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Sherlock Holmes and The Element of Surprise: The Wormwood Scrubs Enigma
“Come Watson! The game is yet again afoot!” Do you remember the first time that you accompanied Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson through the dark and foggy side streets and lanes of Victorian London? Do you still thrill as you recall the way that the shadows played upon the fog and gas lit streetlamps, the distant sound of the clock tower at Westminster, the menacing sound of footsteps upon the cobblestone streets and a forlorn cry for help in the night?
When two prison guards are found beheaded in the barren countryside surrounding Her Majesty’s Prison at Wormwood Scrubs, Inspector Lestrade seeks Holmes’ singular powers to determine how the murders could have been committed in separate locations with the only footprints being those of the murdered guards themselves.
With Doctor Watson at his side, Holmes sets out on this new adventure and uncovers deeper mysteries still; mysteries that will not only test the detectives’ powers of observation and deduction, but his skepticism of the paranormal as well.
When two prison guards are found beheaded in the barren countryside surrounding Her Majesty’s Prison at Wormwood Scrubs, Inspector Lestrade seeks Holmes’ singular powers to determine how the murders could have been committed in separate locations with the only footprints being those of the murdered guards themselves.
With Doctor Watson at his side, Holmes sets out on this new adventure and uncovers deeper mysteries still; mysteries that will not only test the detectives’ powers of observation and deduction, but his skepticism of the paranormal as well.
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
709 people want to read
About the author
J. Andrew Taylor
3 books5 followersJ. Andrew Taylor lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife and children. He enjoys (in addition to reading & writing), playing the drums, live music, museums, historical sites and art fairs.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 27, 2017
I have to confess that I always wanted to be as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes. The way he could put observations together always made me so envious of him. I wanted to have the same mental capacity. The mystery in this book was quite interesting and almost seemed unsolvable (as most Holmes mysteries are).
Like all Sherlock Holmes stories, there are subtle clues that are placed throughout the novel so the reader can try to figure out how the murder occurred and who the killer is. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure this one out at all. A positive aspect of this book is that the language and atmosphere seemed relatively accurate, but unfortunately, the novel was missing the original spark that Arthur Conan Doyle's works had. The clues almost seemed too subtle and the end result was almost completely out of left field.
This book was good for what it was, but unfortunately at parts I thought it was trying too hard to match the originals. However, I still found it enjoyable.
I received this book through the GoodReads FirstReads program.
Like all Sherlock Holmes stories, there are subtle clues that are placed throughout the novel so the reader can try to figure out how the murder occurred and who the killer is. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure this one out at all. A positive aspect of this book is that the language and atmosphere seemed relatively accurate, but unfortunately, the novel was missing the original spark that Arthur Conan Doyle's works had. The clues almost seemed too subtle and the end result was almost completely out of left field.
This book was good for what it was, but unfortunately at parts I thought it was trying too hard to match the originals. However, I still found it enjoyable.
I received this book through the GoodReads FirstReads program.
November 2, 2012
This book was exciting from the very first page.Author J. Andrew Taylor had me truly hooked from the very first page.
There are a few books I look forward to re reading and this is one of them!!!
There are a few books I look forward to re reading and this is one of them!!!
December 5, 2012
I really enjoyed this book! I think it stayed true to the characters. I couldn't put this book down, and had it done before I knew it, it left me want to read more.
October 6, 2025
#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads #Holmes Pastiche
J. Andrew Taylor’s Sherlock Holmes and The Element of Surprise: The Wormwood Scrubs Enigma feels like one of those rediscovered curios in the sprawling attic of the Holmesian universe—dusted off, a little eccentric, but gleaming with conviction once you start reading. It’s a pastiche that stands firmly in the middle lane between classic homage and creative improvisation. Not a reinvention like The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, not a wild genre mash-up like A Study in Brimstone, but something more measured, more in the spirit of “let’s imagine what Conan Doyle could’ve written if he’d had just one more weekend to spare at the desk.”
Taylor’s strength lies in his fidelity to tone. He doesn’t parody the canon; he inhabits it. The setting—London’s industrial fringes, with its gaslight melancholy and moral grime—immediately evokes the right atmosphere. The story opens with a mysterious explosion near Wormwood Scrubs Prison, followed by a string of inexplicable disappearances. Scotland Yard, predictably stumped, calls upon the one man whose name is synonymous with the art of deduction. Cue Holmes and Watson entering the stage, brisk and familiar, yet refreshingly alive under Taylor’s pen.
