Redacted Sherlock Holmes Volume VIII
This book, 8th in the series, follows on from Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about the famous fictional Baker Street detective by revealing what happened next. In six new cases, as reported by Dr Watson, we learn some things we had always wondered about: why Moriarty was ‘the Napoleon of crime’; what happened before Holmes and Watson met; what happened to Holmes’ fiancée Agatha; and just what was the nature of Watson’s war injury.
Holmes rescues aristocratic sinners from blackmail, cracks codes, saves royal families from potential assassination, lays ingenious traps for ne’er-do-wells, undertakes tricky espionage missions and calculates cricket batting averages. As is common with many fictional detectives, a seemingly random comment or an incidental observation often sparks his immense intellect.
To the enjoyment of modern readers, the writer emulates the wordy Victorian elegance of Conan Doyle, though the style is less stilted. It also features a similar understated, self-deprecating, very British humour. An adorable example: French President Félix Faure, who died ‘in the embrace of his mistress’, and was said to have ‘struggle[d] with the fourth line of the Marseillaise’ (the one about raising the flag).
Often the cases and their solutions are so understated you almost have to read them twice. The fictional narrator decries ‘sensationalism’. The point is not so much the solution to the case but the very Holmesian way Holmes handles it. He says things like ‘by Jove’ and ‘this is quite a three-pipe problem’. They smoke cigars and ‘have elevenses’. Character is everything. Watson, Lestrade, Mycroft and Mrs Hudson are also great characters. Readers will also find pleasure in discovering by Google searches that many of the odd details such as the Prince of Wales’ fauteuil des voluptés are taken from history.
Some familiarity with Holmes’ past cases will help but is not essential. An easy read, perfect for bedtime or beach.
