Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon

James Lovegrove

4.06 · Rating details · 895 ratings · 133 reviews

The new Sherlock Holmes novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Odin and Firefly - