The Whole Art of Detection

The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye  352 pages

Great new Sherlock Holmes and his pal Dr. John Watson adventures.  lindsay Faye became a fan of Holmes when she was ten and began writing her own Holmes and Watson adventures.   She does an excellent job.   The stories are interesting and capture the flavor of the times they are set in and an excellent nod to Sir Arthur Coan Doyle and his iconic Sherlock Holmes character.   Well done Lyndsay Faye.   Holmes fans will love it.  I highly recommend this book for mystery loves and Holmes fans. 

THE MOOR

The Moor by Laurie R. King 

10 audio discs (11 hr.) (319 pages)

Reviewed by Rae C.

From SLPL Bibliocommons:
Young Mary Russell (A Monstrous Regiment of Women, St. Martin's, 1995) drops everything to join husband Sherlock Holmes in Devonshire, where the pair investigate an ancient family curse near the scene of The Hound of the Baskervilles published some 20 years earlier. The forbidding moor nearby provides them both danger and inspiration.

This is my favourite in the series so far- not only do we return to the scene of Holmes' most famous case, but Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould is not only a character, he is the reason Sherlock and Mary are there, and King writes Baring-Gould into the original Baskerville case.  I'm sure much of this is because Baring-Gould's real life grandson is a known as Holmes authority and wove his grandfather's legacy into Holmes fictional biography.  I also loved that the Moor itself was a character, or almost a character.  Mary spends a good deal of time reading Baring-Gould's books about the Moor and its inhabitants.  This book is rich in Dartmoor lore, legend, and folk.  And it is a smashing good mystery!  Have some thickly tannic Yorkshire Gold tea with cream and sugar while you read about Mary and Holmes out trudging around the Moor in rain and fog and mud for the perfect enjoyment of this book!  Even if, like me, you are listening on audiobook and drinking tea out of your 21st century travel mug while you speed down an asphalt highway at 70 miles per hour!  You won't notice the miles or the minutes going by.  And I have to mention again how much I love the narrator!  She is perfect, and will forever be Mary Russell to me!

PS- There is a comment on Bibliocommons about this book that says that Baring-Gould was Protestant and therefore would not refer to the Madonna as "mother of God".  This is incorrect and misses the difference between the Anglican church and other Protestant churches.  Baring-Gould most certainly did refer to Mary as "mother of God".  The later Protestant reformation was about whether Priests or God had authority over sin.  The early split between Rome and the Anglican church was about who would have authority over the King: God (meaning the King) or the Priests.  The Anglican church has more in common with Rome than Luther.

THE MORTAL WORD

THE MORTAL WORD by Genevieve Cogman

433  pages

https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1423249116#

Reviewed by Rae C.

The fifth book in the Invisible Library series, and the best one so far!

There are multiple worlds, and in each there are different levels of technology (order, ruled by Dragons) and magic (chaos, ruled by The Fae).  Each earth has different versions of the same stories, reflecting the different development and history of that particular world. 

The Library exists at the center of all the worlds, and is outside of time.  By collecting the different versions of stories, the Library keeps the worlds bound together.  Also Librarians are able to speak The Language, and therefore in each world have a power different from either Fae or Dragon.  The Language is a pure command, the essence of all earth languages on all the different versions of earth. For example, if a Librarian commands water to boil in The Language, the water will boil.

There is an ongoing conflict between Dragon and Fae, and neither species can tolerate too much of the other. So Fae suffer in the order of Dragon worlds. And Dragons lose strength in chaotic Fae worlds filled with magic and Story.  (The Fae themselves are dominated by Story.  In fact, sometimes they are bound by the rules of the Story and/or their characters.  Both this book and The Masked City display this feature of Fae power.)

In this book there is a peace conference underway between Dragon and Fae, and the Librarians are officiating.  The main protagonist, Irene Winters, is currently Librarian in Residence in a world that is steampunk, and at roughly the 1920's in its timeline. One of her companions is a real life Sherlock Holmes, named Peregrine Vale.  (In some worlds Sherlock Holmes is not just a story.)  Her other companion is a Dragon Prince, Kai Strongrock.

All three of them are summoned to the top secret peace conference after a Dragon is murdered.  The conference and peace in all the worlds is in jeopardy.  Like the other four books, this is a great adventure, with "unguessable" twists and turns.  Cogman always has something up her sleeve!

I especially enjoyed the interim with Vale's POV.  This is the first time there has been a POV other than Irene's.  My understanding is this series grew partly out of the author's love of Sherlock Holmes (as well as Dungeons and Dragons), so to have Vale highlighted was a treat! In fact, Irene's name was chosen from Irene Adler in Conan Doyle's "Silk Stocking." Cogman did a good job of recreating a solid Sherlock Holmes in an unfamiliar world ruled by Fae and Dragons, and powered by ether.

