Vasudev Murthy

This book looks at what happened to Holmes between the Reichenbach Falls and his return to London. In this book Holmes makes his way all over the world. Moriarty is alive and dangerous, and Holmes is under surveillance and in constant danger. I enjoyed reading about Holmes's strategies for travelling undercover. Watson takes off across the globe with Holmes in this adventure. While this book was a pleasant enough way to pass the time, it didn't necessarily stand out for me among other Holmes pastiches. If I found another book in this series, I'd probably read it. This is a classic three-star read for me- pleasant but unmemorable.… (altro)

Timbuktu... Sherlock Holmes is my all-time favorite fictional detective so I had very high hopes for this book. Unfortunately though, it did not live up to my expectations. I've read all of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes works and a lot of pastiches so I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of Holmes character and this book did not do him justice at all. I never got the feel for the true Holmes character. It was a pretty bad imitation. The speech, the mannerisms, etc. were completely off I thought. The book was also very slow and very boring! From the beginning, it was just one info dump after another. It took me a while and several tries to trudge through it.
 
*I received this ARC from NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 
 
… (altro)

Fans of Sherlock Holmes cannot get enough, and this is an excellent pastiche -- with a very similar tone to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This is an "alternate" narrative, taking place between Sherlock's purported death in "The Final Problem" and his much-anticipated reappearance in "The Adventure of the Empty House."

Here, he gets involved in somewhat occult Arabian matters, with an eye to the lore and the goal of possible eternal life. High stakes! In pursuing this quest he meets all kinds of people from various nationalities and walks of life, and that's pretty interesting stuff.

I do have to say, though -- when looking at the situation, Holmes was NOT actually intended to get the goodies, and his opponents were. He cheated. Thugs or not, the other side pretty much had the right of it...

...except when you consider that they were tools of MORIARTY! Who, with his miraculous ability to make correct calls based on no data whatsoever, looks to me more like a paranoid fantasy on Sherlock's part than anyone plausible.

I admit I am not a dedicated Sherlock fan. However, this is a fun book, and I think it did keep the tone of the Doyle's original tales. My husband -- a more devoted Sherlock fan -- really liked Vasudev Murthy's previous Missing Years: Japan novel, and is looking forward to reading this one.

I received this book in exchange for writing an honest review.… (altro)