It’s the writing style that first strikes you—unashamedly Doylean in rhythm, with sentences that breathe through a kind of Victorian cadence: firm, precise, occasionally arch, and blessedly free of modern over-description. Taylor knows when to let Watson narrate with that characteristic mix of admiration and mild confusion. And crucially, his Watson feels authentic—no bumbling fool, but an intelligent, emotionally grounded narrator who functions as both conscience and chorus.
The plot, as the title suggests, hinges on the “element of surprise”—quite literally. Without giving away too much, Taylor weaves chemistry, espionage, and early 20th-century military anxiety into the fabric of the mystery. There’s a scientific undercurrent reminiscent of The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans or The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb—stories where invention teeters between progress and peril. Wormwood Scrubs, with its looming walls and the moral ambiguities it represents, becomes a perfect stage for Holmes’s cerebral heroism.
Taylor’s Holmes is both familiar and human. He’s sharp-edged, yes, but there’s warmth beneath the logic. One of the most satisfying aspects of the novel is how it resists the modern temptation to psychoanalyze Holmes to death. No tortured genius monologues here, no self-referential breakdowns about loneliness or trauma. Taylor restores him to what he originally was: a mind at play, a moral instrument calibrated to detect disorder. Yet, the emotional restraint doesn’t mean sterility—Holmes’s occasional flashes of humor, his fierce loyalty to Watson, and his respect for truth over power all shine through.
Comparatively speaking, this novel feels closer to the likes of Michael Hardwick’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes than to the flamboyance of G.S. Denning’s A Study in Brimstone. Hardwick used melancholy to humanize Holmes; Taylor uses purpose. Both share that nostalgic desire to reinhabit the gaslit fog of Baker Street, to write in a mode that feels less like imitation and more like continuation. Denning, by contrast, gleefully demolishes the boundary between canon and chaos, whereas Taylor carefully polishes it.
There’s also an interesting thematic kinship with Dan Andriacco’s Baker Street Beat, though Taylor’s project is fiction, not essay. Where Andriacco examines how the Holmesian myth keeps evolving through time, Taylor demonstrates it—by writing a story that feels utterly timeless, even while clearly being modern in craft. It’s the difference between theorizing the magic trick and performing it.
Holmes’s adversary in The Element of Surprise is suitably shadowy—scientific mind gone rogue, moral boundaries blurred, the kind of foe who mirrors Holmes but lacks his conscience. That mirroring motif is one of the oldest and most effective tools in the Sherlockian kit, and Taylor handles it deftly. You can sense that he’s read his Conan Doyle closely, absorbed the way Doyle turned the detective story into a philosophical one. Holmes doesn’t just solve puzzles; he reasserts the moral geometry of a disordered world.
One of the more delightful elements (no pun intended) is how Taylor uses the “science” motif. He’s attentive to the way Holmes’s Victorian rationalism was always on the cusp of the modern—obsessed with chemistry, forensics, early technology. By tying the mystery to explosive compounds and hidden experiments, Taylor restores that scientific curiosity that often gets lost in cinematic versions. Holmes’s laboratory scenes here have a tactile realism—the smell of reagents, the flicker of lamplight on glass, the scratch of pen against formula-laden paper. It feels like stepping into 221B Baker Street as an assistant rather than a reader.
But the book’s real magic is in the partnership. Watson isn’t just the sidekick here; he’s the emotional compass. The narrative gives him weight, not as the eternal chronicler but as a friend navigating his own moral thresholds. There’s a quiet scene—Watson reflecting on how Holmes’s mind burns brighter than his own heart—that feels straight out of Conan Doyle’s later work. That emotional authenticity anchors the story; it gives the enigma human stakes.
Now, in the context of other Holmes pastiches, The Element of Surprise is striking for what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t modernize. It doesn’t relocate. It doesn’t turn Holmes into a superhero or an antihero. It plays the game straight—and in doing so, reminds us why that game remains endlessly playable. When compared to Eve Titus’s Basil of Baker Street, Taylor’s novel feels like its grown-up cousin. Titus distilled Holmes’s essence for young readers; Taylor resurrects it for the adult who still believes deduction can be poetic.
