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wylovat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ptothelo's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book, the jumping from past to present was clear and well done. Sometimes when I read books like that I end up just wanting to read one narrative or the other but I was fine with going back and forth here. I grew up as a fan of Sherlock Holmes but never read much about Conan Doyle himself. It's fun to see how maddening Holmes can be to Conan Doyle and how much more real Holmes is to most people than its creator. Now I'm a little tempted to read more about Conan Doyle.
Interesting questions are asked like "Is the mystery more pleasurable than the solution? Is knowing more satisfying than wondering?" and it's a question I asked myself about this book when I got to the end and so I wish one of the endings was different.
Interesting questions are asked like "Is the mystery more pleasurable than the solution? Is knowing more satisfying than wondering?" and it's a question I asked myself about this book when I got to the end and so I wish one of the endings was different.
libcolleen's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the past story far more than the present story, but I did like the way they worked together. And the notes about bits that are historically true makes it all the more interesting how it was constructed. Fun.
spaceman5000's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a while since I've read a mystery and this was a lot of fun! The story is really the telling of two mysteries one set in present day dealing with a murder and the theft of a lost Sir Arthur Conan Doyle diary and the other is about Doyle himself and Bram Stoker solving the murders of two women.
What a brisk story that wastes zero time moving along. I liked how the chapters switched between time periods as it really kept your interest and kept things moving along. Overall I enjoyed the Doyle and Stoker mystery more as it was simply more interesting. The modern day story was fine, but the fact the murder was actually a suicide was kind of lame and the fact they THREW THE FUCKING DIARY AWAY?!?!? Total bullshit and an insult. A true book lover and literary scholar would NEVER have allowed that.
What a brisk story that wastes zero time moving along. I liked how the chapters switched between time periods as it really kept your interest and kept things moving along. Overall I enjoyed the Doyle and Stoker mystery more as it was simply more interesting. The modern day story was fine, but the fact the murder was actually a suicide was kind of lame and the fact they THREW THE FUCKING DIARY AWAY?!?!? Total bullshit and an insult. A true book lover and literary scholar would NEVER have allowed that.
vtb's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the idea of the two mysteriy stories, one in modern day with a person who is a Sherlock devotee- Sherlockian and another with Arthur Conan Doyle. Problem though is you just get snippets of each story and find you want more of one than the other. I also found that after each story went on for some time, the ending was rushed and murky. But I loved the concepts and it made me want to learn more about Doyle. This is a first book for Moore and think he will be someone to watch. Interested in finding about about Twelve Publishing as well.
amym84's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised by this book. I mean I knew overall what the book would be about, but I wasn' prepared for the intertwining mystery that evolved. I think that Graham Moore dd an excellent job with the two separate storylines. Each chapter change when we would incariably change time settings and characters I would get sucked right back in to that storyline as though I had skipped every other chapter and just read the particular time period whether it was 1900's or 2010. Now that I mention it, that may be aninteresting way to go back and reread this story in the future.How would that add or detract from the story as a whole. The reader would then be able to see how each story sort of feeds off the other. How the 2010 storyline wouldn't be as exciting or possible without the events of 1900 going on at the same time in the novel.
The book truly makes me want to go back and read more Sherlock Holmes stories. You can really tell that Graham Moore has a passion for Sherlock Holmes. But the ending is bittesweet. It goes back to that old saying that something you think you want so badly in life is never what you expect it to be once you actually attain it. Some things are better left in mystery I guess.
The book truly makes me want to go back and read more Sherlock Holmes stories. You can really tell that Graham Moore has a passion for Sherlock Holmes. But the ending is bittesweet. It goes back to that old saying that something you think you want so badly in life is never what you expect it to be once you actually attain it. Some things are better left in mystery I guess.
frannieman's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
dodgson's review against another edition
4.0
Twists together a couple of fun capers with a lot of Sherlockiana, and maybe a handful too many twists. The chapters get shorter and shorter—jumping between the 21st century and the turn of the 20th, between Sherlock’s fans and his creator—and sometimes an entire chapter is just an awkward exposition dump, and then back into the wormhole! Moore handled it more elegantly in The Holdout. The overview of Conan Doyle’s creative process and talent is delicious, however.