A two part video review of Dan Andriacco’s Sherlock Holmes novel – No Police Like Holmes – from Ross K.
Category Archives: Book Reviews
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews Shadowblood – A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
“I said that Shadowfall is rather like an enjoyable nightmare. Shadowblood is even more enjoyable.”
Tracy Revel’s first novel Shadowfall got rave reviews worldwide, and is already being translated into Italian. The Sherlock Holmes Society of London loved it and we couldn’t wait for their review of the sequel Shadowblood – they didn’t disappoint us.
“The sequel to Shadowfall is just as deliriously weird. Shadowblood by Tracy Revels introduces us again to the World of Shadows, whose interaction with our own world can be devastating. Watson’s recuperation from his previous encounters with the supernatural is interrupted when an unpleasant recluse demands that Holmes find his missing daughter.
Shortly after the detective’s arrival,the old man is horribly murdered, and Holmes’s own Shadowborn powers are tested to the limit in a quest for the girl and, ultimately, for the Fountain of Youth. He and Watson travel to Prague, where they are helped by Dr John Dee, and then to St Augustine, Florida, where they receive assistance and opposition from even stranger beings.
The missing girl is practising blood magic and has acquired a very dangerous assistant, a woman skilled in murder. I said that Shadowfall is rather like an enjoyable nightmare. Shadowblood is even more enjoyable.”
Shadowblood is available from all good bookstores and all formats including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, and electronic formats soon.
Tracy Revels has a popular blog Strictly Sherlock and Tracy was on Team 1 (BBC Sherlock) in The Great Sherlock Holmes Debate in November. She joins us for the December discussion taking place on 14th December.
Barefoot On Baker Street – A Novel of Sherlock Holmes Reviewed by The Ill Dressed Vagabond
“This is a powerful novel that makes great efforts to comply with the Canon.”
Philip K Jones, aka The Ill Dressed Vagabond is one of the USA’s leading Holmes reviewers and this week he delivers a detailed review of Barefoot on Baker Street by Charlotte Walters. The full review is below – and the highlight seems to be how Charlotte handles the main characters:
“The true wonder of the book is these three tormented men (Holmes, Moriarty and Mycroft) and their efforts to control their own lives that are seemingly beyond control. The heroine is another wonder. She grew up in Hell, survived and thrived. She learned to care about others, to love and to function usefully in a world that has constantly tried to kill her since she was born.”
Barefoot on Baker Street is available from all good bookstores and in all formats including Amazon Kindle, iBooks (iPad and iPhone) and of course in large trade paperback. Charlotte has a wonderful blog (Barefootonbakerstreet) where recently she has reviewed all 56 of the original Sherlock Holmes stories.
“This is the story of an orphan girl born in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields Union Workhouse. Her father was killed in an accident as he worked on the railways. Her mother died in childbirth and she was raised in the Workhouse. As she grew, she received 4 hours of education a day and worked at hard labor for the rest of the day. As was common practice, at puberty she was forcibly raped by the School Master. When he fell asleep afterward, she killed him, stole his money and set the room on fire. She then escaped with a young boy, Luke, and ran free into Whitechapel. Some years later, she became part of the Dean Street Gang, run by one Wiggens. At age 16, she entered Sherlock Holmes’ study as one of his ‘irregulars,’ to be directed to search for the steam launch Aurora. As they were leaving, Holmes detained her and told her to never again enter his house in disguise or with a weapon and sent her away.
After an argument with Wiggens over the future of the ‘gang,’ she was left with her childhood companion, Luke, to fend for herself. Within a short time, she was recruited by a minion of Professor Moriarty. She spent time working her way up in his organization and eventually was taken under his wing and given special training of several sorts. He had her trained and groomed to become his ‘doorkeeper’ and chief assistant, as well as his wife. This situation continued for some time until she became pregnant. She was determined to have the child, so Moriarty had her drugged and the fetus aborted. From that time on, she was on the watch for a chance to leave his service.
