discocrow's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first [a: Barry Day|10063|Barry Day|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1434071368p2/10063.jpg] pastiche that I've read, and overall I enjoyed it.
The story follows two separate threads, weaving them together to a pleasant conclusion. The first thread is that a series of copycat murders are taking place, all perpetuated by what appears to be Sherlock Holmes. The fact that Watson and Lestrade believe this is altogether a bit contrived, but the murders themselves are interesting and the mystery a pleasant enough thing to divert the mind. Mycroft makes an appearance, and the plot takes a turn. The larger plot is that of Germany attempting to colonize Britain, and of course it's up to the Holmeses and Watson to try and foil the plans.
The writing was rather good, although the editing suffered a bit in my copy with a number of typos. The allusions to current events during the setting - Freud makes an appearance, ample quoting of various poets and Shakespeare, all very nice and contemporary, were a surprising pleasure. The use of disguise, and surprisingly the use of Mycroft were all fun and simultaneously set the story apart from the canon while also firmly grounding it within that vast world.
I enjoyed the book thoroughly with the exception of two points. I felt that Watson was underutilized in a criminal way. Watson is at his best when he's acknowledged as an able soldier and doctor, and not a bumbling sidekick to Holmes - which he largely is in this story. By making Watson and Lestrade little more than pawns Sherlock and Mycroft appear rather normal by comparison. The first mystery could have been stronger and was far too easy to solve, the second mystery - while better, was still a bit wanting having suffered from the first being too simple.
All the same it was a cozy mystery set within the Sherlock Holmes universe.
This is the first [a: Barry Day|10063|Barry Day|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1434071368p2/10063.jpg] pastiche that I've read, and overall I enjoyed it.
The story follows two separate threads, weaving them together to a pleasant conclusion. The first thread is that a series of copycat murders are taking place, all perpetuated by what appears to be Sherlock Holmes. The fact that Watson and Lestrade believe this is altogether a bit contrived, but the murders themselves are interesting and the mystery a pleasant enough thing to divert the mind. Mycroft makes an appearance, and the plot takes a turn. The larger plot is that of Germany attempting to colonize Britain, and of course it's up to the Holmeses and Watson to try and foil the plans.
The writing was rather good, although the editing suffered a bit in my copy with a number of typos. The allusions to current events during the setting - Freud makes an appearance, ample quoting of various poets and Shakespeare, all very nice and contemporary, were a surprising pleasure. The use of disguise, and surprisingly the use of Mycroft were all fun and simultaneously set the story apart from the canon while also firmly grounding it within that vast world.
I enjoyed the book thoroughly with the exception of two points. I felt that Watson was underutilized in a criminal way. Watson is at his best when he's acknowledged as an able soldier and doctor, and not a bumbling sidekick to Holmes - which he largely is in this story. By making Watson and Lestrade little more than pawns Sherlock and Mycroft appear rather normal by comparison. The first mystery could have been stronger and was far too easy to solve, the second mystery - while better, was still a bit wanting having suffered from the first being too simple.
All the same it was a cozy mystery set within the Sherlock Holmes universe.
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