Good Night, Mr. Holmes

Good Night, Mr. Holmes  (Irene Adler #1) 

  - Carole Nelson Douglas

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For any Sherlock Holmes fan, Irene Adler is a fascinating character - smart and intelligent, one of the 4 people and the only woman to get the better of Holmes, and the only woman to win Holmes's admiration. So I felt it was great idea to portray her as a sort of female counterpart of Holmes - with a strong ability to observe and reason, wonderful skill at disguise, and probably much more resourcefulness.

I also think it was very ingenious on the author's part to expand 'A Scandal in Bohemia' to create a backstory for Irene Adler, and present her side of the story. In the canon, the king represents Irene as a cunning and vengeful woman whereas Irene says she is the one who has been wronged, and in the end Holmes seems to consider Irene much superior as a person. This novel provides an explanation of how and why of her claim, and why Holmes might have been justified in regarding her far more than the king.

I think that this novel makes a significant statement of feminism. We have here a woman, alone in the world, working to survive in Victorian England on her skills and talent, and making a good job of it. It also demonstrates how "cleverness" in a woman is portrayed by the patriarchal world as "scheming", while the truth might be the other way round.

Since Holmes has Dr. Watson, Irene must have a sidekick-biographer - so there is a Penelope (or Nell, as Irene calls her). I found Nell an extremely annoying character, who doesn't really have the mental strength to survive her misfortunes, but cannot stop moralizing Irene, who has sheltered her. In a regency romance kind of setting, she might be the spinster who has neither wealth nor charm, and her bitterness due to this drives her to take a high moral ground. There doesn't seem to be any reason why Irene may consider her a friend.

The author created two independent women (yes, Nell eventually learns to support herself financially), but then proceeded to spoil it by having Godfrey Norton, and extremely kind and handsome man, go out of the way to make life easy for both of them. By having relationship between him Nell start in a way indicating romance, but suddenly revealed as a brotherly affection. By having the heartbroken Irene suddenly fall head-over-heels-in-love with him. Of course we know from the canon that Norton marries Irene, but the way these relationships were developed were uncharacteristic in the novel.

Despite the drawbacks, and the amount of time spent in building up the backstories, I found it interesting and would like to explore more books in the series.

The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes

The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes

  - Jamyang Norbu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Somewhere between 2.5 to 3 stars for this one, most of which are contributed by my biased interest in this topic. The gap years, which Conan Doyle left unexplained (except the cursory statement that Holmes spent most of the time in India and Tibet), are a source of great interest to any Sherlockian. And yet, though I have read quite a few Pastiche works, and know of many more, I am not aware of any other work that attempts to tell the story of this time. And so, being an Indian, an admirer of Tibetan culture and a sympathizer of Tibetan cause, this book held a great appeal for me.

I felt that thus uniquely positioned, it had a great potential, and the first half fulfills it. I enjoyed reading about the Bombay of those times, the train journey, and the journey through the hills to Tibet. I liked even more, reading about the Tibetan cultural and political context, glimpse into their religious and spiritual beliefs. Overall, it recreates the period very well, and I did learn a few things about the history of the region.

Although I haven't read Rudyard Kipling's 'Kim', I was amused to note that the author weaved in the setting from it so well into the story, specially positioning the character of Hurree Chander as Holmes's sidekick (one who is much more effective than Dr Watson). Even though I didn't appreciate the obsequious attitude of Hurree towards any Englishman or his being a great proponent of the British system (no admirer of the Raj myself), I liked the fact that the author gave him a dignity and intelligence that earned him regard even from his commanding officers.

A few incidents in the story borrow inspiration from the canon rather heavily, and I was both amused and a bit annoyed by these - when Holmes infers Hurree's chain of thoughts, burglary of an important paper followed by fire, being the most striking ones.

However, it was the last 40% that killed it for me (and also for many others, as I see from the reviews). It is heavy on occult and supernatural, combined with thrilling chase sequences. There is no deductive reasoning by Holmes - which is his USP, that makes him the most famous fictional detective of all times, or possibly even the most famous character. Holmes is more of an action hero, more of a James Bond, but with psychic abilities. Within this context, the author managed to bring in one really quirky twist (no spoilers!). There are two more twists, but one is what you could call 'too much of a good thing' and the other one could be seen miles ahead.

I so wish that the author had kept the story line within the scope of rationale thought and logical reasoning, because it had so much going for it.

