I greatly enjoyed this refreshing combination of Sherlock Holmes pastiche and modern day mystery. The Sherlockian intermingles chapters from the viewpoint of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as he attempts to play detective in the mode of his literary creation and a current-day Sherlockiana scholar lost in the mystery of a fellow scholar’s murder and Sir Conan Doyle’s lost diary. Alternating between the untold history of Doyle’s crime solving during the “Great Hiatus” and a man’s search to solve that very puzzle drives home the enjoyable, albeit bittersweet, ending.
While I think this story has wide appeal, a working knowledge of the Sherlock stories and an appreciation of their themes, devices, and the character of Sherlock will allow the reader to absorb additional context and deepen their appreciation of this modern remix married to a classic gaslight mystery. It read like a mashup of a classic Holmes tale an Dan Brown novel.
Reading medium: Kindle
Rating: Enjoyed
My categorization: Historical Mystery/Modern Mashup