The alternate Paris the story is set in retains all of the history of our worlds' Paris, and includes a very exciting scene in the Grand Guignol.  And the added spectacle of the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, running the show.

Kind of sorry I finished it so fast because now it is another long year of waiting for book six!!!

The Initiation

The Initiation by Ridley Pearson, 371 pages

“Before James grew up to be a ruthless, remorseless villain, he was a curious boy from Boston, with a penchant for trouble and an acid tongue. Thrown into a boarding school against his wishes, James winds up rooming with a most unlikely companion: a lanky British know-it-all named Sherlock Holmes ("Lock" to his friends). An heirloom Bible, donated by the Moriarty family more than a hundred years ago, has gone missing, and it doesn't take long for the two to find themselves embroiled in the school-wide scandal. The school is on lockdown until it's found, strange clues keep finding their way to James, and a secret society lurks behind it all.” This was an interesting take on the early years of Sherlock Holmes’s arch enemy, James Moriarty.  I enjoyed it very much.  Being told from the perspective of James’s sister, Moira, made it more accessible to me, anyway.  I would highly recommend this book to teen mystery lovers.

A LETTER OF MARY

A LETTER OF MARY by Laurie R. King  (276 pages)

Audio book 10 audio discs (10 hr.)

Reviewed by Rae C.

https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1403776116

The third installment of the Mary Russell series.  She's been Mrs. Sherlock Holmes for two years now, and reminisces at one point that she has "known my husband for one third of my years."  (I think she is mid-twenties in this book.)  The Holmes get a visit from a woman that they met in Palestine, Dorothy Ruskin, and she has a document that will rock the foundations of the Church. Of course, Miss Ruskin dies under mysterious circumstances shortly after visiting the Holmes, and then the Holmes' house is ransacked.  And off they go solving another mystery!

I really enjoyed this more than the previous two!  It wasn't as fast paced, but having read Holy Blood, Holy Grail ages before Dan Brown's Davinci Code showed up, the title fascinated me. The case was filled with many Doyle-esque plot twists and suspects, with a very satisfying ending. And King's knowledge of theological history and archeology and the Ancient world is on full display.

Mary and Sherlock have become a very settled couple at this point, but there is still excitement between them. It also had so many tantalizing tidbits, for example: Mary bumping into a young student at Leeds that enjoys reading Anglo Saxon literature named Tolkien.  

I am so glad I started this as an audio book!  I love this narrator!  I actually prefer her voice in my head to my imagination, which is rare.  Recommended to anyone who enjoys Sherlock Holmes, Victorian and WW1 era fiction, and strong female characters.

The Game

The Game by Laurie R. King, 368 pages

The Game is the seventh installment of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. Long story short: Sherlock Holmes mentors a young woman, takes her on as his partner, marries her, and continues to solve mysteries with her. It's a very satisfying series for any Holmes fanatic. The series takes place after the original Holmes Canon, so the character of Baker Street we've grown to love (and become annoyed with at times) is not tainted.

The Game follows the same general pattern of the series in the sense that Russell and Holmes find themselves traveling to a different part of the world to solve some mystery or another. In this particular case, they travel to India to investigate the disappearance of a British spy. Because of the exotic locations in which King places Russell and Holmes, there is a lot of exposition, description, and musing about the locale, as told from Russell's point of view. With the setting being 1924 India, this book can definitely be classified as historical fiction as well as your run-of-the-mill mystery.

The Game is definitely worth reading, but I highly suggest reading the other books in the series first.

Bannon and Clare Series

The Iron Wyrm Affair, The Red Plague Affair, and The Ripper Affair by Lilith Saintcrow (323, 320, and 386 pages. 1029 total)

It might not be the most accurate description in the world, but I think I am going to call this a reimagined Sherlock Holmes. It follows the same basic principles; a mentath (beyond genius), Mr. Clare is led and guarded by a sorcerer Ms. Bannon and together they solve crimes for the Crown.  Mr. Clare follows the same tendencies as Sherlock. He regularly sits in a chair puffing on a pipe in thought, is prone to wild experiments when between missions, and exhibits the same observation to detail that reveals everything about a person. Ms. Bannon, while a sorcerer, is also quite clever, but serves more as a grounding rod for Clare much like Watson. She also frequently finds herself in a bit of trouble that relies on more than her efforts to escape. But on the other hand, there are also mythical creatures such as wyrms, and gryphons.

