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turrean's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The audiobook was superb.
This is a marvelous recreation of the world of Sherlock Holmes. It’s a mix of supernatural fantasy and mystery, with a richly imagined Victorian London peopled by hellhounds, angels, vampires, stolid constables, and cunning criminals. The “Holmes” and “Watson” characters are delightful, and the references to the Conan Doyle stories are clever and plentiful.
I was sorry when it ended!
This is a marvelous recreation of the world of Sherlock Holmes. It’s a mix of supernatural fantasy and mystery, with a richly imagined Victorian London peopled by hellhounds, angels, vampires, stolid constables, and cunning criminals. The “Holmes” and “Watson” characters are delightful, and the references to the Conan Doyle stories are clever and plentiful.
I was sorry when it ended!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Gore
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is such an interesting plot idea. A fantasy world with angels and fallen angels, but it’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with different names. Also, they’re trying to solve Jack the Ripper, along with several other mysteries. Not to mention the surprising diversity.
Fantasy/Mystery, LGBTQIA+
Fantasy/Mystery, LGBTQIA+
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Gun violence, Animal death, Gore, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, and Murder
morningsunwildflower's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Really liked to follow along the mysteries, as they are short-ish ones. The characters are based on Holmes and Watson but they are still different enough that I can say I like these in a different way than I like the other Holmes and Watson of this world.
Beware of the explicit details of corpses.
Didn't like how they introduced or used Doyle's trans identity. I'm picky about that so that might not disturb many. Thought it could have been introduced without the dead name, and for that dead name not to be used later on.
Also didn't like how there are two serial killers of women at the same time. There are Supernatural creatures, maybe they could have been killing men...
Beware of the explicit details of corpses.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexism, War, and Suicide
Minor: Transphobia
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I'll read anything Katherine Addison writes but I agree that this isn't the best of her works. I still think the writing her is gorgeous. I loved our main two characters, and the several character reveals were great and got me every time. I agree that the world building is a little hazy but I actually enjoyed just being plopped down into the middle of it and not thinking too hard about how things worked. I would be completely willing to read more in this universe, which is how I always feel about Addison's books (and okay, if a book centered on the Moriarty hunt I would be okay with that. I'm basic, sue me).
I was completely sucked in until the Hound of the Baskervilles section, at which point I started losing interest. I thought it was just the epistolary style of that section, but I also found the climax of the overarching Jack the Ripper plot to be a little disappointing. I could really see some of the loose ends being tied up in a sequel, which I would be very willing to read.
I was completely sucked in until the Hound of the Baskervilles section, at which point I started losing interest. I thought it was just the epistolary style of that section, but I also found the climax of the overarching Jack the Ripper plot to be a little disappointing. I could really see some of the loose ends being tied up in a sequel, which I would be very willing to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, and Violence
totallyshelfaware's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Death
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Blood, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, War, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Cannibalism, Infertility, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
mugs_it_is's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Gore
rmacg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Gore
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
London, England in 1888 - the year that Jack the Ripper murdered five women. This is an alternate London though, one where angels, werewolves, vampires, and hellhounds live amongst humans. Dr Doyle is injured during war and upon returning to England agrees to share accommodations with Crow, an angel. Crow helps the police with their cases and Doyle becomes embroiled in several of them, including the most famous one of all.
This was such an ingenious read with some great characters. Crow and Dr Doyle are obviously the alternate Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson - the Hound of the Baskervilles makes an appearance. The fantasy angle though took it one step further with steampunk and magic woven into the story. The world-building is good, and the main characters make the reader root for them to succeed. It looks like it is probably a stand-alone book but I would be interested in reading a sequel.
This was such an ingenious read with some great characters. Crow and Dr Doyle are obviously the alternate Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson - the Hound of the Baskervilles makes an appearance. The fantasy angle though took it one step further with steampunk and magic woven into the story. The world-building is good, and the main characters make the reader root for them to succeed. It looks like it is probably a stand-alone book but I would be interested in reading a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
obviousthings's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Well... it was okay. As someone who's VERY familiar with the Holmes stories, this book stuck too close to the plot of the originals for my taste, particularly with A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four in the first half. I liked how Addison treated women and characters of colour from the Holmes canon with much more respect than they get in the original books, and I liked the supernatural elements that were added (especially the hellhounds and cerberi), but this feels more like Sherlock Holmes with some fantasy set dressing than an original novel.
It's worth noting that there are three Holmes novels, multiple short stories, and the Jack the Ripper case compressed into one book here. I can see why that was done - does anyone actually like the part of A Study in Scarlet that's just about the mormons? - but I feel like some of the themes were lost in the abridgement, and there wasn't enough added to replace them. I would have liked to see a stronger character arc for Dr. Doyle, with fantasy elements more thoroughly incorporated into the plot. The setting has a ton of potential, but it wasn't explored as much as it could have been in this book.
It's worth noting that there are three Holmes novels, multiple short stories, and the Jack the Ripper case compressed into one book here. I can see why that was done - does anyone actually like the part of A Study in Scarlet that's just about the mormons? - but I feel like some of the themes were lost in the abridgement, and there wasn't enough added to replace them. I would have liked to see a stronger character arc for Dr. Doyle, with fantasy elements more thoroughly incorporated into the plot. The setting has a ton of potential, but it wasn't explored as much as it could have been in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Confinement, Homophobia, Medical content, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Abortion, Racial slurs, Rape, and Suicide
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