Reviewed by Jeanne
Faye uses the now near-standard Sherlockian premise of a box
of papers tucked away and newly discovered that contain new tales of the Great
Detective. The twist this time is that,
instead of a trove of Watson’s writings, this collection has been written by a
number of people who knew Holmes and give their own impressions of the man as
they relate their tales. This has the
novelty of presenting several different views of Holmes all under the same
cover. Most of the stories are told by
minor characters from the canon: Irene Adler, Wiggins of the Baker Street
Irregulars, Mrs. Hudson, etc.
I was very much taken with this collection. The stories have a
very strong sense of place, that place being the London of the Victorian era.
There’s elegance and grime, fog and chill. The stories are in some ways
character studies of their narrators, with Holmes playing a greater or lesser
role depending on the individual. In “The
Song of a Want,” for example, a young solicitor named Wiggins looks back on his
days eking out a living with his best friend Meggie. Cold, starving, and always
in danger, Wiggins meets an extraordinary man who comes to their rescue. An irate Inspector Lestrade grouses and
grumbles but when a young woman entreats his aid to look for her missing sister,
he may just have to get a little help from a vexing, know-it-all consulting
detective. Of course, a certain Irene Adler makes an appearance as well. . . .
The writing is excellent, and I enjoyed seeing Holmes through
the perception of a number of different people, not just the admiring
Watson. I confess some pastiches of Doyle’s
work have left me unsatisfied, either being too worshipful or clichéd, but
these six stories seemed fresh and alive to me.
Faye has written several historical novels, including a
Sherlock Holmes, but also a series set in New York City in the mid-1800s. She is
also the author of Jane Steele, a darkly humorous take on Jane Eyre.
Faye has been nominated for several awards, including an Edgar.
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