The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes
This captivating mystery novel set in London in 1910 tells the story of Joanna Blalock, the daughter of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, who has inherited her parents’ deductive genius. While out for a walk, Joanna’s precocious ten-year-old son, Johnnie, sees a man fall to his death. Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard is convinced that the death is a suicide, but Joanna realizes the evidence points to murder. She joins forces with John Watson Jr. and his father, who is now retired and living at 221b Baker Street after Holmes’ death. The three detectives discover that the dead man, Charles Harrelston, served in the Second Afghan War of 1878-1880, along with Christopher Moran (the man whose window he fell from), and two other officers. When another member of this quartet dies suspiciously, Joanna and the two Watsons race against time to stop a clever killer before another death can occur. A coded message found among Harrelston’s possessions may hold the key to the murder, but will Joanna and her colleagues be able to decipher it in time? The trail stretches back to a stolen treasure from India, and to one of Holmes’ past cases.
This clever book will keep you on the edge of your seat with its many thrilling twists and turns. The plot is worthy of Conan Doyle’s originals, and I hope to see many more adventures of Joanna Blalock and John Watson, Jr. Goldberg is especially strong while writing about the medical procedures of the time. Joanna is a trained nurse, and Watson Jr. is a pathologist. Many of the clues they uncover depend on their medical training. Goldberg also writes a series of contemporary medical mysteries featuring a character named Joanna Blalock. I do not know exactly how the two characters are related.