And speaking of tone—Taylor’s prose has just enough self-awareness to keep things fresh. He doesn’t attempt to out-Doyle Doyle (a mistake many pastiche writers make). Instead, he writes as if he’s continuing Doyle. There’s confidence, restraint, and occasional humor that feels earned rather than pasted on. For example, Holmes’s observation about the "moral chemistry of Londoners"—a passing remark about how deceit, envy, and fear combine like unstable compounds—is one of those moments where Taylor’s insight meets Doyle’s rhythm.
In some ways, this book could be seen as a quiet protest against the overcomplication of Holmes in modern adaptations. No stylized edits, no sociopathic genius aesthetic, no Twitter-age cynicism. Just the old machinery of clue and logic, narrative and morality, restored to full working order. And it’s a joy to see it hum again.
That said, Taylor’s one deviation—his “element of surprise”—isn’t just chemical. It’s narrative. The book sneaks up on you emotionally. Beneath its precise structure, there’s an undercurrent of tenderness. Holmes’s victory feels earned but bittersweet; Watson’s admiration laced with worry. The ending doesn’t erupt—it exhales. You realize, as Doyle did, that every solved mystery leaves a trace of melancholy, a recognition that reason can illuminate but not redeem.
If I were to place The Element of Surprise on the Holmesian spectrum I’ve been binge-reviewing, it would sit neatly between Hardwick’s elegant melancholy and Andriacco’s meta-celebration. It’s a book written by someone who believes in Holmes—not as an icon, but as an ongoing idea: that truth is a matter of observation, courage, and empathy disguised as intellect.
Reading it feels like revisiting Baker Street at dusk—the lamps glowing, the violin resting by the hearth, the faint trace of chemical fumes still in the air. Holmes looks up, amused; Watson sighs, dutifully reaching for his notebook. Another case concluded, another chapter written in the grand, unfinished ledger of the world’s most beloved detective.
And that’s perhaps the greatest compliment one can pay Taylor’s work—it doesn’t try to update Holmes. It simply remembers him, faithfully, vividly, and with just the right element of surprise.
J. Andrew Taylor’s Sherlock Holmes and The Element of Surprise: The Wormwood Scrubs Enigma feels like one of those rediscovered curios in the sprawling attic of the Holmesian universe—dusted off, a little eccentric, but gleaming with conviction once you start reading. It’s a pastiche that stands firmly in the middle lane between classic homage and creative improvisation. Not a reinvention like The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, not a wild genre mash-up like A Study in Brimstone, but something more measured, more in the spirit of “let’s imagine what Conan Doyle could’ve written if he’d had just one more weekend to spare at the desk.”
Taylor’s strength lies in his fidelity to tone. He doesn’t parody the canon; he inhabits it. The setting—London’s industrial fringes, with its gaslight melancholy and moral grime—immediately evokes the right atmosphere. The story opens with a mysterious explosion near Wormwood Scrubs Prison, followed by a string of inexplicable disappearances. Scotland Yard, predictably stumped, calls upon the one man whose name is synonymous with the art of deduction. Cue Holmes and Watson entering the stage, brisk and familiar, yet refreshingly alive under Taylor’s pen.
It’s the writing style that first strikes you—unashamedly Doylean in rhythm, with sentences that breathe through a kind of Victorian cadence: firm, precise, occasionally arch, and blessedly free of modern over-description. Taylor knows when to let Watson narrate with that characteristic mix of admiration and mild confusion. And crucially, his Watson feels authentic—no bumbling fool, but an intelligent, emotionally grounded narrator who functions as both conscience and chorus.
The plot, as the title suggests, hinges on the “element of surprise”—quite literally. Without giving away too much, Taylor weaves chemistry, espionage, and early 20th-century military anxiety into the fabric of the mystery. There’s a scientific undercurrent reminiscent of The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans or The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb—stories where invention teeters between progress and peril. Wormwood Scrubs, with its looming walls and the moral ambiguities it represents, becomes a perfect stage for Holmes’s cerebral heroism.
