Mrs Hudson's Olympic Triumph

Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street #5

by Barry S. Brown

It is 1896. Mrs. Hudson and her colleagues are traveling to Athens to attend the first Olympiad in more than 2000 years. Indeed, Holmes is to participate in the foils competition as a member of Great Britain's Olympic team. But the trip is more than just fun and games. The three members of London's first and foremost consulting detective agency are, in fact, engaged in a delicate bit of undercover work on behalf of Queen and country. They are to secure a letter being sent by courier to Queen Victoria from her daughter, the Dowager Empress of Germany. Peace between the two nations may well depend on the contents of that letter. They arrive to find both the courier and the wife of the British Ambassador shot dead in the Ambassador's residence. The letter and the Ambassador are nowhere to be found. They discover, too, that Inspector Lestrade is already in Athens investigating the sale of fake antiquities to the wife of the Ambassador. The Baker Street trio has the ten days of the Olympiad to recover the critical letter, capture a double murderer, and uncover the secret behind the scheme to pass off copies of Greek antiquities as genuine—all while Holmes seeks to dispatch his fencing competition and win an Olympic medal.

Genres: Historical Mystery, Mystery

229 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2017

About the author

I prepared myself for the challenging task of correcting a century of misinformation about Mrs. Hudson and events at 221B Baker Street by pursuing a research career in the fields of mental health, criminology and drug abuse. Through the deductive skills I acquired, I have been able to establish Mrs. Hudson's role as the true sage of Baker Street, who provided free lodging to the sometime chemist, Sherlock Holmes, in exchange for his willingness to serve as the male figurehead essential to a business enterprise in Victorian England. In four books and counting, Mrs. Hudson has led Holmes, and his earnest companion and fellow lodger, Dr. Watson, on a series of adventures taking them from London's East End to England's country estates, and across the Atlantic to New York City. Along the way they sometimes join forces, sometimes cross swords with a diverse set of characters including Lily Langtry, Samuel Clemens, Charles Stewart Parnell, and the man known as the White Rajah of Sarawak. While the stories are told with tongue firmly in cheek, a close eye is paid to historic accuracy with regard to events of the last decade of the 19th century, and the people who were a part of those events. For those who might seek me out, I can be found in the town of Carolina Beach, North Carolina where I may be seen wearing cape and deerstalker hat, thereby exciting great curiosity and occasional police inquiry.

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mrs. Hudson, detective…

My thanks go out to Steve and Timi at MX Publishing for my copy of this book. Thank you very much, guys!

I probably shouldn’t have ordered this book, but I was intrigued to see if Mr. Brown could actually pull off the difficult job of Mrs. Hudson being the brains behind 221B as a consulting detective agency. In this book, my first (and only in this series,) Mrs. Hudson and her late husband set up in Baker Street as detectives. After Mr. Hudson had passed away, Mrs. Hudson rented the rooms out to Holmes and Watson, who become part of Mrs. Hudson’s dream team.

God knows I have made multiple attempts to finish reading this book, but I am finally giving up. The book is 244 pages, I made it to 167. Sigh…

I don’t think that Mr. Brown’s prose is really at fault. The mystery seems straightforward enough as far as investigation/deduction. Holmes joins the UK fencing team as part of the 1896 Olympics to be held in Athens. He is undercover on a case for Mycroft. The interception and recovery of a letter from Queen Victoria’s daughter, now the Dowager Empress of Germany; is of prime concern because of the international tension between the UK and the German Empire.

Awaiting them in Athens is Inspector Lestrade. The courier that was to deliver the letter is found shot to death. The Ambassador is missing, and his wife has also been shot and killed. The mission remains the same, recover the letter at all cost.

This book has the intrigue of an international conflict, but for me, it has none of the charms. I cannot fight through more pages of a novel about Sherlock Holmes that has him as a sidekick. The story also neglects the proviso that Doctor Watson records Holmes’ cases, and with the importance of what is at stake, Watson would not have missed writing the case up. That’s it in a nutshell. The story is strange, and a bit too strange for my tastes, like an underdone steak.

As I said, I don’t think Mr. Brown’s prose is at fault here. So I will give the book two stars. There will no doubt be those who actually like the story just fine as is, and Mr. Brown shouldn’t be overly punished for my personal taste.

Quoth the Raven…

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all the books in the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street series, but this one most of all. It was fascinating to learn so much about the 1896 Olympic Games. As was the case with his other books, Barry Brown's exhaustive research allows him to ground a delightful fictional romp in very real places and events. I love Brown's feminist spin on the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre. Mrs. Hudson continues to be a marvelous character, who, in this book, leads Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in an exciting adventure involving murder, Greek antiquities, and undercover work for Queen Victoria. I couldn't put the book down and look forward eagerly to the Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street book.

[Kris Schmidgall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story with Mrs. Hudson as the brains behind Holmes' success. I think it was very well done, and researched extensively. I hope the rest of the series will be available on audio, as I believe this is the fifth in the series, and it is the first one I have listened to.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A twisted adventure to say the least, murder of a diplomat's wife, the beginning of the modern Olympics, with a love story . Loved It, Action packed.