Arthur Conan Doyle is the most hated man in London after killing off Sherlock Holmes. So when he gets the chance to investigate a murder that hasn't happened yet he jumps to the chance to get away from London a bit. A medium, Hope Thraxton, has foreseen her own murder and the only face she recognizes in her vision is Doyle's so she turns to him to solve the crime. But he doesn't go alone to Thraxton Hall for a meeting with he Society for Psychical Research, his good friend Oscar Wilde tags along, and together must they now try to stop a murder that will occur at the third séance at the meeting...

I have a weakness for Sherlock Holmes and a book written about Doyle about the time after he had killed of Sherlock Holmes spiced with some paranormal activities sounded very intriguing. There are a lot of suspects at the Thraxton Hall, and it seems that not only Hope Thraxton is in danger so Doyle and Wilde have much to do, try to find a killer among the guests of the guests. The book was a mixed of crime, mystery, paranormal and also with a healthy dose of comedy since Wilde was in the story and he isn't the most serious person I have ever read about. I couldn't help of thinking about the movie clue when I read the book because of all the humor...



Anyway, the book was good. I liked Doyle and Wilde working together and the case wasn't too predictable with was nice. I recommend this book to anyone that likes historical mysteries with a bit of a paranormal twist to the story.

3.5 stars ( )

I'm going to use one of my dad's favourite sayings and call this one fair to middling.

On the surface it should have been a guaranteed-to-please-me read: I'm intrigued by Wilde, Conan Doyle is one of only a couple of people I'd go back in time to meet, and the it's a ghost story set on the moors. In spite of all of this, I remained nothing but an indifferent observer from start to finish; I failed to connect with Wilde or Doyle, and the ghosts failed to thrill. Additionally, the twisty part of the plot was something I saw coming from the start, although how Doyle got there at the end was so twisty and convoluted, I'm still not sure I get how he did it.

He did totally pull one over on me regarding the Count though; did not see that one coming.

This is the first of a series, but I doubt I'll be searching out the second one. ( )

I'm a Sherlockian from back in the day. Though I don't always love the pastiches, in this one Holmes is not the protagonist--Arthur Conan Doyle is--and the whole thing really works. It was fun to see Doyle being upbraided by his creation. On top of that, having Oscar Wilde along for the ride, quipping the entire way, made this one pure literary gold for me. I actually did laugh aloud and oftentimes forgot I was reading a book because I was watching the action in my imagination. I appreciate the author's inclusion of other literary and historical figures, including J. M. Barrie, Frank Podmore and Daniel Dunglas Hume in the text. While I may not approve of Doyle's near obsession with Hope Thraxton while his own wife lay deathly ill from tuberculosis, I can see where this might make the character seem all the more human. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; the characters, the comedy, the mystery, and the suspense all work for me. ( )

3.5 A little editing down would have improved it. ( )

Its an interesting concept - The Author, Arthur Conan Doyle, and his friend the playwright, Oscar Wilde, are invited to a paranormal society meeting off in dark England. The lady of the house asked Mr. Doyle to investigate her murder, at the third seance of the meeting. Of course, Mr. Doyle agrees because he is a good man, and the lady is pretty (so he assumes).

The problem with this book is that it is flat. The author probably caught the tone of the era - but with Mr Doyle going from boring, unlikable, to naive and Mr. Wilde worried more about his 2 guinea shoes than his friend, it gets to be an old read.

The mystery seems a bit thrown together. I get that the author was making the fictional character of Author Conan Doyle very different from Sherlock Holmes - It came off with Doyle being clueless and bumbling, he stumbles into the clues, rather than actually sleuthing them. Oscar Wilde did redeem himself - but the end of the book, I found him more interesting than Doyle, but not by much.

The mystery, was rather annoying and the ultimate ending didn't make any sense, there should have been a bit more connecting the solution to the problem. Also, having Sherlock Holmes pop up in Doyle's dreams seemed tacky.

So..... its an interesting concept, that didn't quite work for me. Luckily, it was a fast read, so I did manage to finish the book. ( )