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

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!