|
Sherlock
Holmes is not well; drug abuse never did anybody any
good. Watson, as both is friend and his doctor,
recommends a vacation to France
where he can visit an old friend. Sherlock
is not very keen, but while crossing the channel he
notices a young man who seems terrified of the rain.
Surely there is a mystery here worth investigating? Shortly
after embarking, Sherlock spots the man he truly wishes
to meet -- Jules Verne. But before he can do anything
he witnesses the writer shot before his eyes. Now
he truly has a mystery to solve.
If
you have read Sherlock Holmes and the Queen
of Diamonds (also reviewed on this site)
you will be anticipating this second volume as being
equally pacy and readable. You won’t be disappointed,
as there is a good yarn in here that manages to be very
different from the first book and if you haven’t
read it, this does not matter for once. You
have missed an enjoyable tale, but as long as you have
read Conan Doyle’s work, you will be up to speed. No
western theme this time but a French one, complete with
Jules Verne and an episode from the man’s own
life involving his nephew. What follows is
an exciting adventure, although there is not that much
of the whodunit about it, as most of the facts are laid
out as they happen. Missing from just about
every pastiche Holmes story is that frequently chilling
sense of the bizarre that Conan Doyle evokes in just
about every one of his own stories. For me,
it is this that makes them special and unique. This
element is missing here as well, but if you enjoy a
good adventure yarn with not
only Holmes and Watson, but Verne too, then this ought
to suit.
|
