Queen Anne Books

There have been many (too many) redos, continuations, re-imaginings, and spin-offs of Sherlock Holmes. Being a big fan, I've read most of them, but most of them are not worth reading (though my recent favorite is Michael Chabon's The Final Solution). Charles Finch has come up with a wonderful alternative, a way for readers to be in the world of Sherlock Holmes without it being subject to the expectations and scrutiny that would come with his using that character.

A Beautiful Blue Death introduces readers to Charles Lenox, an amateur detective in Victorian London. He seems almost to be Holmes' rich, aristocratic brother; Lenox's friend, and assistant, is a doctor who could be a school friend of Watson's; and, of course, the art of careful observation and deduction is the key to Lenox's success. I won't give away the mystery (it involves a rare, blue poison), but it was very satisfying. There's even a bit of possible romance that I always wished for in the Holmes stories.

I plan to read the next two in this series coming this summer - The September Society (in paperback) and The Fleet Street Murders (in hardcover). I'm hoping they'll be equally well-done fun. ~Lillian