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deniseadelek's review against another edition
2.0
The main characters weren't really likable, in my opinion. I struggled to get through it because Reggie was so unpleasant. What really bothered me though was that for a book with an obvious reference to Holmes/Baker Street, there wasn't much Holmes-style detective work, or even much mention of it. I was definitely expecting something better.
emmylee04's review against another edition
3.0
This one was fun enough, though don't pick it up expecting much of Sherlock other than some frequent name dropping. As a mystery, and aside from any expectations that Baker Street evokes, it was well done. Enough clues along the way to make you feel like you know what's going on, with a few surprises dropped in at the end to make you feel like it was worth reading. I'll likely pick these up whenever I want a palate cleanser, but I won't be rushing out to get the second one.
vadersvalkyrie's review against another edition
2.0
This book had an interesting premise, but fell short on character development. I didn't really care about anyone but the dog.
gabibooksit's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not at all what I expected. Now, I love all things Sherlock Holmes, so the premise of a pair of brothers who work from the famed 221b Baker Street address and respond to letters sent to the Great Detective really sounded like my cup of tea. It was a little surprising and a little disappointing to discover that ninety-five percent of the book doesn't have the brothers working together and doesn't even take place in London. The majority of the story follows older brother Reggie as he tracks younger brother Nigel who is in turn tracking a young woman who wrote to Sherlock Holmes some twenty years before.
Reggie is our reluctant detective, starting his journey not in the interest of the letter writer but in the interest of corralling his young brother and setting his life to rights. The first part of the novel I felt dragged and was a little flat...Reggie follows the path before him and rides around in a lot of taxis. The prose seems sparse, and not in a Robert B. Parker sense of sparse, but I felt Robertson shortchanged the potential in his setting and his supporting characters.
Things start to pick up significantly mid-way through the book when Reggie is no longer on his own and the supporting characters become more important. Reggie does start coming into his own as he pulls the threads together and makes some sacrifices to see it through to the conclusion.
Reggie grew on me through the course of the story. At first he seems very flat for a lead, but one of the things I like about him is that he proves to be a man of action as far as the investigation is concerned. Robertson applies a very deft hand at Reggie's character development and his deductive skills as they grow, although he retains several flaws.
I will definitely be reading the next in the series, hoping for the brothers to be working together, fewer taxi rides, and some fleshed out characterizations.
Reggie is our reluctant detective, starting his journey not in the interest of the letter writer but in the interest of corralling his young brother and setting his life to rights. The first part of the novel I felt dragged and was a little flat...Reggie follows the path before him and rides around in a lot of taxis. The prose seems sparse, and not in a Robert B. Parker sense of sparse, but I felt Robertson shortchanged the potential in his setting and his supporting characters.
Things start to pick up significantly mid-way through the book when Reggie is no longer on his own and the supporting characters become more important. Reggie does start coming into his own as he pulls the threads together and makes some sacrifices to see it through to the conclusion.
Reggie grew on me through the course of the story. At first he seems very flat for a lead, but one of the things I like about him is that he proves to be a man of action as far as the investigation is concerned. Robertson applies a very deft hand at Reggie's character development and his deductive skills as they grow, although he retains several flaws.
I will definitely be reading the next in the series, hoping for the brothers to be working together, fewer taxi rides, and some fleshed out characterizations.
dionne's review
1.0
The characters aren’t interesting or engaging at all. I have zero interest in following them further. It would have been more interesting to follow Nigel than Reggie. I had no idea what was going on until the last third of the book. How this became a series is beyond my comprehension.
hdungey's review
3.0
Listened to the audiobook on a long drive. In the accidental-detective genre, this is a good one, though not containing quite as much Sherlockiana as I would have expected. And, oddly, most of the aciton takes place in Hollywood, not London - but centers around two English barrister brothers, so that's OK. Major appearances by Earl Grey tea and a brolly.
vinithepooh's review
3.0
This was a cute read - for all that the title references Sherlock Holmes and the fact that the Heath brothers have their offices at Baker Street, that was a reference that was made maybe 4 times throughout the book. Sherlock Holmes was just a plot device to explain how they came about the mystery in the first place, and after that point the story proceeded rather like a typical mystery novel. It was a solid read, with a fairly low number of characters who were fleshed out, and the solution to the mystery and motives for the murder(s) made sense and seemed plausible. I'm not sure that the whole Nigel/Reggie/Laura triangle needed to be played through quite SO much, but that was forgivable. All in all, an entertaining read to pass the time.
penny_literaryhoarders's review
3.0
Well I burned through that one didn't I? A good summer read - very light and enjoyable.
margaretpinard's review
2.0
Too many little things made me annoyed with the text. One character got all the thinking parts, and the others feel pretty wooden. I like the premise, but it seems to be venturing far from its roots with little foundation to stand on--I didn't know I was getting into a political SoCal enviro-commentary (well, not really, but would've been more interesting if more in depth with that topic). The villain was a surprise, but I just wasn't getting excited about Reggie's thought process. Although his humor was pretty funny.
juliannos's review
4.0
Interesting read. Very enthralling, especially once Reggie reaches Los Angles. The mystery was a bit hard to follow at points, but really drew me was the characters. I also enjoy that all the loose ends in the first book are not tied up neatly, leaving much to be explored in the sequel, which I will hopefully pick up soon.