Letters to Sherlock

Reviewed by Jeanne

When barrister Reggie Heath and his brother Nigel took offices at 221 Baker Street, they agreed to a somewhat unusual clause in the lease: to answer letters sent to Sherlock Holmes by admirers from around the world. They are to send out a standard form letter, and they are not to have contact with any of the senders.

This is the premise for Michael Robertson’s “Heath & Heath” series of mysteries featuring intricate plots, entertaining characters and sometimes implausible situations but all in good fun.  In the first book, The Baker Street Letters, Reggie returns to the office to find a dead clerk and his brother apparently headed for America in response to a letter for Sherlock. Not only does that make Nigel look very, very guilty, but he may lose his law license if he fails to appear in front of a review board so Reggie sets off in hot pursuit along with Laura, Reggie’s current girlfriend who used to be Nigel’s girl. It soon becomes apparent that someone else is taking that letter seriously—deadly seriously.

I thought The Baker Street Letters had a very good premise and some good characters but for me it had a bit of a disorganized feel. Nice, but not especially memorable, so I wasn’t chomping at the bit to read the second book in the series.  In fact, I almost didn’t, but the third book was getting very good reviews indeed and a quick check showed that reviewers had thought the second book very good as well.

Now, reviewers and I don’t always agree, but I decided I’d pick up The Brothers of Baker Street so that I could either be impressed or make a note to myself to ignore certain reviewers in the future because they didn’t know what they were talking about.

Good news for all concerned, they did know.  The second book is much better than the first and I quite enjoyed it.  The book picks up not long after the end of Baker Street Letters.  Nigel is still in America, but Reggie is definitely feeling the aftermath of his impulsive actions in the U.S. His law practice is in shambles, he has no clients to speak of, he’s run through most of his money, and his girlfriend is seeing another man.  Things are so desperate that he agrees to take on a criminal case, though he had sworn off those years ago—a little matter of not wanting to defend guilty people.  Besides, there are some extenuating circumstances: the defendant’s solicitor swears he’s innocent, a hard-working bloke who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps to make something of himself, much like Reggie’s father had done. The cabbie, one of England’s fabled Black Cab drivers, is accused of preying on his fares and even murdering two of them.  Meanwhile, someone is taking an interest in the tabloid reports of the “Balmy Barrister” who thinks he’s Sherlock, which may explain the letter sent to Reggie’s office welcoming Mr. Holmes’ return and bearing the signature “Moriarity.”

This second book is still fun and features entertaining characters, but the author has really sharpened his focus. The plot is very well constructed and even seemingly throwaway lines can lead to important clues.  I was hooked within fifty pages and now am looking forward to reading the third book in the series, The Baker Street Translation, which has also gotten very good reviews. I have high hopes.