| |
Whisky, Ghosts,
Adventure
A Sherlock Holmes Adventure – Book II
Bonnie MacBird
Collins Crime Club
(Harper Collins UK)
27 July 2017 / ISBN 9780008129712
Mystery/Historical
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
|
|
December
1889 and Holmes and Watson have recently returned from solving
the Hound of the Baskervilles case. Somebody is trying to
kill Holmes, and he comes face to face with a figure from
his early past, a time which Watson knows nothing about. The
same day Mrs. Hudson shows in beautiful Isla McLaren, a lady
with a case involving a missing servant which Holmes curtly
dismisses in favor of an assignment from his brother. Soon
they are on their way to the South of France, but they have
not seen the last of Mrs. McLaren.
Whisky, ghost and murder…oh my! The game is truly afoot
in this long, involved and very enjoyable mystery. I read
a fair number of stories featuring Conan Doyle’s inimitable
sleuths but this is a particularly fine one, the sequel to
Art in the Blood. Although this is not a sequel in the true
sense of the term, I suggest reading it first in order to
fully get into Ms. MacBird’s creation and be introduced
to fellow sleuth Vidocq. From damp London to sunny Nice and
then to the snowy Highlands and a haunted castle, the case
keeps developing and changing, keeping the reader on their
toes with surprises and red herrings. It is a lot of fun,
ticking all the boxes of the features that add up to a good
Holmes story. We get this author’s version of what formed
his character, plenty of the sorts of weirdness that sets
Conan Doyle’s own tales apart, a convincing Watson as
narrator and authentic recreations of several late Victorian
locations. I guessed most of it, but as with any good trip,
the journey is as much importance as the destination, and
nothing about the denouement was disappointing. My only minor
complaint is that, like most long novels, it does tread water
a bit in the middle and some slight editing would make it
even better. But as this is one of the standout novels I have
read this year so far, this did not spoil my enjoyment. I
eagerly anticipate the arrival of The Devil’s Due
next year and recommend this book wholeheartedly to anybody
who loves a good yarn.
|
