sphinx reviewed on 4/22/2015 + 97 more book reviews

This is not my favourite Sherlock Holmes pastiche so far (that title goes to The Last Sherlock Holmes Story), but it is an enjoyable one.

The initial portion of this book, in which Watson faces the problem of dragging a paranoid, drug-addled, and unwilling Holmes for help from the only cocaine addiction specialist then known in the world, is very compelling reading. I could not put the book down through this part of the story. The trouble comes when this plot point reaches its conclusion, where it begins to feel as if the author ran out of story and had to tack on an additional adventure to make the book novel-length.

The secondary characters here do not feel fully fleshed-out, especially because the woman whose case Holmes and company take on never speaks a word, and her personality remains a mystery.

That said, the author did an admirable job depicting Watson and Holmes and their friendship, which comes across wonderfully as loyal, mutual, and affectionate, despite the trying circumstances the characters face together, which strains their bonds.

The book makes an interesting speculation about Holmes's young life, though I thought the conclusions drawn from this would have been better left unsaid, being somewhat obvious.

As a Holmesian, you will certainly enjoy Part One of this book, and I recommend it for that alone, though Part Two may also entertain depending on your level of pickiness with your Sherlock stories. Good read! Three-and-a-half stars.

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