Last winter, The District Messenger, official newsletter of the Sherlock Holmes Society in London dubbed Eden Prairie resident Jeff Falkingham’s book “a cracking good read” and “a real page-turner.”

What made those Holmes fans into Falkingham fans?

Well, it’s his book, set partly in his hometown of Browns Valley, Minn. He describes the book as “a work of historical fiction for young adults, grades five through eight, it was originally written for them.

“It’s a good book for getting young people, especially boys, interested in reading and history,” he said. The narrator is a 12-year-old boy.

“It’s also found a following among history buffs and mystery readers,” he points out.

The book takes you back to Browns Valley from the 1860s to 1887. It highlights a battle with a neighboring town over which town would become the county seat.

“There’s a lot of Minnesota history there and a lot of Minnesota geography.”

The setting and some characters are factual, Falkingham said. Some characters are fictional.

Speaking of fictional characters, Sherlock Holmes comes to Browns Valley in the book. Yes, that Sherlock Holmes.

How does he get there?

“Watson had come to America to study the latest surgical procedures, he was formerly an army surgeon,” Falkingham said. “And he was in San Francisco and he met a woman. After about three days he decided he wanted to marry her. He wired Holmes about it in England. Holmes was quite surprised and he came to America to check up on his friend and to meet the woman.”

Holmes caught up with Watson, who was now in Rochester, Minn., studying with Dr. Mayo.

“I guess he didn’t think much of the fiancé because he didn’t stay there very long,” Falkingham said. Then Holmes went to St. Paul, visited Fort Snelling, and as he looked at where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers join, he decided to take a train to seek the “true source of the Mississippi.” He ended up in Browns Valley.

The author wrote the book in 2001, but is reissuing it to raise money for the Browns Valley

About a year ago, Browns Valley was flooded. “About 60 families were forced out of their homes and many of them were elderly retired folks living on fixed income and with no insurance,” he said. “Many had been lifelong friends of my parents who lived there all their lives. … I talked to my publisher to see if we could reprint this with all the proceeds going to flood victims in Browns Valley.”

Now everybody that makes a minimum donation of $17 to Browns Valley flood relief fund gets a copy of the book. To get a copy of the 2007 Flood Edition, send a donation of $17 or more (plus $3 shipping/handling) to: BV Flood Relief, P.O. Box 307, Browns Valley, MN 56219.

“All the proceeds from this book go to the long-term flood recovery fund in Browns Valley,” Falkingham said. “I don’t get a penny; my publisher [Beaver’s Pond Press in Edina] doesn’t get a penny.” They have raised about $5,000.

Falkingham, a resident of Eden Prairie since 1983, works in the advertising department at Northern Tool and Equipment in Burnsville. He also works as a weekend starter/ranger at Glen Lake Golf Course.

“It’s been fun,” Falkingham said of his latest push to sell the book. “And it’s been so much fun that I finally decided to write a sequel.”

He started work on his latest book in January, he said. This book takes place 10 years after the first book. It’s called, “In Search of the Source.”

In this book, Falkingham said, Holmes comes back to attend the wedding of the 12-year-old boy who narrated the first story.

“Sherlock Holmes comes back to attend his wedding and before the happy event can go off they get involved in some shenanigans,” he said. This story will take place in St. Paul and St. Cloud, where Falkingham went to college.

He will be among about 50 regional authors at the Bloomington art center for a Writers’ Festival and Book Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road. For more information, visit www.bloomingtonartcenter.com.

For more about the book, visit www.cccaper.com.

Click here and here for excerpts from the book.