A multifaceted and convincing addition to Sherlock-ian lore.
Young Sherlock Holmes’ family comes together to exonerate an Indian princess suspected of murder in the second installment of Sherwood-Fabre’s historical mystery series.
Sherlock Holmes’ powers of observation and deductive reasoning are highlighted early on in Sherwood-Fabre’s second novel, which features the sleuth as a boy. When the family receives guests from abroad, Sherlock blurts out “India” before his uncle, Ernest, even finishes the introductions. One of the guests, Col. Herbert Williams, asks the boy to explain himself and Holmes replies, “Quite easily…your bearing indicates military service....Given your friendship with my uncle, the most obvious location would be India.” He alludes to the ring finger of the second guest, Meredith Cummings, as indicative of her being “recently engaged, but no longer,” a statement that elicits a signal from his mother to cease observing so closely. The idea that the ability to minutely scrutinize one’s environment could be a symptom of social awkwardness presents readers with an intriguing way to interpret Sherlock. Sherwood-Fabre also contextualizes the novel in the era of British imperialism—a prominent component of the story that moves the action forward. The mystery revolves around Chanda,an Indian princess disguised as Meredith’s servant, who becomes a suspect in the murder of a stranger whose clothing marks him as Romani; the killing of Takahashi Fusamoto,Sherlock’s Japanese martial arts instructor; and an assault on Meredith. Sherwood-Fabre adds further twists to the Holmes mythos by suggesting that Sherlock learned his initial crime-solving abilities from his mother. At one point, in order to analyze clues and secure Chanda’s release, she has the family meet in her sitting room, where “her bookshelf housed scientific treatises and...a microscope for her biological studies.” As they converse, she writes ideas on a blackboard, thus inviting comparisons to the leader of a modern homicide task force using visual clues and logic to connect disparate bits of evidence. Overall, Sherwood-Fabre’s reimagining of the famous detective ably expands the possibilities of the Holmes canon.
A multifaceted and convincing addition to Sherlock-ian lore.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little Elm Press
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