The Bannon and Clare series was well worth the read and I fully enjoyed them. If you have read  Shadows Over Baker Street and enjoyed it or other Sherlock adaptations I would recommend giving this a try. It also has some steampunk themes, for those that are interested.

Sherlock Holmes Adaptations

A Study in Scarlet, Sign of the Four, and The Hound of the Baskervilles adaptations by Ian Edginton, 129, 124 and 127 pages

Having read some of Doyle's work namely the odd Sherlock Holmes novella or two, I was intrigued when I saw the first three Sherlock Holmes works had been adapted into graphic novels. I must admit I have never read these first few stories by Doyle but like most classical works they were on my list.

For those that don't know any of the Sherlock Holmes stories A Study in Scarlet is about how Holmes and Watson meet and work on a case about love and revenge. The Sign of the Four involves treasure and a mysterious group known as The Four who's lives revolve around it. Finally Hound of the Baskervilles is about a mysterious hound that is terrifying the Baskerville family line.

Much like other classics I blogged about recently I though by reading these adaptations I would be able to not only cross them off my list but save some time as well. However I can somewhat proudly say that while these graphic novels were quite good and, I am sure, covered the story but they seemed somewhat lacking. Sort of like watching a movie on television with the commercials versus watching it in a theatre. It is the same movie but less so, if you know what I mean. For that reason reading these adaptations only served to convince me all the more to read the originals. But I also look forward to seeing the rest of Holmes adapted to this form.

Shadows over Baker Street

Shadows over Baker Street, 446 pages

Shadows over Baker Street is everything it advertises itself as, which is Sherlock Holmes with Lovecraftian themes. Of course by Lovecrafitan it means Cthulhu, Innsmouthians and other macabre themes. Much like the original Holmes collection, this book is a collection of short stories, though these are written by a collaboration of different authors.

What I really liked about Shadows over Baker Street is that each and every story holds up. Where before with collections like this I would highlight the ones that I really liked and shame the ones I thought fell short here they were all good, for a Holmes novella. By that I mean they all rely on Holmes knowing more than everyone else and in some cases more than it seems likely he should know. But that is what makes a Holmes novel, well that and the brilliant deductions he comes up with. That being said I think these could have been better with the clues to the ending or what was going on spaced through the novella so that the reader could solve the case as well.

If you like the writings of Lovecraft I think you would enjoy this book though it is not as dark. If you like the Sherlock Holmes series and at least can tolerate some of the bizarre then I would say give this a try.

Watson and Holmes: a Study in Black

Watson and Holmes: a Study in Black, by Karl Bollers, ill by Leonardi and Stroman, 144 pages

Jon Watson is recovering from the horrors of fighting in Afghanistan, while working as a doctor (well, ok- a medical intern) in a hospital in Harlem. When he meets a PI by the name of Holmes (NO ONE calls him Sherlock), their paths merge; Watson's hospitalized victim of a drug overdose is found to have overdosed on truth serum.  This leads them down the paths of drug dealers, hit lists, computer encryption, and babies found in dumpsters.  It is a fascinating re-envisioning of the classic Sherlock Holmes characters, and works quite well with African-American main characters and taking place in New York City.

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer, 160 pages

The fifth book in the Enola Holmes mysteries. Enola continues to evade her brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock, as she has no intention of being sent to boarding school after her mother’s disappearance. However, Sherlock has a habit of showing up where she happens to be, this time on Miss Florence Nightingale’s house. Enola is searching for her landlady, Mrs. Tupper, who has been kidnapped, and apparently Miss Nightingale may know something about it!

The House of Silk

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, 294 pages

I was highly intrigued by this book because (according to the inside cover jacket) this is the first novel authorized by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate since it began over 125 years ago. Since I am basically a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan, I knew I had to give this book a shot.

Within the first five chapters, I was convinced that I was going to hate it. To me, the character of Sherlock Holmes was extremely developed at this point in the book, whereas Doyle took basically the entire canon to reveal various quirks to the character's personality. I also didn't feel like the Sherlockian deductions were close to the solidity that Doyle had established. I knew I had to finish the book for the sake of being a Holmes fan, but I was prepared to experience a disappointment.

Much to my chagrin, the novel grew on me. The deductions still felt a bit shaky, and the Sherlock Holmes character was completely developed by the end of this 290 page novel, but the book had its own unique qualities that ultimately turned me from a skeptic to a lukewarm fan. The author also was able to take seemingly endless story lines and tie them all into one neat little knot by the end.

I will highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know Doyle's Sherlock Holmes without reading the entire canon. I can see why the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate authorized this novel: it clearly adheres to the essence that is Sherlock Holmes and his time period. Reader be warned, however: there is some adult content.