A plot of Moriarty’s, involving a newly developed strain of the Black Death afforded an opportunity for her to escape him and his service. She and Luke went to Sherlock and joined in his effort to bring down Moriarty. With her help, the Plague plot was foiled and Holmes ran to the Continent with Watson, her and Luke to escape the Professor’s vengeance. Eventually, the events at The Falls of the Reichenbach lost Holmes to her, so she shot the Professor who was crowing about his victory. She then fainted and Watson took her back to the Englisher Hof to deal with her spontaneous abortion of Sherlock’s child.
The rest of the book covers events that followed the death of Sherlock. Our heroine, called “Red,” helped save the widowed Dr. Watson from the bill collectors and worked with him to put his practice on a paying basis. She and Watson went to Mycroft to tell him of Sherlock’s death and they all became friends and associates. Watson’s practice grew and diversified and Red became busy and began to live again. When Sherlock returned after the Great Hiatus, he arrived in the midst of a complex situation and had to deal with friends and kin who were angry and disappointed in him.
The story is, of course, much more complex than this short description. The author has carefully depicted Moriarty, Sherlock and Mycroft as autistic savants. Each have their own symptoms and ‘coping mechanisms,’ but all share similar attitudes to other people and toward ‘Red.’ She is the only other person who is truly ‘real’ to each of them. They express their disabilities in different fashions and cope with them in differing ways. The true wonder of the book is these three tormented men and their efforts to control their own lives that are seemingly beyond control. The heroine is another wonder. She grew up in Hell, survived and thrived. She learned to care about others, to love and to function usefully in a world that has constantly tried to kill her since she was born.
This is a powerful novel that makes great efforts to comply with the Canon. Places where it differs are clearly places where Dr. Watson would have ‘glossed over’ or omitted events, so that the book seems to fit the Canon well. The narrative here is much more realistic than are the Canonical tales and the seamier side of London is brought home to the reader in many ugly details.”
In The Night In The Dark reviewed by The Supernatural Tales
“All in all, this volume is worth buying for the first section alone – The Tales from the Endeavour are quite superb, and make great winter reading. But there’s more, you lucky people. The second section, ‘Things from Beyond’, offers horrors that are Lovecraftian, by and large……..In brief, there’s something for everyone here. I defy anyone who likes supernatural fiction not to be satisfied with this volume”.
In The Night, In The Dark is a collection of supernatural ghost stories from Roger Johnson that includes the collection ‘The Tales from the Endeavour’ which won the 2001 Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award for 2001 (an award won in subsequent years by the likes of Sir Terry Pratchett).
You can read the full review on The Supernatural Tales Blog.
In The Night, In The Dark is available through all good bookstores including Amazon UK,and Amazon USA,
The History of Sunderland Rugby Football Club RFC reviewed by The Northumberland Journal
A History of Sunderland RFC
“Books on North East rugby are few and far between, but the trend has been bucked by a fascinating history of Sunderland RFC. Titled One Among Many, Keith Gregson’s release uses the Wearside club as the focus for a much broader work, giving a superb insight into the development of the game in the region.”
The Journal reviewed the book in their Scrumdown section of the paper, a detailed full page review, and the full review is available online at JournalLive.
One Among Many is available from all good bookstores including on Amazon UK , Amazon USA, Amazon Japan, Amazon France, and Waterstones.
The book is also available in electronic formats – Amazon Kindle UK (and all Kindle countries), Barnes and Noble Nook, and via iTunes for the iPad and iPhone.
Founder of the Simeone Museum’s high praise for Hunt For The Blower Bentley
“A wonderful novel, filled with excitement”
Who better to comment on Hunt For The Blower Bentley than the founder of the Simeone Museum, Fred Simeone. Many of you will be familiar with their jaw-dropping collection of vintage racing cars in Philadelphia – which includes a Blower Bentley which Fred himself tracked down and lovingly restored. He draws many parallels with the novel and you will be pleased to hear him report that the Blower Bentley is a joy to drive.
They have more than 60 cars laid out in dioramas and displays. Many of them are simply priceless, being one of the most extensive collections in the world. There are displays that cover the history of Le Mans and Nascar, The Nurburgring, Brooklands and many more.
Fred was sent a copy of the book by the author Kevin’s father and it was back to him that the review of the book was sent. Fred even set about double-checking Kevin’s research for the book and feeds back that all the book research is spot on.
Hunt For The Blower Bentley is available from all good bookstores and on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and iBooks (iPad/iPhone).
