The Angel of the Crows

This is the 3rd book I've read by Katherine Addison and I found it equally as satisfying as the other two (The Goblin Emperor and The Witness for the Dead).  This is set in 1880's London and is a take-off on the Sherlock Holmes body of work. However, in this alternate version of London, supernatural creatures are an accepted part of the culture and vampires and werewolves have long-standing treaties with the human population that allows them to function fairly normally in society--within their own limitations. Angels are commonplace guardians of buildings but the Holmesian figure is the Angel for the entire region of London since his building was destroyed. He is often called in to consult for the police. He has the wings of a crow and is called the same. His new flatmate is Dr. Doyle who has some significant secrets to hide but needs a living space he he can afford on a retired military doctor's stipend. Dr. Doyle quickly gets involved with Crow's cases, especially the murders of prostitutes in Whitechapel.

Library Journal says of this book, " A twisting, surprising Sherlock bend in a world of angels, hell-hounds, and other supernatural beings. Readers may know the names and the stories, but here is an original tale. ...Addison ... enthralls readers with her character-driven action, intriguing expressions of identity and sexuality, and a world set in an alternate 1880s London that captures the imagination. " Similarly, Booklist concludes, "Supernatural versions of classic Holmes stories take place alongside the Ripper murders, with Doyle and Crow in the thick of them. While very different in tone from her last work, Addison's adept characterization and world building elevate The Angel of Crows above the run-of-the-mill Holmes pastiche. Highly recommended for ... anyone looking to be immersed in a well-wrought alternate historical fantasy world."

Kirkus offers a favorabld review as well: "Supernatural versions of classic Holmes stories take place alongside the Ripper murders, with Doyle and Crow in the thick of them. While very different in tone from her last work, Addison's adept characterization and world building elevate The Angel of Crows above the run-of-the-mill Holmes pastiche. Highly recommended for fans of Kim Newman's Anno-Dracula (1993) and Ian R. MacLeod's The Light Ages (2003) or anyone looking to be immersed in a well-wrought alternate historical fantasy world." 

I reallly like Addison's characters and world building and will seek out anything else she has written.

The Labyrinth of Death

I took this book from the holiday gift exchange my mystery book group had and really enjoyed it. I had never heard of author James Lovegrove, but he has written several other books (this is the 5th) featuring the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson pair of protagonists. Set in 1895 (Victorian) London and in the English countryside, the characters seem believable and fairly consistent with past representations. The case here is initiated by a high court judge who comes to Sherlock, upon the recommendation of advocates and police officers he has encountered in court, to find his missing 29-year-old daughter. She is apparently quite a "free spirit," very intelligent and quite outspoken. The judge's wife died recently and he has been less than attentive to his daughter, taking solace in alcohol. It's not long before Sherlock and Watson track down the judge's daughter, but Hannah Woolfson has inserted herself into a unique organization under an assumed name in order to find a missing friend and Sherlock wants to leave her in place since they cannot get closer to the group's setting or founder as both are guarded by armed ex-soldiers referred to as the Hoplites. The term is taken from ancient Greece as is the name of the group--the Elysians. The mastermind of this community is a lauded and titled architect, Sir Philip Buchanan, who is convinced of the superiority of ancient Greek society and plans to train promising individuals and insert them back into British society at large to better it. He doesn't seem to care what the cost might be to the members of his group. When Sherlock reports back to judge Woolfson, he is of course furious, but Sherlock promises her safety. Hannah and the Holmes/Watson pair communicate via letters as to the progress of Hannah's investigations. Watson, who is widowed, is quite taken with Hannah and not at all happy with the arrangement and the potential danger to which Hannah might be exposed. After one particularly disturbing letter, Watson overrides Sherlock's admonitions to stay distant and falls into a trap set at the Elysian community by a man who Hannah had thought to be an ally. Sherlock and Watson must outwit a series of puzzles in an elaborate labyrinth in order to survive.

A middling review from Publishers Weekly.

