The Italian Secretary wasn't written by Arthur Conan Doyle, but it is very similar to all the ones that he did write. The language, the characters, are all much the same as the other stories.
This book's title refers to the 16th century murder of David Rizzio, the titular Italian secretary to Her Majesty Mary, Queen of Scots. It's as much a historical novel as it can be, set in Scotland in Holyrood House, amidst the proud reign of Queen Victoria. The story of Rizzio's murder is retold by Holmes himself, and his vivid language captures the imagination, turning the reader from a passive observer to a horrified witness who detests the acts of Rizzio's murderers.
Holmes is, differently than in the BBC series, a black and white advocate of good. He renounces murder, seeks justice, and doesn't just go about solving life-and-death puzzles for the fun of it. (not to bash the new series, but I think in even Doyle's stories Holmes always was concerned for justice, and though he did lapse into an appreciation of the villain's methods, he had no patience for miscreants who snuffed out lives, often far before they should have been. In this he is much like Agatha Christie's Poiroit. But I digress.) His and Watson's firm morals are always a welcome read.
Contrasted with the "good guys", of course, is the "bad guys". They are truly bad, greedy, selfish, murderous, crafty, cunning, and all the other things a proper Holmes villain should be. One of them (off-screen) has seduced one of the maids of the house, though nothing graphic is said, the only word used is "despoiled", and the young woman very much regrets her choices.
Mycroft also features in this story, with the murder of two of the men renovating the house being, apparently, a major cause for concern among the man who occupies a "minor position in the British government" (quote from the BBC series there). Their murders bear a remarkable similarity to Rizzio's murder, though I don't want to give away too much. The book takes a ghostly turn, with Holyrood House seeming to be haunted by the ghost of "the Italian gentleman", as the Scottish locals call him. Even Holmes gives credence to the power of ghosts, a fact Watson finds very unsettling. (It is a Holmes story, though--spoiler*)
There are, of course, murders, a few battle or fight scenes, one man is missing an eye and has a glass replacement that falls out--Watson is grossed out, if I may use the term--, the body of the most recent victim is described by Watson the surgeon, but it is, like everything else, not too graphic and very much in keeping with Doyle's manner. The psychology of the thing, the villain's plot, was always more important.
With all these elements, combined with a well-paced plot, (and a rather large and Victorian vocabulary), The Italian Secretary is a book I'd give perhaps a PG-13 rating, but heartily recommend to anyone else. It is a very fine addition to the already marvelous collection of Holmes stories, and a book I've already re-read.
*spoiler--though not quite a big one:
The ghost isn't real, though there's the conspirator who was never found who bore a remarkable similarity to the description of Rizzio. At the end, Watson follows a girl (also remarkably similar to someone who was murdered years ago) into an also presumably haunted house, only to find her gone, seemingly vanished. He weakly says that she must have ran into the other house, but the reader is left to think that she hadn't. Holmes then explains his statement, that he gave credence to the power of ghosts. He had meant that if people believe something, even if it isn't true, it gives it power, because this belief forces a person to act in a certain way. Even if you deny it's veracity, the very act of denying it proves its existence, because you must have something to deny. It's a rather true statement, actually.
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