Review #12 - Art in the Blood

Author: Bonnie MacBird Rating: ★★★★

Sherlock Holmes. A legendary name, coined by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 in a Study in Scarlet, and ever since then in countless stories, not only written by the parent author, but by many others, such as Anthony Horowitz, Graham Moore (The Sherlockian), etc. Be it standalone novels or series and chronicles, Sherlock Holmes is one such character that has continued to pass down the generations in children and adult mystery novels, and I think will continue to do so for another few decades to come.

Bonnie Macbird adds a wonderful novel to the celebrated character, with an intricate mystery entangling the mystery of a lost child borne through the illegitimate relations between the Earl of Pellingham and the French singer, Mlle. Emmeline La Victoire, the world's largest art theft and the mysterious and gruesome killings of three boys in the mills of Lancashire. The events seem unrelated? Well, that's the plot. And a brilliant one at that.

Dozens of authors have written stories about Sherlock Holmes, and they've been detailed investigations of a lot of stories taking inspiration from the parent stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, this one story, in my opinion, was original, new and brought a fresh spin to the character of Sherlock Holmes.

It is a known fact that the character of Sherlock Holmes was an opium or cocaine addict and this story, in light of many others, does bring about the flaws in the character, doesn't always show the character in a light of stardom and greatness and shows the human emotions to the usually cold and calculated personality of the detective.

Something else that caught my attention is the new spin of a lot of writers putting an added detail of the case of the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes, and I have only read one book which connected the investigation of the notorious killer, however, I think it would be an interesting point for all Sherlock fans to discuss it amongst themselves , eh?

A good riveting mystery for all fans, do give the new budding novelist's work a read, but with patience and time. This is not a book to be read in haste, and definitely not for those who do not like detailed mysteries.

#mystery #historicalfiction #sherlockholmes