When a beautiful
young woman collapses outside Sherlock Holmes’ home
she is naturally taken in by his cousin Dr Henry Vernier.
Once inside she reveals herself to be Isabel Stone, heiress
to a fortune in jewels but denied her inheritance by her villainous
stepfather. Shortly after her departure her stepfather Captain
Grimbold Pratt storms in demanding to know what has been going
on. Soon the intrepid pair is off to Pratt’s estate
and a new adventure.
I’ve
read several entries in this series about Sherlock Holmes’
doctor cousin and his wife and this is one of the best ones
in my opinion. It is not hard to guess whodunit or why, but
there is more going on here and discovering all about it made
for some absorbing reading. This is also a fairly light hearted
tale apart from the murders for reasons which will be apparent
if you read it. The estate has not only the irascible owner
and his large housekeeper but a pet tiger and wolf, and a
cook who creates some truly awful meals. I confess that I
prefer to read about Watson and at times the Verniers are
apt to get irritating, plus Mr Siciliano’s portrayal
of Sherlock is not one of the most accurate. This author also
has a fascination with the size of things, and on every page
we are told that one person or item is either very small or
(more usually) very large. In my opinion this is the sort
of detail you can hear too much about as it mostly has little
bearing on anything relevant, and I felt that this novel featured
it even more than usual. Aside from this I found the tale
to be consistently entertaining and an ideal cheering read
for anybody who needs their spirits lifting. Imaginative and
very readable.
Reviews of other titles inthe The
New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Series
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