rorikae's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
'The Affair of the Mysterious Letter' by Alexis Hall is a fun, fantastical retelling of Sherlock Holmes.
The story is told from the point of view of Captain Wyndham, a doctor who was previously a soldier. The story begins when Captain Wyndham is searching for lodgings and takes up an offer from the eccentric sorceress Shaharazad Haas. When one of Ms. Haas' acquaintances shows up with a mysterious letter that is trying to blackmail her, Haas takes up the case, pulling Wyndham along on a series of increasingly more intense adventures.
Hall has created a fun homage to Sherlock Holmes that injects fantasy and a touch of science fiction. Wyndham is a good point of view character and Ms. Haas is a fitting gender bent, fantastically inclined rework of Sherlock Holmes. The world is vast and I found that in some places it did feel a little bit underbaked. There is so much going on and such a wealth of history that Wyndham infuses into his narrative that it feels surface level at best. I think this does work with the story as long as you know it going in and are really looking for a fun, fantastical romp. The plot did feel like it stretched over a bit more time than it needed to and I wonder if two cases within the novel would have worked better. I did absolutely love the ending and the ultimate conclusion of the mystery though. It was a great piece of character work. This feels like the start of a series but to the best of my knowledge is a standalone (at least in 2023). I will definitely be picking up more of what Hall writes as he seems to do a great job with intriguing characters.
The story is told from the point of view of Captain Wyndham, a doctor who was previously a soldier. The story begins when Captain Wyndham is searching for lodgings and takes up an offer from the eccentric sorceress Shaharazad Haas. When one of Ms. Haas' acquaintances shows up with a mysterious letter that is trying to blackmail her, Haas takes up the case, pulling Wyndham along on a series of increasingly more intense adventures.
Hall has created a fun homage to Sherlock Holmes that injects fantasy and a touch of science fiction. Wyndham is a good point of view character and Ms. Haas is a fitting gender bent, fantastically inclined rework of Sherlock Holmes. The world is vast and I found that in some places it did feel a little bit underbaked. There is so much going on and such a wealth of history that Wyndham infuses into his narrative that it feels surface level at best. I think this does work with the story as long as you know it going in and are really looking for a fun, fantastical romp. The plot did feel like it stretched over a bit more time than it needed to and I wonder if two cases within the novel would have worked better. I did absolutely love the ending and the ultimate conclusion of the mystery though. It was a great piece of character work. This feels like the start of a series but to the best of my knowledge is a standalone (at least in 2023). I will definitely be picking up more of what Hall writes as he seems to do a great job with intriguing characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: War and Police brutality
alba_marie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
3.5 Stars rounded up.
"I believe the right to disregard the law is intrinsic and unalienable."
The premise of this is great. Basically, it is a fantasy, gender-reversed, sorceress take on Sherlock Holmes. It's an adventure story, full of swashbuckling heroes, gothic monsters and evil villains. There are time travellers too, sweeping – and tragic – love stories, and a litany of bizarre characters along the way.
I love the way that it's broken into "instalments" – the way that things were published during the Victorian era. The author did a great job at the characterisation of Shaharazad Haas, Hall's take on Sherlock Holmes. Her sidekick John Wyndim, and his constant attempt at moralising tales that are amoral, added a hilarious element to the book.
I couldn't give much of a summary other than that Shaharazad is hired by a friend, Irenie, to investigate a blackmailing, and Shaharazad and John investigate a list of five suspects, spread over five instalments.
I fully admit I wasn't as tapped into the story as I could be, and wish I had given more focus on the details. However, I started listening to the book at the tail end of work as maternity leave was about to start, so in the flurry of stress and activity wrapping things up at work, I sadly didn't give the audiobook my full attention until after mat leave started about halfway through. I missed out on some of the details in the earlier "instalments." That said, because of the fake instalment style, the author did a good job summing up what happened in previous sections so I was able to keep on top of the meandering adventure story and the various characters they met along the way.