You can watch footage from the Simeone Musuem’s recent race day below:
Philip K Jones aka The Ill Dressed Vagabond Reviews A Case of Witchcraft – A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
Last month the Sherlock Holmes Society of London described A Case of Witchcraft as “well written and thoroughly researched”. This month it is the turn of Philip K Jones (aka The Ill Dressed Vagabond) with a very detailed review. Phil’s own first book – The Punishment of Sherlock Holmes is out soon.
“This novel is a first person narration by Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson is laid up as the result of an Operation to remove the Jezail bullet he had carried since his Service in Afghanistan. The daughter of a clergyman has asked Holmes to investigate the disappearance of her father on one of the Scottish North Sea islands. As the object of the Reverend’s investigation was one of three main source tales for the traditional Cinderella story, one that involved witchcraft and had been denounced by the Established Church, his daughter believed that he might have been taken by devotees of the Mother Goddess for use as a sacrifice at the upcoming Halloween celebrations. Holmes agrees to investigate and sets out for the North coast of Scotland.
On the northbound train he falls in with the young Aleister Crowley and their discussions of Witchcraft, Eastern religions and Holmes’ case lead Crowley to offer his services as companion/bodyguard to Holmes for the duration of his investigation. Their discussions make the Author’s Historical points by citing examples but they avoid giving a general summary of the details available about the World’s oldest surviving Religion. The events that triggered this particular ‘Ur-Cinderella’ variant seem to have occurred in Viking times and to have taken place on an island later noted as a source of ‘Witches.’
My own acquaintance with what is now called Wicca and its history assure me that its origins go back to and, possibly, before the Neolithic Age. I still recall first reading Robert Graves’ “Hercules, My Shipmate” and my astonishment at the Priestesses of The Mother Goddess parching next year’s seed grain in a dispute with the Priests of the local Thunder God. The God’s reply was traditional, as, in visions to his priests, he encouraged the men to go a-raiding to find loot to buy food. Mr. Revill’s characters cite elements of various worship systems across Eurasia that seem to echo worship of the Mother Goddess. In fact, the same tenets remain with us to this day cloaked in the guise of “green” practices with all of the ‘religious’ elements removed, except, perhaps, the ardor.
Holmes, in this book, uses a prose style that is spare and simple. It is not the same voice that we hear in The Canon when Holmes is dictating. It is possible that difference from the Canon might well be due to the efforts of the Literary Agent on the Canon. In any case, this Holmes is inclined to discuss philosophy and his personal views much more than in previous publications. He is also less prone to descriptions and to pontificating and belittling the efforts of the police. Maybe it is the presence of Crowley, a public non-Christian, who would not be offended by Holmes’ Atheism following his studies in Tibet that encourages Holmes to open his thoughts more to his audience. Watson, of course, would have been shocked to the core of his Established Church soul.
Perhaps the most singular feature of this book is its interesting characters. All of the people depicted present strong and impressive personalities to the world. From the local Detective Sergeant to the Schoolmistress and from the Island Provost to the waitress at a Fish and Chips store, all are distinct, interesting and individual people. Secrets abound within secrets and there are several secretive movements at odds with one another. The Nineteenth Century is dying before it really had a chance to enter into the lives of the Island and the twentieth Century is banging on the door loudly demanding entry. Meanwhile, all involved are still trying to untangle the problems of the Tenth Century.
This book is deceptive. A reader may expect some descent into barbarism and mumbo-jumbo or a tale of horror and madness. Instead, one finds people coping with inherited Cultural positions and striving for control (‘Power’ is such a Nasty word) over their lives. The same conflicts that arose at the very dawn of History are alive and kicking. People are still only people and lives are taken, altered and enriched by the oddest trifles and strangest events. Over all there remains the story of Cinderella, told from the viewpoint of the ‘wicked stepmother.’ It is a sharp and cogent tale, not just a case from Late Victorian times, but also a microcosm of large parts of Human History.”
A Case of Witchcraft is available from Amazon, and also in all good formats including Amazon Kindle , Barnes and Noble Nook, and iBooks for the iPad.