The House of Silk

This is author Anthony Horowitz writing a Sherlock Holmes novel, and it was well done in my opinion. This is the first addition to the official Sherlock Holmes canon approved by the Conan Doyle estate.  I have read and posted on 4 other mysteries by Horowitz: Magpie Murders, The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, and Moonflower Murders. Having watched the Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch, it's hard to read this book without picturing him and Martin Freeman in the roles of Sherlock and Dr. Watson (respectively). As usual, Dr. Watson is the ostensible author and reporter of events and, for this story, he is writing after the death of Sherlock Holmes about two cases that intersected and were very distressing to both  men at the time. Sherlock is first contacted by an art dealer who is fearful about a man who has been watching his house; he is convinced that the man is a gangster from New York who has followed him home to England and is seeking revenge for the death of his brother. Sherlock sets the task of finding and following the watcher to the Baker Street irregulars, the loose group of street children he has often enlisted. They find him but when Sherlock and Watson arrive, the watcher himself has been murdered. This would seem to solve the problem for Sherlock's original client, but of course Holmes wants to know who murdered the gangster. When the young boy who was watching the hotel at the time of the murder is himself found brutally beaten to death, Sherlock feels responsible and will not rest until he finds the culprits. A strip of white silk is tied to the boy's mangled wrist and Sherlock begins to investigate a mysterious source called the House of Silk. Even his highly placed and influential brother, Mycroft is fearful  of assisting Sherlock, however, and when Sherlock is effectively framed for the murder of the boy's sister, he cannot rescue him. The people behind the murders and the manipulation of wealthy and influential men seem to be beyond Sherlock and Watson's reach, but of course, Sherlock will find a way.  

The Guardian's review enthuses that Horowitz has hit a home run with characters, essential elements of the series, and plotting: "This is a no-shit Sherlock." Publishers Weekly says, "Horowitz gets everything right—the familiar narrative voice, brilliant deductions, a very active role for Watson, and a perplexing and disturbing series of puzzles to unravel..."

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter

New author to me, but Dr. Theodora Goss, a professor in the Writing Program at Boston University, is apparently a prolific and award winning author of novels, essays and poetry, primarily in the myth and fantasy arena. This outing builds upon several characters from Victorian era literature: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Frankenstein. Mary Jekyll is left penniless after her father has died (she believes) and her mother has gone mad. Looking through her father's papers and trying to sort out her mother's finances lead Mary to believe that Mr. Hyde (who she believes was a colleague of her father's) is still alive.  Years ago, there was a hefty reward for finding him in relation to a murder he committed, and that money could solve a lot of problems for Mary. Tracking down a monthly donation her mother was making for the support of the daughter of Mr. Hyde, what she finds is an unruly child, Diana, who being housed at a nunnery, but is being thrown out because she is so disruptive.  The story is told by Catherine Moreau (daughter/ creation of Dr. Moreau) with interjections from all the primary female characters (Mary, Diana, Mrs. Poole, Beatrice Rappaccini, and Justine Frankenstein), as she writes  of the mystery that brought them all together. A secret society for alchemists apparently had members who wanted to move beyond the transformation of base metals into gold and explore biological transformation--from animal to human or from dead to alive. Frankenstein, Moreau, Rappaccini, and Mary's own father, among others, all belonged to this controversial group. And it turns out they were all involved in creating monsters. Now the monsters,  most of the main women characters in the story, have found each other and are trying to create a normal life for themselves. This society may also be connected to a series of murders in Whitehall, mostly prostitutes, and it may even be that the nunnery's director is somehow complicit. There is a mystery to be solved, and it is, but the door is clearly left open for further adventures of these women with extraordinary skills. It is an interesting idea to weave all these horror tales together into an alternative narrative. And certainly the occasional direct dialogue with the characters is an unusual device. I tend to agree with Kirkus, however, which found this distracting and also felt the characters were undeveloped. Perhaps in the sequel, which is slated to be released this year? The reviewer from NPR was more positive, concluding that "At its heart, Strange Case is a lively, late-Victorian adventure that celebrates, overhauls, and pokes gentle fun at the era's weird-fiction tradition. But it's also a sparkling, insightful conversation with the canon from which it sprang." Publishers Weekly also offered a positive evaluation.

Garment of Shadows

I really like this series by Laurie King, featuring the semi-retired Sherlock Holmes and his young wife, Mary Russell. Mary is a formidable character in her own right and the story is told from her perspective. She wakes up with no memory of who she is or how she came to be in a small room in what she eventually determines is the town of Fez, Morocco. But soldiers are pounding on the downstairs door and she realizes, to her horror, that she has dried blood on her hands. Making her escape, she vanishes into the souk and discovers she has talents that no ordinary woman should have--for picking pockets and locks, for disguise as a man, for Arabic language... Holmes meanwhile has just found out that Mary is missing and is searching frantically for her when he gets embroiled in political intrigues that could cause Morocco, currently administered by the French in the south and the Spanish in the north, to explode in civil war. As always, King delivers up well-drawn characters, well-researched history, fascinating period details, and a great plot. Excerpts are available on Laurie King's web site.