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A review by alba_marie
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
3.5 Stars rounded up.
"I believe the right to disregard the law is intrinsic and unalienable."
The premise of this is great. Basically, it is a fantasy, gender-reversed, sorceress take on Sherlock Holmes. It's an adventure story, full of swashbuckling heroes, gothic monsters and evil villains. There are time travellers too, sweeping – and tragic – love stories, and a litany of bizarre characters along the way.
I love the way that it's broken into "instalments" – the way that things were published during the Victorian era. The author did a great job at the characterisation of Shaharazad Haas, Hall's take on Sherlock Holmes. Her sidekick John Wyndim, and his constant attempt at moralising tales that are amoral, added a hilarious element to the book.
I couldn't give much of a summary other than that Shaharazad is hired by a friend, Irenie, to investigate a blackmailing, and Shaharazad and John investigate a list of five suspects, spread over five instalments.
I fully admit I wasn't as tapped into the story as I could be, and wish I had given more focus on the details. However, I started listening to the book at the tail end of work as maternity leave was about to start, so in the flurry of stress and activity wrapping things up at work, I sadly didn't give the audiobook my full attention until after mat leave started about halfway through. I missed out on some of the details in the earlier "instalments." That said, because of the fake instalment style, the author did a good job summing up what happened in previous sections so I was able to keep on top of the meandering adventure story and the various characters they met along the way.
Overall, and despite my distraction for the first few hours, I found it fun, enjoyable and actually quite funny. Dry, ridiculous British humour (esp. via audiobook) gets me every time...! John made me laugh so much with his moralising, and how he constantly dug himself holes by insisting on telling the truth in detail. The Augher (sp?) or second augher – the policeman – was my favourite. He was trying so hard to help John out, to stay out of trouble, giving him every chance to throw someone else under the bus instead of himself, and somehow, John just kept grabbing the shovel back and kept digging the hole deeper.
I listened to the last chunk of it today (with my full attention, for once!) and actually managed to sort of guess the ending, which is a surprise. But regardless, I found it fun and very entertaining. A great fantasy adventure story and a fun take on the Sherlock Holmes character. It's perfect for anyone looking for a solid adventure tale with a good dose of British humour and a main character that will repeatedly make you either roll your eyes, say "oh John," in an exasperated voice, or face palm.
"I believe the right to disregard the law is intrinsic and unalienable."
The premise of this is great. Basically, it is a fantasy, gender-reversed, sorceress take on Sherlock Holmes. It's an adventure story, full of swashbuckling heroes, gothic monsters and evil villains. There are time travellers too, sweeping – and tragic – love stories, and a litany of bizarre characters along the way.
I love the way that it's broken into "instalments" – the way that things were published during the Victorian era. The author did a great job at the characterisation of Shaharazad Haas, Hall's take on Sherlock Holmes. Her sidekick John Wyndim, and his constant attempt at moralising tales that are amoral, added a hilarious element to the book.
I couldn't give much of a summary other than that Shaharazad is hired by a friend, Irenie, to investigate a blackmailing, and Shaharazad and John investigate a list of five suspects, spread over five instalments.
I fully admit I wasn't as tapped into the story as I could be, and wish I had given more focus on the details. However, I started listening to the book at the tail end of work as maternity leave was about to start, so in the flurry of stress and activity wrapping things up at work, I sadly didn't give the audiobook my full attention until after mat leave started about halfway through. I missed out on some of the details in the earlier "instalments." That said, because of the fake instalment style, the author did a good job summing up what happened in previous sections so I was able to keep on top of the meandering adventure story and the various characters they met along the way.
Overall, and despite my distraction for the first few hours, I found it fun, enjoyable and actually quite funny. Dry, ridiculous British humour (esp. via audiobook) gets me every time...! John made me laugh so much with his moralising, and how he constantly dug himself holes by insisting on telling the truth in detail. The Augher (sp?) or second augher – the policeman – was my favourite. He was trying so hard to help John out, to stay out of trouble, giving him every chance to throw someone else under the bus instead of himself, and somehow, John just kept grabbing the shovel back and kept digging the hole deeper.
I listened to the last chunk of it today (with my full attention, for once!) and actually managed to sort of guess the ending, which is a surprise. But regardless, I found it fun and very entertaining. A great fantasy adventure story and a fun take on the Sherlock Holmes character. It's perfect for anyone looking for a solid adventure tale with a good dose of British humour and a main character that will repeatedly make you either roll your eyes, say "oh John," in an exasperated voice, or face palm.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Toxic friendship