etkahler's review against another edition
2.0
More like 1.5 stars.
I highly disliked the shift between being in first person during Irene's chapters and 3rd person during Holmes' chapters. The book had some grammar and spelling errors that were hard to overlook and the actual case was just mediocre. And probably my biggest pet peeve in a Sherlock Holmes pastiche is for Holmes to refer to Watson as "John," even in his thoughts.
I did like the character of Irene for the most part. However, the last twenty pages or so were either completely unneeded or needed a lot more build up during the actual story. It felt that this romance, if you could even call it that, was just dropped on us at the end.
Not to say that the book was outright awful, but coming off of reading "The Titanic Tragedy" by William Seil, this left a whole lot to be desired.
I highly disliked the shift between being in first person during Irene's chapters and 3rd person during Holmes' chapters. The book had some grammar and spelling errors that were hard to overlook and the actual case was just mediocre. And probably my biggest pet peeve in a Sherlock Holmes pastiche is for Holmes to refer to Watson as "John," even in his thoughts.
I did like the character of Irene for the most part. However, the last twenty pages or so were either completely unneeded or needed a lot more build up during the actual story.
Not to say that the book was outright awful, but coming off of reading "The Titanic Tragedy" by William Seil, this left a whole lot to be desired.
angelamisri's review against another edition
5.0
Reading these stories by Amy Thomas feels like milling through guests at a party and running into old friends - with all the joy and excitement that comes with it. The friends in this case are Holmes and Adler, and they are written with such respect and depth that you can't help but feel you are rejoining the well-told canon on a newly discovered case. Conan-Doyle created The Woman and gave her a remarkable personality that stands the test of time. Thomas takes those beginnings and develops Adler further, giving her a vulnerability and core of strength only hinted at in the original canon. I can't wait to read the next book in this series and hope Amy Thomas continues to write such compelling mysteries!
krisrid's review against another edition
2.0
Nope. This absolutely did not work for me, but not because of the writing.
I bought this as an audio book, and that was a mistake. The narrator did the Sherlock voice with an American accent. I can't even imagine how any narrator could possibly think it would fly with a listener to hear Sherlock Holmes speak with anything BUT a British accent. I found it jarring and distracting just wrong every time she spoke his part. I could not get past that, and simply could not continue listening to the book.
To be fair, my issue is not related to the writing or the story. If I were reading this rather than listening to it, it is entirely possible that I would have really enjoyed it, and I may give this another go in the future as a traditional book. It was absolutely not for me as an audio book, however, and that was the format I had it in so it is a "no" for me for now.
I bought this as an audio book, and that was a mistake. The narrator did the Sherlock voice with an American accent. I can't even imagine how any narrator could possibly think it would fly with a listener to hear Sherlock Holmes speak with anything BUT a British accent. I found it jarring and distracting just wrong every time she spoke his part. I could not get past that, and simply could not continue listening to the book.
To be fair, my issue is not related to the writing or the story. If I were reading this rather than listening to it, it is entirely possible that I would have really enjoyed it, and I may give this another go in the future as a traditional book. It was absolutely not for me as an audio book, however, and that was the format I had it in so it is a "no" for me for now.
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