Eighty-three short stories.

"To provide a little guidance through this massive tome, I've divided the stories into several categories but admit, immediately, it is of questionable validity, as many of the stories fall into more than one subdivision (A.A. Milne and P.G. Wodehouse, for example, will be found in the "Literary Writers" section but, since they wrote parodies, they could be found there just as easily). It's not unlike making lists of foods that are delicious and foods that are fattening: there will be overlapping. The two most reasonable choices are to ignore the categorizations altogether or to suggest that you don't take them very much to heart and just enjoy the stories"--Contents, page vii.

Introduction / Otto Penzler -- Field bazaar / Arthur Conan Doy le -- How Watson learned the trick / Arthur Conan Doyle -- Unique "Hamlet" / Vincent Starrett -- Stolen cigar-case / Bret Harte -- Case of the man who was wanted / Arthur Whitaker -- Adventure of the two collaborators / James M. Barrie -- Sleuths / O. Henry -- Holmes and the dasher / A. B. Cox -- Irreducible detective story / Stephen Leacock -- Doctor's case / Stephen King -- Brown recluse / Davis Grubb -- Darkwater Hall mystery / Kingsley Amis -- Case of the gifted amateur / J. C. Masterman -- Late Sherlock Holmes / James M. Barrie -- Sherlock Holmes and the drood mystery / Edmund Pearson -- Rape of the Sherlock / A. A. Milne -- From a detective's notebook / P. G. Wodehouse -- Ruby of Khitmandu / Hugh Kingsmill -- Adventure of the remarkable worm / August Derleth -- Enchanted garden / H. F. Heard -- Study in handwriting / Ring W. Lardner -- Case of death and honey / Neil Gaiman -- Murder to music / Anthony Burgess -- Evening with Sherlock Holmes / James M. Barrie -- Detective stories gone wrong: the adventures of Sherlaw Kombs / Robert Barr -- Sherlock Holmes vs. Conan Doyle / Anonymous -- Duke's feather / R. C. Lehmann -- Sign of the "400" / Roy L. Mccardell -- Codeine (7 per cent) / Christopher Morley -- Mrs. Hudson's case / Laurie R. King -- Final problem / Bliss Austin -- Adventure of the Bogle-Wolf / Anthony Boucher -- Martian crown jewels / Poul Anderson -- Sherlock among the spirits / Anonymous -- Case of the missing patriarchs / Logan Clendening -- Devil and Sherlock Holmes / Loren D. Estleman -- Strange case of the megatherium thefts / S. C. Roberts -- Adventure of the noble husband / Peter Cannon.

Night with Sherlock Holmes / William O. Fuller -- Adventure of the wooden box / Leslie S. Klinger -- Case of the unseen hand / Donald Thomas -- Abandoned brigantine / Sam Benady -- Adventure of the curious canary / Barry Day -- Adventure of the murdered art editor / Frederic Dorr Steele -- Darlington substitution scandal / David Stuart Davies -- Problem of the purple maculas / James C. Iraldi -- Adventure of the second swag / Robert Barr -- Sheer luck again / Stanley Rubinstein -- Pragmatic enigma / John Kendrick Bangs -- Herlock Shomes at it again / Anonymous -- Reigate Road murder / Anthony Armstrong -- Succored beauty / William B. Kahn -- Marriage of Sherlock Holmes / Gregory Breitman -- Return of Sherlock Holmes / E. F. Benson and Eustace H. Miles -- Unmasking of Sherlock Holmes / Arthur Chapman -- Adventure of the diamond necklace / George F. Forrest -- Adventure of the ascot tie / Robert L. Fish -- Case of mis-identity / Colin Dexter -- Startling events in the electrified city / Thomas Perry -- Case of Colonel Warburton's madness/ Lyndsay Faye -- Infernal machine / John Lutz -- Specter of Tullyfane Abbey / Peter Tremayne -- Adventure of the agitated actress / Daniel Stashower -- Adventure of the Dorset Street lodger / Michael Moorcock -- Adventure of the venomous lizard / Bill Crider -- Case of the Friesland outrage / June Thomson -- Strange case of the tongue-tied tenor / Carol Buggě -- Human mystery / Tanith Lee -- Hostage to fortune / Anne Perry -- Adventure of the missing countess / Jon Koons.

Adventure of Zolnay, the aerialist / Rick Boyer -- Adventure of the giant rat of Sumatra / John T. Lescroart -- Did Sherlock Holmes meet Hercule . . . ? / Julian Symons -- Trifling affair / H. R. F. Keating -- Raffles: the enigma of the admiral's hat / Barry Perowne -- Raffles on the trail of the hound / Barry Perowne -- Adventure of the cipher in the sand / Edward D. Hoch -- South Sea Soup Co. / Kenneth Millar -- Adventure of the clothes-line / Carolyn Wells -- Sherlock Holmes and the muffin / Dorothy B. Hughes -- Man from Capetown / Stuart M. Kaminsky -- But our hero was not dead / Manly Wade Wellman -- Adventure of the marked man / Stuart Palmer.