Showing posts with label Sherlock Holmes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sherlock Holmes. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Adventures of the Peculiar Protocal by Nicholas Meyer


Nicholas Meyer presents us with another 'newly discovered' Sherlock Holmes case from Dr. Watson's diaries in The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols. Mycroft Holmes summons his brother Sherlock Holmes to investigate a murder and a document being circulated that warns that a secret group is bent on taking over the world. The document appears to be part of a conspiracy to foment and spur trouble.

My husband and I both read The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer when it came out in 1974. He offered a new view of the perpetually popular Sherlock Holmes. Later my brother shared his copy of Meyer's third Holmes mystery, The West End Horror. I thought this would be a fun read.

Soon after I got into the book I discovered this story is more than entertainment. The story of a secret group is 'fake news' being used for political purposes.

Now, where have we heard that story before?

It is 1905 and Watson is married to a suffragette and has built a practice. Holmes notes that crimes are getting bigger. Electric lights are replacing gas. There is an uprising in Russia and Czar Nicholas is struggling to maintain control. The Jews are looking for a homeland, perhaps in Uganda.

Holmes, of course, needs Watson's assistance; they are not so sure about the help of a female radical socialist, Anna Strunsky. Her beauty alone is problematic for the married Watson. Watson's wife made him pledge to end to his risky adventures with Holmes. Will his marriage survive--or his practice? But this is no regular murder investigation; behind the murder is a plot that will set Europe careening into mass hysteria and death.

The three make a journey on the Orient Express to Odessa, Russia. Proving the document a fake is essential. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. Or is it already too late? Once fake news is in the world, it tends to stay there.

People love to place blame on something concrete, some 'other' as the source of their problems.

This is a fun read, filled with historical references and events, political intrigue, a kidnapping, and an expansion of the classic characters of Watson and Holmes. But the underlying message is serious, chilling, and sadly, timeless.

I was granted access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D.
by Nicholas Meyer
St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books
Pub Date 15 Oct 2019 
ISBN 9781250228956
PRICE $25.99 (USD)

Sunday, November 29, 2015

The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by  Michael Coren is a good introduction to the man behind Sherlock Holmes. It is a brief biography that is cogent, succinct, accessible, and complete.

The preface states this is not a literary biography, but he does an admirable job covering Doyle's literary achievements from conception to public response. We learn about the men who inspired his characters and how he came to write The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Doyle's life is more adventurous and passionate than one would have supposed. He was a vital man who enjoyed challenging sports. Bored with his medical studies he signed up on a whaling expedition to the Arctic before he'd completed his degree. He had trouble establishing his medical career and tried his hand at writing stories. He discovered a facility in story-telling that was salable. Coren notes Doyle's strengths and weaknesses as an author.

Doyle was a champion of causes. Although a conservative, some of his causes were remarkably forward thinking such as his work toward fair divorce laws for women. He himself never considered divorcing his own wife when he fell in love with another woman; Doyle gave his ailing wife constant and loyal support, marrying the woman he loved after her death. Raised Catholic he later rejected religion but became deeply interested in spiritualism.

It is interesting to learn that in his later life he himself was involved with solving several crime cases.

The biography is a nice introduction.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a a fair and unbiased review.

Endeavor Press is the U.K.'s largest digital publisher.

The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
by Michael Coren
Endeavor Press
Publication Date October 9, 2015
Ebook
ISBN: 9780747526681

Read my blog post on The Immortal Sherlock Holmes here.