Starting a new Sherlock Holmes based career at the age of 87 film legend Gerry O’Hara
” idiosyncratic and entertaining”
It’s not every day that you sign a major film director as a new author and to be brutally honest I found the experience exciting, humbling and a little intimidating all rolled into one. Gerry O’Hara is best described as a legend of the big screen having several dozen films under his belt but no stranger to TV either with episodes of iconic series like The Avengers under his belt too. A prolific screenwriter Gerry also wrote several books during his career, but never had the time to do anything with them – now that he is semi-retired (many would kill for the guy’s energy) he has unearthed several to be published this year and we as you may know grabbed his Holmes novel – Sherlock Holmes and The Affair in Transylvania. You don’t need detection skills on a par with the great detective to work out that this is Holmes and Dracula territory. The Sherlock Holmes Society of London were among the first to get a review copy: “Sherlock Holmes and the Affair in Transylvania by Gerry O’Hara is similarly idiosyncratic and entertaining. As you might guess, Mr O’Hara pits Holmes and Watson against Count Dracula, but in a different way from his predecessors, Loren D Estleman and David Stuart Davies. Although great chunks of Bram Stoker’s text remain, his story has been rewritten to exclude Professor Van Helsing, and various other characters are reimagined. Mina is now Watson’s niece, married to a Romanian named Janos. Lucy is the daughter of Dr Westenra, who supervises an asylum in Transylvania, where all the events occur. Surprisingly, this is Gerry O’Hara’s first book, after a long career as writer and director in film and television (he wrote the story for Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls, so he’s not new to Holmes).” What the review doesn’t mention is the rather stunning illustrations which were created as paintings and then scaled down for use in the book. The originals are all in colour and one is used for the cover. In the paperback they appear in greyscale, but in the ebooks they are in glorious colour, so if you have the Kindle version make sure you take a peek at them on a colour device like your computer as they are pretty special. Gerry’s memoirs are out in a few months which, if the contract signing lunch stories he told are anything to go by are going to be funny and pretty revealing. Here is a wonderful interview with Gerry with his agent Tom Evans……
Sherlock Holmes and The Affair in Transylvania is is available through all good bookstores including Amazon and Barnes and Noble in electronic formats like Amazon Kindle.
The Bookbag reviews Hunt For The Blower Bentley
“You’ll warm to the characters: there’s something compelling about Faston Hanks which made you want him to win through.”
Hunt For The Blower Bentley is the second outing for Faston Hanks and The Bookbag, one of the world’s leading independent book review sites gives it the thumbs up:
“There’s a neat blend of fact and fiction with the fiction being all too believable. It’s not inconceivable that there was at least one spy working for Germany from within the British Isles or that the Bentley played the part it did. If at times there are a few too many coincidences – then suspend disbelief. It’s a darn good story.”
You can read the full review on The Bookbag Website.
A recent review on Amazon USA shows that car fans are going to like the book:
“I heard about this book on the radio and got for my husband, the total car guy. So far he is about 1/3 way through it (which is huge as he is usually a car mag kinda man) and he says its great. Think it would be a good choice for any car enthusiast looking for murder mystery”.
Hunt For The Blower Bentley is available from all good bookstores and on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and iBooks (iPad/iPhone).
The Bookbag reviews A Case of Witchcraft A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
“Overall, this is a rich and satisfying tale that provides us with a new insight into the most private recesses of the mind of Sherlock Holmes.”
Set in the Northern Isles A Case of Witchcraft has already caused some controversy written as it is by an expert on the occult. The Bookbag really liked the book and gave it a very strong 4 out of 5 stars.
“Revill’s work brings us the Holmes we love very quickly. Instantly recognisable with his usual ascerbic wit and attractive peculiarities, this novel draws in the reader rapidly, and sets up the storyline clearly.
As Holmes embarks on a journey towards the Northern Isles, we are treated to a comprehensive background of the ways of witches all over the world; all points are pertinent and the history is fascinating as well as necessary. The introduction to the ways of witchcraft demonstrates the worldwide links that will become highly significant later. Revill weaves in the relevant history and all its complications with ease, and the novel flows in spite of having to accommodate this.”
You can read the full review at The Bookbag Website.
The book is available from Amazon, and also in all good formats including Amazon Kindle , Barnes and Noble Nook and iBooks for the iPad.
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