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.