At
the very beginning of the partnership between Holmes and Watson,
the pair is finding themselves short of work, and even shorter
of the rent. Watson scours the papers for cases, which are
soon resolved usually without any money forthcoming, but a
certain elderly widow's problem sounds more interesting. Mrs.
Wynter wants to know what has happened to her sailor son Norbert,
whose tour of duty in South Africa has ended with him either
missing or possibly accused of desertion. Naturally she wants
to know the truth and the detectives take on her case. But
none of them know quite how one missing man could be the key
to a vast conspiracy
The game's afoot! It is good to read a case from the beginning
of the detectives' career as so many take place after Reichenbach
Falls, but this tale is set in the hot summer of 1881 not
long after the pair first meet. To describe what the story
entails would spoil the plot, but expect plenty of sinister
foreigners, chases through streets, an attack on a train,
conspiracies involving important figures and some real historical
events. In short, it is a lot of fun, and although a bit of
editing would have made it tauter and thus more exciting,
it still manages to be packed with adventure. As it takes
place before the pair have built up their reputation, they
have to rely on plenty of legwork; the police know who they
are but barely, Mycroft is still unknown to Watson and they
get more help from the Baker Street Irregulars than Lestrade.
I enjoyed the way the story was built up from a simple meeting
with the missing man's mother and escalated gradually into
an international conspiracy. There is a lot to enjoy in here
and I wouldn't hesitate to read another by this writing team.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
The
Counterfeit Detective
Murder
At Sorrow's Crown
The
Haunting of Torre Abbey
The
Improbable Prisoner
The
Instrument of Death
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