Scan barcode
davscomur's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
2.5
This is not the worst thing that Davies has written; however, that is not saying a whole lot. All of the twists were highly
visible from miles away.
Holmes disguises himself three times, in three different costumes, and the villain uses two disguises. That’s a lot of disguising for 280 pages. The final showdown features them confronting each other while disguised, so I hope anyone who reads this really likes that characteristic of Holmes.
visible from miles away.
Holmes disguises himself three times, in three different costumes, and the villain uses two disguises. That’s a lot of disguising for 280 pages. The final showdown features them confronting each other while disguised, so I hope anyone who reads this really likes that characteristic of Holmes.
lottekarotte's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
caidyn's review
2.0
1.5
I'm literally feeling a bit heartbroken over my rating of this. David Stuart Davies is my go to for Holmes pastiches. His stuff is generally in character, his stories are interesting, and I like the way he writes. However, all the things that I love about him were gone in this book. The plot is promising and intriguing, but there were too many things wrong than write.
First, the characterization.
Sherlock wasn't Sherlock. John felt pretty okay, because he can be easy to grasp; you just have to downplay the reason and play up the gut instinct, so not that hard. But, the main guy? Not right at all. I wasn't convinced by it.
Second, the plot.
So, from the title, you can easily deduce that the book is going to be about Jack the Ripper in some way. Not that hard. However, it just took my least favorite theory -- the only way I liked it was in a specific movie, where they did a really good job with it; outside of that, nope -- and ran with it. When I realized where they were going, my face completely fell because I thought that it was going to go somewhere unique. It didn't.*
Third, and lastly, the way it was told.
Basically, it had multiple POVs. It ranged from John's diary, Sherlock's perspective, the kidnapper's perspective, and random other perspectives that I didn't need. Each time I got to a new chapter, it was just like
And, I don't like that. So, sadly, this really didn't work for me. What a shame, but I'm still going to keep an eye out for his stuff. One miss among the few good ones I've read isn't going to deter me. Although, now I need to try for another Holmes fix since this didn't do it for me.
*If you want a good Holmes pastiche that deals with Jack the Ripper, I highly recommend [b:Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson|4543979|Dust and Shadow An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson|Lyndsay Faye|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1347948850s/4543979.jpg|4593256]. Also remember somewhat enjoying [b:The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Whitechapel Horrors|8983685|The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Whitechapel Horrors|Edward B. Hanna|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1348694940s/8983685.jpg|1081305].
I'm literally feeling a bit heartbroken over my rating of this. David Stuart Davies is my go to for Holmes pastiches. His stuff is generally in character, his stories are interesting, and I like the way he writes. However, all the things that I love about him were gone in this book. The plot is promising and intriguing, but there were too many things wrong than write.
First, the characterization.
Sherlock wasn't Sherlock. John felt pretty okay, because he can be easy to grasp; you just have to downplay the reason and play up the gut instinct, so not that hard. But, the main guy? Not right at all. I wasn't convinced by it.
Second, the plot.
So, from the title, you can easily deduce that the book is going to be about Jack the Ripper in some way. Not that hard. However, it just took my least favorite theory -- the only way I liked it was in a specific movie, where they did a really good job with it; outside of that, nope -- and ran with it. When I realized where they were going, my face completely fell because I thought that it was going to go somewhere unique. It didn't.*
Third, and lastly, the way it was told.
Basically, it had multiple POVs. It ranged from John's diary, Sherlock's perspective, the kidnapper's perspective, and random other perspectives that I didn't need. Each time I got to a new chapter, it was just like
And, I don't like that. So, sadly, this really didn't work for me. What a shame, but I'm still going to keep an eye out for his stuff. One miss among the few good ones I've read isn't going to deter me. Although, now I need to try for another Holmes fix since this didn't do it for me.
*If you want a good Holmes pastiche that deals with Jack the Ripper, I highly recommend [b:Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson|4543979|Dust and Shadow An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson|Lyndsay Faye|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1347948850s/4543979.jpg|4593256]. Also remember somewhat enjoying [b:The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Whitechapel Horrors|8983685|The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Whitechapel Horrors|Edward B. Hanna|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1348694940s/8983685.jpg|1081305].
More...