Taylor’s Holmes is both familiar and human. He’s sharp-edged, yes, but there’s warmth beneath the logic. One of the most satisfying aspects of the novel is how it resists the modern temptation to psychoanalyze Holmes to death. No tortured genius monologues here, no self-referential breakdowns about loneliness or trauma. Taylor restores him to what he originally was: a mind at play, a moral instrument calibrated to detect disorder. Yet, the emotional restraint doesn’t mean sterility—Holmes’s occasional flashes of humor, his fierce loyalty to Watson, and his respect for truth over power all shine through.
Comparatively speaking, this novel feels closer to the likes of Michael Hardwick’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes than to the flamboyance of G.S. Denning’s A Study in Brimstone. Hardwick used melancholy to humanize Holmes; Taylor uses purpose. Both share that nostalgic desire to reinhabit the gaslit fog of Baker Street, to write in a mode that feels less like imitation and more like continuation. Denning, by contrast, gleefully demolishes the boundary between canon and chaos, whereas Taylor carefully polishes it.
There’s also an interesting thematic kinship with Dan Andriacco’s Baker Street Beat, though Taylor’s project is fiction, not essay. Where Andriacco examines how the Holmesian myth keeps evolving through time, Taylor demonstrates it—by writing a story that feels utterly timeless, even while clearly being modern in craft. It’s the difference between theorizing the magic trick and performing it.
Holmes’s adversary in The Element of Surprise is suitably shadowy—scientific mind gone rogue, moral boundaries blurred, the kind of foe who mirrors Holmes but lacks his conscience. That mirroring motif is one of the oldest and most effective tools in the Sherlockian kit, and Taylor handles it deftly. You can sense that he’s read his Conan Doyle closely, absorbed the way Doyle turned the detective story into a philosophical one. Holmes doesn’t just solve puzzles; he reasserts the moral geometry of a disordered world.
One of the more delightful elements (no pun intended) is how Taylor uses the “science” motif. He’s attentive to the way Holmes’s Victorian rationalism was always on the cusp of the modern—obsessed with chemistry, forensics, early technology. By tying the mystery to explosive compounds and hidden experiments, Taylor restores that scientific curiosity that often gets lost in cinematic versions. Holmes’s laboratory scenes here have a tactile realism—the smell of reagents, the flicker of lamplight on glass, the scratch of pen against formula-laden paper. It feels like stepping into 221B Baker Street as an assistant rather than a reader.
But the book’s real magic is in the partnership. Watson isn’t just the sidekick here; he’s the emotional compass. The narrative gives him weight, not as the eternal chronicler but as a friend navigating his own moral thresholds. There’s a quiet scene—Watson reflecting on how Holmes’s mind burns brighter than his own heart—that feels straight out of Conan Doyle’s later work. That emotional authenticity anchors the story; it gives the enigma human stakes.
Now, in the context of other Holmes pastiches, The Element of Surprise is striking for what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t modernize. It doesn’t relocate. It doesn’t turn Holmes into a superhero or an antihero. It plays the game straight—and in doing so, reminds us why that game remains endlessly playable. When compared to Eve Titus’s Basil of Baker Street, Taylor’s novel feels like its grown-up cousin. Titus distilled Holmes’s essence for young readers; Taylor resurrects it for the adult who still believes deduction can be poetic.
And speaking of tone—Taylor’s prose has just enough self-awareness to keep things fresh. He doesn’t attempt to out-Doyle Doyle (a mistake many pastiche writers make). Instead, he writes as if he’s continuing Doyle. There’s confidence, restraint, and occasional humor that feels earned rather than pasted on. For example, Holmes’s observation about the "moral chemistry of Londoners"—a passing remark about how deceit, envy, and fear combine like unstable compounds—is one of those moments where Taylor’s insight meets Doyle’s rhythm.
In some ways, this book could be seen as a quiet protest against the overcomplication of Holmes in modern adaptations. No stylized edits, no sociopathic genius aesthetic, no Twitter-age cynicism. Just the old machinery of clue and logic, narrative and morality, restored to full working order. And it’s a joy to see it hum again.
That said, Taylor’s one deviation—his “element of surprise”—isn’t just chemical. It’s narrative. The book sneaks up on you emotionally. Beneath its precise structure, there’s an undercurrent of tenderness. Holmes’s victory feels earned but bittersweet; Watson’s admiration laced with worry. The ending doesn’t erupt—it exhales. You realize, as Doyle did, that every solved mystery leaves a trace of melancholy, a recognition that reason can illuminate but not redeem.