Overall, and despite my distraction for the first few hours, I found it fun, enjoyable and actually quite funny. Dry, ridiculous British humour (esp. via audiobook) gets me every time...! John made me laugh so much with his moralising, and how he constantly dug himself holes by insisting on telling the truth in detail. The Augher (sp?) or second augher – the policeman – was my favourite. He was trying so hard to help John out, to stay out of trouble, giving him every chance to throw someone else under the bus instead of himself, and somehow, John just kept grabbing the shovel back and kept digging the hole deeper.
I listened to the last chunk of it today (with my full attention, for once!) and actually managed to sort of guess the ending, which is a surprise. But regardless, I found it fun and very entertaining. A great fantasy adventure story and a fun take on the Sherlock Holmes character. It's perfect for anyone looking for a solid adventure tale with a good dose of British humour and a main character that will repeatedly make you either roll your eyes, say "oh John," in an exasperated voice, or face palm.
"I believe the right to disregard the law is intrinsic and unalienable."
The premise of this is great. Basically, it is a fantasy, gender-reversed, sorceress take on Sherlock Holmes. It's an adventure story, full of swashbuckling heroes, gothic monsters and evil villains. There are time travellers too, sweeping – and tragic – love stories, and a litany of bizarre characters along the way.
I love the way that it's broken into "instalments" – the way that things were published during the Victorian era. The author did a great job at the characterisation of Shaharazad Haas, Hall's take on Sherlock Holmes. Her sidekick John Wyndim, and his constant attempt at moralising tales that are amoral, added a hilarious element to the book.
I couldn't give much of a summary other than that Shaharazad is hired by a friend, Irenie, to investigate a blackmailing, and Shaharazad and John investigate a list of five suspects, spread over five instalments.
I fully admit I wasn't as tapped into the story as I could be, and wish I had given more focus on the details. However, I started listening to the book at the tail end of work as maternity leave was about to start, so in the flurry of stress and activity wrapping things up at work, I sadly didn't give the audiobook my full attention until after mat leave started about halfway through. I missed out on some of the details in the earlier "instalments." That said, because of the fake instalment style, the author did a good job summing up what happened in previous sections so I was able to keep on top of the meandering adventure story and the various characters they met along the way.
Overall, and despite my distraction for the first few hours, I found it fun, enjoyable and actually quite funny. Dry, ridiculous British humour (esp. via audiobook) gets me every time...! John made me laugh so much with his moralising, and how he constantly dug himself holes by insisting on telling the truth in detail. The Augher (sp?) or second augher – the policeman – was my favourite. He was trying so hard to help John out, to stay out of trouble, giving him every chance to throw someone else under the bus instead of himself, and somehow, John just kept grabbing the shovel back and kept digging the hole deeper.
I listened to the last chunk of it today (with my full attention, for once!) and actually managed to sort of guess the ending, which is a surprise. But regardless, I found it fun and very entertaining. A great fantasy adventure story and a fun take on the Sherlock Holmes character. It's perfect for anyone looking for a solid adventure tale with a good dose of British humour and a main character that will repeatedly make you either roll your eyes, say "oh John," in an exasperated voice, or face palm.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Toxic friendship
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry
apestforwrens's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My new favorite take on the Holmes Pastiche
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Transphobia
Derealizationlmilner13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Variety of queer rep including trans and nonbinary.
Interesting use of the Sherlock Holmes structure.
For me it was so fantastical that it became mundane.
Interesting use of the Sherlock Holmes structure.
For me it was so fantastical that it became mundane.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Transphobia
mar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm always a big fan of fantasy mysteries and mean lady detectives, so this was just in my wheelhouse. I wasn't super invested in the main plot/mystery, honestly - it was a bit weak and disjointed - but the humour, LGBT representation, endearing characters, and cool worldbuilding that's a wild mess of fantasy and sci-fi with eldritch magic and time travel kept me reading anyway. I also wish there was more character development, but, other than that, I liked it a lot. It's super weird and ridiculous, but in a delightfully charming way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Infidelity
More...