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A review by booksthatburn
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
adventurous
funny
fast-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
5.0
THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER is a Sherlock Holmes retelling which is witty and delightful, with Watson (Captain John Wyndham) as a trans man, Sherlock (Ms. Shaharazad Haas) as a bisexual woman, and Irene Adler (Miss Eirene Viola) as a former lover being blackmailed in her engagement. The setting is fantastical, time travel is a matter of connection and logistics, other dimensions are distant but accessible, and Captain John Wyndham is too aghast to actually write how many times Shaharazad says "fuck" (though he faithfully chronicles his reticence at every turn). I adore retellings, and this was a special treat since, having begun with Sherlock Holmes in a queernorm fantasy setting, it pulled in pieces of at least two other stories I could identity, weaving them in to give me no fewer than three retellings in one.
As a narrator, Captain John Wyndham is torn between fascination with Shaharazad's hedonism and a need to maintain his own sense of propriety. He grew up in a strictly religious environment, implicitly having chosen to live away from home due to some degree of transphobia which he never quite describes. I like how his words convey so much of his personality along with Shaharazad, making his paraphrases of her language quite clear and not just pretending she has more decorum than she does. He also makes reference to the serial release of this story's chapters, discussions with his editor, and the fact that he's writing this several decades after the events. Instead of just infodumping, he flags any particularly dense descriptions as skippable for a reader who is already familiar with the setting and recent history, at once providing guidance for readers who dislike dense descriptions, and also deepening the sense of immersion by making the reader party to the world.
Things I love, in no particular order: The clever use of parts of Dracula; the resolution to Eirene Viola's problem; the way Wyndham keeps so tightly to propriety even when it's comically unsuitable to the situation; the narrative style, Shaharazad's bravado and continual attempts to plan as little as possible and still have things work out well enough.
As a narrator, Captain John Wyndham is torn between fascination with Shaharazad's hedonism and a need to maintain his own sense of propriety. He grew up in a strictly religious environment, implicitly having chosen to live away from home due to some degree of transphobia which he never quite describes. I like how his words convey so much of his personality along with Shaharazad, making his paraphrases of her language quite clear and not just pretending she has more decorum than she does. He also makes reference to the serial release of this story's chapters, discussions with his editor, and the fact that he's writing this several decades after the events. Instead of just infodumping, he flags any particularly dense descriptions as skippable for a reader who is already familiar with the setting and recent history, at once providing guidance for readers who dislike dense descriptions, and also deepening the sense of immersion by making the reader party to the world.
Things I love, in no particular order: The clever use of parts of Dracula; the resolution to Eirene Viola's problem; the way Wyndham keeps so tightly to propriety even when it's comically unsuitable to the situation; the narrative style, Shaharazad's bravado and continual attempts to plan as little as possible and still have things work out well enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Classism, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Confinement, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Transphobia, Self harm, Sexism, Animal death, and War