Journalist Robert Goldsborough, a long time fan of the series, had written an unofficial sequel as a Christmas present for his mother.

[4] Nicolas Read, of The Vancouver Sun, thought it a rare exception to the general rule of imitation not being as good as the original, with character relationships being recaptured well.

[2] Robert Reid, in the Waterloo Region Record, agreed, opining that Goldsborough remained faithful to the "tradition and style" of the characters.

Bill McLaughlin thought it was a downgrade when compared to Murder in E Minor, with Goldsborough often seeming to try too hard to replicate the series' original mannerisms.

[6] More critical still was Neil Ewing's review in the Clarion-Ledger, in which he opined that it was inauthentic to the original series and that "the spark of individualism, the essence of Stout, just isn't there."