If I were to place The Element of Surprise on the Holmesian spectrum I’ve been binge-reviewing, it would sit neatly between Hardwick’s elegant melancholy and Andriacco’s meta-celebration. It’s a book written by someone who believes in Holmes—not as an icon, but as an ongoing idea: that truth is a matter of observation, courage, and empathy disguised as intellect.
Reading it feels like revisiting Baker Street at dusk—the lamps glowing, the violin resting by the hearth, the faint trace of chemical fumes still in the air. Holmes looks up, amused; Watson sighs, dutifully reaching for his notebook. Another case concluded, another chapter written in the grand, unfinished ledger of the world’s most beloved detective.
And that’s perhaps the greatest compliment one can pay Taylor’s work—it doesn’t try to update Holmes. It simply remembers him, faithfully, vividly, and with just the right element of surprise.
October 21, 2012
J. Andrew Taylor in his new book, “Sherlock Holmes and The Element of Surprise” published by MX Publishing gives us an untold story of Sherlock Holmes, The Wormwood Scrubs Enigma.
From the back cover: When two prison guards are found beheaded in the barren countryside surrounding Her Majesty’s Prison at Wormwood Scrubs, Inspector Lestrade seeks Holmes’ singular powers to determine how the murders could have been committed in separate locations with the only footprints being those of the murdered guards themselves.
With Doctor Watson at his side, Holmes sets out on this new adventure and uncovers deeper mysteries still; mysteries that will not only test the detectives’ powers of observation and deduction, but his skepticism of the paranormal as well.
If you are anything like me then you grew up with Sherlock Holmes as well. When I was a kid I read everything that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about the master sleuth and, of course, watched all the movies with Basil Rathbone. Now I do not believe in channeling. Having said that let me tell you that J Andrew Taylor writes just the way that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and it is like reading one of the originals. I do not know how Mr. Taylor did it but he managed to create a brand new story that fits into the Holmes canon right after the “Red Headed League” adventure. This time Holmes is given an impossible case for him, or anyone else for that matter, to solve. However this is Sherlock Holmes we are talking about here and, of course, I am not giving anything away here, he is going to solve it. The clues are given for us to solve the case. I confess I did not, Holmes did it for me. Let me assure you if you like Sherlock Holmes then you are going to really enjoy this. I recommend it highly!
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from MX Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
From the back cover: When two prison guards are found beheaded in the barren countryside surrounding Her Majesty’s Prison at Wormwood Scrubs, Inspector Lestrade seeks Holmes’ singular powers to determine how the murders could have been committed in separate locations with the only footprints being those of the murdered guards themselves.
With Doctor Watson at his side, Holmes sets out on this new adventure and uncovers deeper mysteries still; mysteries that will not only test the detectives’ powers of observation and deduction, but his skepticism of the paranormal as well.
If you are anything like me then you grew up with Sherlock Holmes as well. When I was a kid I read everything that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about the master sleuth and, of course, watched all the movies with Basil Rathbone. Now I do not believe in channeling. Having said that let me tell you that J Andrew Taylor writes just the way that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and it is like reading one of the originals. I do not know how Mr. Taylor did it but he managed to create a brand new story that fits into the Holmes canon right after the “Red Headed League” adventure. This time Holmes is given an impossible case for him, or anyone else for that matter, to solve. However this is Sherlock Holmes we are talking about here and, of course, I am not giving anything away here, he is going to solve it. The clues are given for us to solve the case. I confess I did not, Holmes did it for me. Let me assure you if you like Sherlock Holmes then you are going to really enjoy this. I recommend it highly!
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from MX Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
November 17, 2017
Since watching the recent Sherlock Holmes movies, I have been wanting to read some of the books. So when I won this book in the Goodreads giveaway, I was excited to finally follow Holmes and Watson on another crime solving adventure. This book did not disappoint. I have not read other Sherlock Holmes books to compare this one too, but it was a captivating read. I could visualize the inspector as he tried to solve the mystery of the murdered prison guards. I also appreciated the humor that was laced in. I hope that J. Andrew Taylor continues to release more Sherlock Holmes books.
In compliance with FTC guidelines, I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
In compliance with FTC guidelines, I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
September 9, 2013
Sherlock Holmes and the element of surprise was a wonderful quick read. The mystery matched my view of Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed the feel of England in the early 1900's. The mystery kept me on my toes and although I figured out some of it the end had many surprises. I would really recommend this book for teens and adults
October 14, 2012
Won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. An extra big thank you to the author for personalizing my copy.
