MARPLE & POE is set in the present and the characters merely bear these famous names, each carries with them an air of mystery and plenty of traits that are reminiscent of these legendary figures.

Setting themselves up in what was once a bakery in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe now have a place to call home, which also acts as the headquarters for Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. Their investigative skills are held in high regard by some members of local and national law enforcement. As a result, they are a high-priced trio who often get the cases no one else is able to solve.

"Patterson and Sitts took a big gamble with HOLMES, MARPLE & POE, but I am happy to say that the end result is quite successful. The handling of these literary giants is done with the honor and respect necessary to give the story credibility."

The premise of the novel is nicely covered by this opening quote from Dame Agatha Christie: "Very few of us are what we seem." It is quite easy for readers to move past the distraction caused by the book’s title and accept the fact that these are three brilliant detectives operating in the modern age. At the onset, we see them working with NYPD Detective Helene Grey on a case involving bodies found just north of Manhattan. Unlike the mayor or police commissioner, she has full trust in them.

We then meet a billionaire media mogul who has had two extremely rare and expensive pieces of art stolen from his Manhattan apartment: an original First Folio from William Shakespeare and a 1455 Gutenberg Bible. Holmes, Marple and Poe find Huntley Bain to be abrasive and unhelpful. Regardless of his demeanor, they need to get down to business, and they assure him that they will keep their investigation low-profile.

Even though Bain wants them to work exclusively on his case, they just can’t help themselves from getting involved in others. Among them: the kidnapping of the daughter of a prominent family and the discovery of numerous bones in a Manhattan subway tunnel.

Holmes, Marple and Poe must face their own set of challenges, including Holmes’ addiction to heroin (an unfortunate nod to his namesake). This serious problem easily could be life-threatening, and he desperately tries to keep it from his partners, even though they all reside in the apartments above their Bushwick offices.

Patterson and Sitts took a big gamble with HOLMES, MARPLE & POE, but I am happy to say that the end result is quite successful. The handling of these literary giants is done with the honor and respect necessary to give the story credibility. I am sure this is not the last we will hear from this formidable trio.