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pinecone_mushroom's review against another edition
I wanted to like this and toughed it out as long as I could, but halfway through I’m giving up. Holmes is downright abusive. There’s almost no humor, which gets grinding after a few chapter. And weird things get emphasized dramatically while things I’d like to linger on get brushed over.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
2.0
I am so conflicted because I really wanted to like this book, and it really just let me down. Conceptually it sounds so amazing: black, queer, female Watson and Holmes solve crimes in the middle of a new civil war. How could this possibly go wrong? I think my biggest problem was that it was so glacially slow. Part of this is because the book spends so much time in Watson's head. Not only is the book told from her perspective but we also get journal entries from her as well, which seemed like overkill. She spends a lot of time dwelling on things and a lot of time with no clue what's going on, so instead of action and plot that's what the reader gets. And even when I finally got to the end where everything is revealed I was left with a "that's it?" feeling. I thought it was pretty obvious that so that made it even more frustrating that it took so long to get there. Even an excellent audiobook narrator couldn't save this one.
Spoiler
something was up with the medication and the pharmaceutical companycdeane61's review against another edition
4.0
A very plausible future, extrapolated from where we are now politically.
This is a good story, a little slow at times for my taste, but one of the more detailed character studies that I have read.
Will not be able to resist looking into the further adventures of Dr Watson and Holmes.
This is a good story, a little slow at times for my taste, but one of the more detailed character studies that I have read.
Will not be able to resist looking into the further adventures of Dr Watson and Holmes.
taraminter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bleepbloop's review against another edition
adventurous
3.0
really embarrassed by how long it took me to realize this was a (Sherlock) Holmes book
awesomejen2's review against another edition
3.0
Another adaption of the adventures of Sherlock & Watson; I thought the plot was pretty original and the protagonists just dissimilar enough from the original as to not be overly predictable. Holmes is definitely more personable in this novel. My dislikes include Watson constantly being on the verge of a mental breakdown and not acting very useful in general, the constant emphasis on race in situations where it was not needed, and the setting. The references to Trump, Bush, Paul Ryan, Obama, etc pulled me out of the story near constantly. If the setting had been in an ambiguous future America I think I would have enjoyed it more. When reading a fictional book I would rather not think about current/recent US politicians.
geraldine's review
this was honestly one of the better books my book club chose, but the entire time i was reading it i was just struck with the fact that it would have worked so, so much better if it were not a take on sherlock holmes. really brought the book down when it easily could have stood on its own. all you have to do is make the names more subtle!!! it was really jarring every single time they brought up a holmes name and fully broke the immersion
not terrible though. i liked the character writing for janet
not terrible though. i liked the character writing for janet
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
While there is some mystery elements here what we do have is a strong and often difficult (in an appropriate way) portrayal of female veteran suffering from PTSD. Our Holmes analog stays fairly opaque throughout the novel and O'Dell creates a stunning and well-rounded character study of Janet Watson. With regards to the mystery Janet feels adrift throughout the novel swept along by events outside her control. This works well as an analog to her PTSD but for me works a little less well in what I had hoped was more of a mystery novel. This modern sci-fi version of Watson and Holmes feels like the prologue to something more and I'm curious to see how the Holmes/Watson relationship develops.
storytimed's review against another edition
5.0
Holmes and Watson's whole dynamic is catnip to me, especially the very flowery romantic (gay) descriptions Watson has for her. I loved how Watson was half-suspicion half-admiration, and Holmes's clear appreciation for Watson in general, though I do wish we had more information about why she likes Watson so much. Also: every time Holmes buys Watson a pretty thing or Watson takes care of Holmes, I swoon.
Also really liked the worldbuilding + depiction of shitty futuristic capitalism. Watson having the skills of a MD but stuck as a med tech because of a shitty prosthetic + lack of money + the VA made for a frustrating real situation.
Plot is kinda handwavey, mostly because you didn't really see the outline of the mystery until near to the very end, but I did enjoy the ride overall.
Also really liked the worldbuilding + depiction of shitty futuristic capitalism. Watson having the skills of a MD but stuck as a med tech because of a shitty prosthetic + lack of money + the VA made for a frustrating real situation.
Plot is kinda handwavey, mostly because you didn't really see the outline of the mystery until near to the very end, but I did enjoy the ride overall.