Reviews

The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye

leasummer's review against another edition

4.0

Some good, some okay. I am a sucker for Sherlock stories.

kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

Lyndsay Faye creates one superb Sherlock spinoff after another in this book of Holmes & Watson detective stories. I especially liked how she recognized the different periods of time during the events of the canon.... for example, the first section of the book consists of Holmes telling Watson about early cases in his career before they had met, in the tradition of the Musgrave Ritual and others. She actually succeeds in adding some dimension to these already well-drawn characters, such as when she shows Holmes having regrets for how he handled the conclusion of the Case of Identity (which has always bothered me, too). Holmes and Watson live on in this collection of stories. Well done, Ms. Faye!

thebeardedpoet's review against another edition

4.0

For those who prefer their Sherlock Holmes pastiches as stylistically authentic to Doyle as is humanly possible, this collection by Lyndsay Faye is for you. I'm talking about the sentences and the language here. Faye has pulled off a tremendous job of recreating Doyle's vocabulary and longish Victorian sentences. Never one or two words where five or ten will do! For me, it was unnecessarily arduous reading, at least with the first few stories in the collection. In the two tales that are told through the pages of Holmes own diary, it was such a relief--and amusing too as Holmes pokes fun at Watson's writing style.

Writing style aside, this is an undeniably impressive and engaging collection of Sherlock Holmes tales which beautiful portray the personalities of Holmes and Watson and their unique friendship. The mysteries themselves are worthy of Doyle and of Sherlock Holmes. Faye never loses sight of the pleasure to be had just hanging out with this duo. May Holmes and Watson live forever!

clt677's review against another edition

5.0

It took me a while to get into this book , but not through any fault of the author or subject. Once I was able to devote the time, I couldn't put the book down. I will admit that I think a large part of my interest in Sherlock comes from the tv series starring Benedict Cumberbatch for the subject matter and Ripper Street for the time period. This was a very well written book if you are at all interested in the mystery genre. I enjoyed that it was a collection of short stories within a larger story. It's a fairly easy, fun read.

m_is_for_awesome's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent Holmes stories told in a voice delightfully similar to the original. Can easily imagine these are stories Watson wrote but did not see fit to publish. Craving more!

kpeninger's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Faye's stories are, as ever, excellent and I had a great time revisiting them. The stories themselves are 4 stars. I did not like the audiobook narrator, though. While his Holmes voice and Watson voice were fine, his voices for women were universally kind of bad, and anytime he tried to do a different accent, it was a little cringey. I need audiobook narrators with deeper voices to learn that not all women need to be represented with a high-pitched, fluttery, whispery voice. Please.

stricker's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

claudia_is_reading's review against another edition

4.0

Some really good short stories in the style of Conan Doyle, some of them going into those interstitial spaces, during, just before or after a canonical story; other ones dealing with new, intriguing cases. All of them give us the best of these characters: smart investigations, their unwavering friendship, the wonderful glimpses of the Holmes under the mask of impassivity, and even a glimpse of their appreciation of Lestrade. What can I say, I like when Lestrade is recognized a bit :P

One of my favourite ones is the story happening during 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' because I love that it's in Holmes' voice and because I really like to have a reason to justify Holmes staying in London and sending Watson to Dartmoor alone. 
I also liked a lot the one happening at the beginning of 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes', Watson dealing with his grief and Lestrade being a friend.

But really, all of them have their own merit. This is a wonderful collection recommended to every fan of Sherlock Holmes.

racheljoy7's review against another edition

5.0

Rarely can one say that an author has depicted a famous literary character better than that character's original inventor, but in this case it is true.
Faye is brilliant, witty, and hilariously funny!!

sarahrita's review against another edition

5.0

Loved this.

Please keep an eye out for my full review at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com.

I received a copy of this book free from the author via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.