Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Angel of the Crows

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

17 reviews

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!

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hendrixpants's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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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+

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morningsunwildflower's review against another edition

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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...

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readingthroughthelists's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An audiobook for the second time around, which definitely made the book better. Imogen Church reads well, minus her aggressive and stereotypical American accent that only becomes more grating overtime.

A few things improved on this second read: I picked up on more nuances related to Crow’s precarious situation as a not-Fallen angel who nevertheless refuses to embrace the angelic Consensus and lose his hard-won individuality and identity. Crow and Doyle’s relationship is also better fleshed out than I had given Addison credit for the first time, and while Crow’s absences from the later parts of the book still lack explanation, I appreciate Doyle having a chance to shine as a detective in their own right. A Watson moving out from the shadow of Holmes.

Certain sequences of the book also work very well: The Sign of Four sequence is certainly the best, though I enjoyed The Hound of the Baskervilles too. Later, the combination of “The Speckled Band” and “The Crooked Man” was also pleasing.

The question of Doyle’s gender identity is still muddled and messy, especially since there is no explanation given for when or why Doyle began to present as male. Maybe to escape home and/or become a doctor? But that’s only conjecture. In the Epilogue, Doyle states that they can no longer comfortably identify as a man or a woman anymore, I guess like Gren in the best two episodes of Cowboy Bebop? But what CB managed to do in two episodes Addison somehow cannot manage across the span of an entire book: explain a character’s story, explore their identity, and recount their (sometimes tragic) fate. Gren has less than 15 minutes of screen time and still makes perfect sense as a character, whereas Doyle still feels incomplete and underwritten 15 hours later.

The Angel of the Crows is easy to read, fast-paced, lacking in depth, and skimpy on character development. A solid 3 stars.

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totallyshelfaware's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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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

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I have no idea why the book summary is so dramatic when this book would draw twice the readers if it just shouted from the rooftops that it's a Sherlock wingfic. I had a lot of fun reading this, even if the mysteries themselves have the same beats as the originals with little tweaks here and there. But I also am dumb and can't remember plot points from the original Doyle stories so that was fun for me. I think the weakest part of this book is the Jack the Ripper stuff, and I do think that Addison could have achieved the narrative if she had come up with her own murder mystery to be in the background of the story. But other than that, it's a good time.

For the closest example of what this book reminds me of, it's reminiscent of a MUCH better-written Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and even though it mentions the BBC Sherlock, the character of Crow is much more kind and true to the original character of Sherlock Holmes than most adaptations are and I just found myself loving him. I also thought that the fantasy element was delightful and molded so well into the stories. Like, even the minor mentions of Jenny Greenteeth in the Hounds of the Baskervilles story was fun.

It was also queer in a way most queer retellings of Sherlock aren't. Like,

how has not a single reviewer on her not mentioned that Doyle (the Watson character) is nonbinary and that they explicitly say that they are neither a man or a woman, but living as a man just happens to suit them

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missindyrose's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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