Mini Reviews - XII

A Study in Sherlock (Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon)
  - Miscellaneous

Its quite a mixed bag of stories, set over a range of time frames, some featuring Holmes, many featuring people inspired by Holmes. Some of the stories were nice, while others were insipid. In fact, after reading the first story, I considered abandoning it (even though I loved the Flavia de Luce series by the Author Alan Bradley). There were a few murder mysteries written in the style of Doyle or Christie, I enjoyed those though I was able to figure out the solution - something that does not usually happen with either canon. Overall, I would rate it between 2.5 to 3 stars.


Andy Carpenter #5 (Dead Center)
  - David Rosenfelt

I had enjoyed the series so far, but looks like its time to part ways.
This installment had a setting that was too far-fetched, and the rest of the story has become to sound formulaic (but perhaps that's the norm and the selling point for series like this). After leading through obvious red-herrings (because when the murderer is too obvious from the start, you can be assured that it will not turn out to be the right solution), it appeared that the author was in a hurry to conclude.
The writing style is also not holding me any more. The humorous asides, that were entertaining earlier in the series, are now getting to me - too much of a good thing? I am no fan of high literature, I prefer engaging stories, related in a straightforward manner, but the language in this one has started feeling too juvenile even for me.


The Diva Runs out of Thyme
  - Krista Davis

About 30% into the book, I was fully inclined to abandon it. The author just tried too hard to tell us how mean and shallow Natasha is - every alternate chapter she gives useless and entitled advice to the readers in her column (how many people can afford to rent a limo for their guests to roam about the city in style?!) ... she is exactly a diva, throwing tantrums all around and expecting people to fawn over her. In contrast, the main character is too saccharine (or maybe a doormat) who lets everyone impose over her, and who can prepare a formal meal for 14 people without batting an eyelid. Her mother and sister are unbearable, the only likeable characters have a very minor role.
Eventually, since I cant not know who the killer was, I skimmed through it, skipping the advice columns and lengthy descriptions of food preps, through irrelevant sidetracks (what was that about the colonel and hearse!) to reach a convoluted solution.
Cant figure out why is it ranked so high on the GR cozy mystery lists.

PS: I don't remember why I started numbering these "mini reviews" collections in roman numerals. I hope I won't write so many of them to not be able to annotate the roman number easily :D

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

  - Laurie R. King

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I fairly liked the first book in the series, but have mixed feelings about this one, bordering towards negative.

First, what I liked - it is well written, and the language as well as the plot flows well (unlike most of the contemporary "cozy mystery" books whose language and storyline feels juvenile). I am no scholar of religion, but I liked and appreciated the theological discussions between the characters, particularly with regard to women's role and rights. I also found insightful the religious and social doctrine against women (that's where the title comes from), and the role of women in London and Britain during and after the WW1.

Now, to the issues, which were too big to overlook. The core theme of the mystery is a plot that has been used time and again (I particularly remember one Poirot story). Though the author gives it a small twist, and it is engaging enough to continue reading to find out how it unfolds, it still feels a letdown.

The biggest problem I have though (and as I see, many other readers do too) is the relationship between Russell and Holmes. After reading the first one, I looked at the blurbs of some of the subsequent ones and found that they get married. I found it creepy and didn't want to continue, but some member of my reading group convinced me that there is a good reason for it and I would enjoy the series. After reading this, I found that my apprehensions were correct. Description of a growing physical attraction between them is extremely distasteful - not only because of the age difference of 40 years, or because it seems totally out of character, but most significantly due to the way their relationship started. Mary is 15 years old when she first meets Holmes, and for 5 years, looks upon him as a mentor and father figure. So, when at the end of the book, Holmes states that he has wanted to kiss her since he first saw her, it is too dramatic and downright creepy.

Mini Reviews - X

The Return of Moriarty (Professor Moriarty Book 1)
The Revenge of Moriarty (Professor Moriarty Book 2)
  - John Gardner
 
These offer an interesting take on Moriarty's exploits. However, it became repetitive after a point, describing the gangster's daily business of crimes. The major feats and character studu of Moriarty were more intriguing. In the second book also, the big plans and schemes and evolution of Moariarty's character were imaginative. However the descriptions of daily business felt even more repetitive. It is interesting to note that many of Holmes pastiche works have a PoV on Jack the Ripper crimes, and this novel also offered a decent twist on it.

Read and Reviewed in Oct 2020

My Man Jeeves (Jeeves #1)

  - P.G. Wodehouse

After receiving numerous recos for Wodehouse as the most wonderful work of english humour, I started with the Blandings Castle series and read six of them, after which it became kind of tedious. I think it is best to read them in between other works, to change the mood, rather than at a go.

