the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
This was a rather enjoyable little murder mystery, the plot is quirky and the characters are fun, it sucked me right in from the beginning! Brandreth seems to have crafted himself a witty, stylish, well researched and amusing narrative here and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
flappermyrtle's review against another edition
3.0
Another fun read, although this one is trying to redeem Wilde more than the one I already read from this series. As it is the first one in the series, however, this is understandable. The description of Wilde´s character is great, as is the portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle. It is not really a detective novel, though, for Oscar´s eventual solving of the case is something I could not have followed throughout the novel myself. I do intend to read more, nevertheless, for Brandreth has a nice style and his narrative has a nice balance of speed and texture of daily life.
nadoislandgirl's review against another edition
4.0
That Arthur Conan Doyle makes an appearance in this book is appropriate, since the character of Oscar Wilde makes his own stab at becoming the enigmatic, seemingly omniscient Holmes to our narrator's Watson. It's a tried and true writing style and it works again in this book.
After reading this book, I had the feel that I had just finished another Sherlock Holmes novel. Oscar Wilde kept his cards close to his chest and I did not guess whodunit before it was revealed. A shocking and sad conclusion!
An excellent read for any mystery fan.
After reading this book, I had the feel that I had just finished another Sherlock Holmes novel. Oscar Wilde kept his cards close to his chest and I did not guess whodunit before it was revealed. A shocking and sad conclusion!
An excellent read for any mystery fan.
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
3.0
This was a rather enjoyable little murder mystery, the plot is quirky and the characters are fun, it sucked me right in from the beginning! Brandreth seems to have crafted himself a witty, stylish, well researched and amusing narrative here and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
zhelle's review against another edition
2.0
The plot was good and I got to admit that I hadn't seen it coming, but I'm not too keen on the writing style. I struggled a lot to finished the book, but finally got through it :)
mcintoshheidi's review against another edition
4.0
A little heavy-handed on the historical detail, but a great story nonetheless.
irrlicht's review against another edition
3.0
This book constantly compares Oscar Wilde and his nearly unbearable sidekick and – to my dismay – narrator of the story Robert Sherard to Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Well, maybe “constantly” is too strong a word, especially since Arthur Conan Doyle – the one in this book, (hopefully) not the one in real life – actually wanted to base MYCROFT Holmes on Oscar Wilde, but the similarities, or want-to-be-similarities, in writing style and setting and such can’t be ignored.
Which pissed me off in no small amount, because I love ACD’s Sherlock Holmes stories and Dr. Watson, and Robert Sherard can’t even begin to hope he’s a match, since he’s utterly unlikable.
Not that Oscar Wilde is more likable. Well… okay. A little bit. But his views on the world in general, and on women and marriage in particular, are… I don’t even know what they are. Demeaning, most probably. Deprecative, too.
Anyway. Since I don’t have to agree with Oscar Wilde’s world- and society-views (as portrayed in this book; I have no idea at all whether those were his real thoughts on these matters) and could mostly kind of ignore the (exceptionally stupid and ignorant) narrator, the story itself was quite captivating.
And I’m sounding slightly like I’m channeling my inner Mycroft all the time, but yeah.
It wasn’t exactly a bad read. I liked the “Victorian” feeling, the setting, the drama, the case… The solution, too. But it’s kind of slow-going. It takes a lot of time for the case to evolve and there are quite some lengths spent with waxing philosophically about one thing or the other. Some things were interesting, others not so much. Depends on the reader, I guess.
To make a long story short: I liked the book enough to buy the others in that “series”, but I wouldn’t recommend it to action and/or thriller fans. Readers who like crime stories ACD-style will most probably like this one, too.
Which pissed me off in no small amount, because I love ACD’s Sherlock Holmes stories and Dr. Watson, and Robert Sherard can’t even begin to hope he’s a match, since he’s utterly unlikable.
Not that Oscar Wilde is more likable. Well… okay. A little bit. But his views on the world in general, and on women and marriage in particular, are… I don’t even know what they are. Demeaning, most probably. Deprecative, too.
Anyway. Since I don’t have to agree with Oscar Wilde’s world- and society-views (as portrayed in this book; I have no idea at all whether those were his real thoughts on these matters) and could mostly kind of ignore the (exceptionally stupid and ignorant) narrator, the story itself was quite captivating.
And I’m sounding slightly like I’m channeling my inner Mycroft all the time, but yeah.
It wasn’t exactly a bad read. I liked the “Victorian” feeling, the setting, the drama, the case… The solution, too. But it’s kind of slow-going. It takes a lot of time for the case to evolve and there are quite some lengths spent with waxing philosophically about one thing or the other. Some things were interesting, others not so much. Depends on the reader, I guess.
To make a long story short: I liked the book enough to buy the others in that “series”, but I wouldn’t recommend it to action and/or thriller fans. Readers who like crime stories ACD-style will most probably like this one, too.