| Sherlock
Holmes is not at his best, and his friend Dr. Vernier is worried
about him. What he needs is a new case, and when the huge
figure of Adam Selton arrives with an unusual problem, the
game is once again afoot. Adam has received a mysterious letter
warning him that a liaison with Diana Marsh would not be a
good idea, due to her family's dark history. Holmes and Vernier
travel up to Whitby to check it all out, and find themselves
embroiled in an extraordinary situation.
This author has two new twists on the basic Holmes novel.
Firstly, the detective has dispensed with Dr. Watson and instead
has his cousin Dr. Vernier as his sidekick. Secondly, his
stories are inspired by other novels such as The Hound of
the Baskervilles, Phantom of the Opera and The Lair of the
White Worm. Dr. Vernier narrates in a Watson-like manner and
there is a lot in here to entertain, bringing together elements
of the truly bizarre with detection, period and local detail
and several characters from the existing book. From a reptile-loving
temptress to a naïve giant of a man with a problem, add
in a madman living in a castle, a folklorist in a tower, strange
ceremonies, some murderous threats and, of course, that great
white worm. All this is highly entertaining and often rather
amusing, but to its detriment, this is a rather long novel
which could stand some editing, as it is the type of story
which depends on pace to be exciting. Repetition makes it
lose momentum, although I was never bored as there is always
something going on. Despite being a complete story, readers
would get the best out of this novel if they had read the
earlier ones, as there are frequent references to former adventures
including learning how Dr. Vernier met his Amazonian wife.
This book does not feature a lot in the way of mystery as
it is fairly obvious what is going on and why, but as a modern
try at a Victorian style novel it is quite successful, marrying
the bizarre nature of the original with detection, romance,
humor and adventure. |
