The Detective and the Woman by Amy Thomas

Sherlock Holmes without Watson?
Review by The Mole

Holmes is believed dead after Reichenbach Falls but Mycroft knows where he is and alerts him to a plan that jeopardises the safety of Irene Adler. In this story Holmes works with Adler and they try to trust each other.

This story is interesting in a few ways: we meet Irene Adler as a 'friend' instead of adversary; half the story is told by Adler and the other half by an anonymous narrator; Watson is almost totally absent from the story and has not written the story up.

Using these devices we no longer need to be convinced that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have written it this way, and frankly I am sure he wouldn't. But this technique means the author can use Holmes as a character without having to emulate Watson's style of writing - something that is not as simple as it seems.

The plot against Adler though seems very convoluted for what they were trying to achieve yet the story is told well. And although I enjoyed it I was disappointed with the ending which felt a lot more like a romantic novel than a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Publisher - MX Publishing
Genre - Adult Crime Fiction

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Sherlock Holmes And The Dead Boer At Scotney Castle by Tim Symonds

Intriguing
Review by The Mole


In Sherlock Holmes and The Dead Boer at Scotney Castle the great consulting detective comes up against the rich and powerful Kipling League. Dr Watson recounts the extraordinary events which took place on a spacious early summer day in the Sussex and Kent countryside in 1904. None of the earlier stories chronicling the adventures of Sherlock Holmes compares to the strange circumstances which determined Watson to take up his pen to relate this extraordinary adventure against Holmes express wishes. 


This story is one that is difficult to review because spoilers would be so easy to give - but I will try not to.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed by this story because too often Holmes didn't feel like Holmes or Watson like Watson. In addition Holmes tries to win Watson round to seeing his view on the take on events and Watson cannot see it and we seem to hear the same evidence repeated several times. In fact as a reader I became convinced that Holmes was wrong until I realised that his words were ambiguous and what he should have said was not what he did say. (It would be easier to explain if I risked spoilers!). Undoubtedly though the story is an intriguing one but whether the best detective fiction has ever seen is the character who should encounter this tale is another matter - I can imagine other fictional detectives encountering this tale and it being almost in a day's work for them! (STILL avoiding spoilers!). The fact that it is intriguing is one thing but is it the best telling of such a story? Sadly I don't think it is.

Publisher - MX Publishing
Genre - Adult Crime Fiction


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