Anyhow, these are tough times, and after reading a couple of other books, I thought I will give Jeeves a try. After all, he is perhaps the most famous creation of Wodehouse. My man Jeeves was entertaining and amusing alright, but I was also a bit disappointed. For one, I expected a novel, but it was a collection of stories. Secondly, only half of the stories featured Jeeves, the other half related the antics of another set of characters. Jeeves stories follow a similar pattern ... One of Bertie's friends gets into trouble, they seek Jeeves' advice, which backfires. Then when they give up, Jeeves manages to set it right. Not bad to cheer one up, but I feel they should rather be used as a palate cleanser.

Read and Reviewed in Apr 2020

The Woman in White
  - Collins, Wilkie 

Fairly good and entertaining suspense thriller, set in Victorian times. Though I found it a little too verbose .... there were lengthy descriptions, which I eventually skipped. I'm not particularly fond of reading a 7-page description of the heroine's beauty, or a character's tangential thought-line. It also was full of cliches, most of them non-endearing.

Read and Reviewed in Jan 2020

Bride of Pendorric
  - Holt, Victoria 

This was much better than the previous two Victoria Holt books I read (which were a huge disappointment to my memories of enjoying her books immensely). It was something of a typical Holt story - a titled, handsome hero, a young naive heroine, an immediate attraction and grave misunderstandings. It was an enjoyable read, even suspenseful during the middle, but by the last quarter I figured out what would be the big reveal.

What I don't understand is that why in all these 18th or 19th century romances, the young heroine, barely out of her teens, fall for a man 15 or more years older to her, practically double her age at the time.

Read and Reviewed in Jan 2020

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

  - Laurie R. King

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I have loved Holmes stories since I first read them at the age of 12, and have read them several times since then. I have always lamented that there were so few of them, and wanted to read more of Holmes. Eventually I found fanfic (and learned of a new word - pastiche) but was fearful that the fanfic would just make it worse. In the end, I started reading some of the highly recommended pastiche works, usually suggested by members of my online reading group.

This one looked very intriguing, as instead of featuring Holmes or Moriarty, the lead here is a precocious 15 year old girl, who can match Holmes's intellectual capabilities. I found the stories quite entertaining even though unrealistic. The originals are unrealistic too, but these are even more so. A fair part of the book was given up to building up the environment and the character of Mary Russell, which reduces the mysteries and detective work; this should be taken care of in the sequels. The section about the weeks in Jerusalem didn't add much to the story, and was consequently somewhat boring. On the other hand, I enjoyed reading about Mary's life at Oxford.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading this book, but there were two major deterrents to my enjoyment.

First is the treatment given to Watson. I have always felt that Doyle/Holmes treated Dr Watson rather shabbily in the Canon, but in here it is downright demeaning. It is not only Mary who constantly refers to him in a disparaging manner, often needlessly, but also Holmes, who shows little respect and loyalty towards his friend.

Second is the knowledge gathered from blurbs of subsequent books that Holmes and Mary get married by the third book. This isn't just completely out of Holmes's character, but also deeply unsettling. The 40 year age gap isn't the only thing that makes it creepy, but the fact that Mary begins by looking up to Holmes as a mentor and father figure, while Holmes refers to her as 'my child' through the book. Why was introducing romance between the a two necessary? IMHO, it could have worked equally well by retaining Holmes in the role of mentor, or adoptive father if social constraints demanded a defined relationship.

The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street

The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street 

 - Rob Nunn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had somehow stumbled upon this book on Goodreads, perhaps while looking over some of the other Holmes pastiche works that I have been wanting to read. [Confession - Pastiche is a new word I learnt recently, and am having fun using it :D]. There was a preview available, and it aroused my curiosity and interest. This had been on my wishlist since then, but has always been hard to find, or quite expensive. A few months ago I got a kindle, and recently got a ebook of this one, allowing me to delve into it.

Sorry to say that, belying the GR reviews, and the promise offered by the preview, it did not live up to the expectation. I felt that it is essentially a retelling of the original (or canon, as they are fond of calling it in the pastiche universe), though in a less engaging manner. It hardly adds anything new, with the exception of a few minor twists here and there. The author keeps on telling us what a criminal-par-excellence Holmes is, achieving this daredevil heist or that complicated disappearance or what sweet revenge on his enemies; but how these were achieved, we have no clue. The employment of Sherlockian “methods” (you know my methods, Watson!), that was the USP of the canon, is deplorably missing. The only cases where we get to see some detail of the execution are the ones which are taken from the canon. It was also annoying to read Holmes, and to some extent Watson, continually refer to themselves as great criminals; I don’t think I have come across any work of fiction – book or movie – where even the vilest criminals do so. The author also brought in references to a number of things, for example, Jack the Ripper, around which there was no story, making me wonder about the purpose of doing so. There were also some inconsistencies or contradictions, which though a little jarring, could be overlooked; but it would have been better to avoid them altogether.