A quick and enjoyable read. Well written and fun. Classic Holmes and Watson, what more is there to say?
A quick and enjoyable read. Well written and fun. Classic Holmes and Watson, what more is there to say?
May 13, 2024
Inspector Lestrade seeks the help of Sherlock Homes on a case involving the murders of two prison guards. Luckily for Homes; Doctor Watson stops by for a visit and joins in for this adventure, involving a banshee , fairies, and even a flying elephant.
June 2, 2022
What a great book. Would have given it 6 stars if I could. 2 bodies in the snow with no foot prints.
Particularly liked this because the author does not go into unnecessary detail.
Particularly liked this because the author does not go into unnecessary detail.
February 18, 2016
Element, in deed!
Sherlock Holmes and the Element of Surprise by J. Andrew Taylor
Holmes has been missing for a fortnight. Lestrade is beside himself, as there have been two murders with elements of the impossible.
Two guards from the prison of Wormwood Scrubs have been discovered minus their heads in the snow. However; there are no tracks in the snow except their own and the people who discovered the bodies.
Holmes returns as suddenly as he vanished. Now Watson, Lestrade, and Holmes travel to the Wormwood Scrubs area to view the crime scenes.
*** Possible Spoilers***
It is as it has been reported. The tracks show that the attack could not have came from any of the four directions; North, East, South, or West. The attack could not have come from beneath. When the impossible is eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true. The attack had to come from the air…
There were witnesses to the crimes, even though they saw or heard strange things. The little girl of the giant woodsman who found one body heard “fairy voices” in the sky above her and the sound of their wings. He dog also reacted to these “fairies,” which means there was something there.
The son of the local innkeeper was out getting drunk with his buddies when they saw a “flying elephant” go silently overhead, blotting out the stars for a moment. Strange as it may be; Holmes believes them, since the attacks had to come from the air. And a prisoner at Wormwoods scrubs now claims he is not himself…
This was a fair story, and the solution will make Holmes have to believe in something that as far as he knows doesn’t exist. This is the days before aircraft. Hot-air balloons do exist, but the lack of a light in the sky makes that so unlikely. What killed the men with decapitations so clean that they could have been guillotined?
I like this one, but it does lack a little depth. Four stars…
Quoth the Raven…
Sherlock Holmes and the Element of Surprise by J. Andrew Taylor
Holmes has been missing for a fortnight. Lestrade is beside himself, as there have been two murders with elements of the impossible.
Two guards from the prison of Wormwood Scrubs have been discovered minus their heads in the snow. However; there are no tracks in the snow except their own and the people who discovered the bodies.
Holmes returns as suddenly as he vanished. Now Watson, Lestrade, and Holmes travel to the Wormwood Scrubs area to view the crime scenes.
*** Possible Spoilers***
It is as it has been reported. The tracks show that the attack could not have came from any of the four directions; North, East, South, or West. The attack could not have come from beneath. When the impossible is eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true. The attack had to come from the air…
There were witnesses to the crimes, even though they saw or heard strange things. The little girl of the giant woodsman who found one body heard “fairy voices” in the sky above her and the sound of their wings. He dog also reacted to these “fairies,” which means there was something there.
The son of the local innkeeper was out getting drunk with his buddies when they saw a “flying elephant” go silently overhead, blotting out the stars for a moment. Strange as it may be; Holmes believes them, since the attacks had to come from the air. And a prisoner at Wormwoods scrubs now claims he is not himself…
This was a fair story, and the solution will make Holmes have to believe in something that as far as he knows doesn’t exist. This is the days before aircraft. Hot-air balloons do exist, but the lack of a light in the sky makes that so unlikely. What killed the men with decapitations so clean that they could have been guillotined?
I like this one, but it does lack a little depth. Four stars…
Quoth the Raven…
June 14, 2016
Not a bad little Sherlock Holmes pastiche to pass the time.
Interesting plot, and most importantly for me, the friendship between Holmes and Watson was solid and in character.
Recommended to all Sherlockians.
Interesting plot, and most importantly for me, the friendship between Holmes and Watson was solid and in character.
Recommended to all Sherlockians.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews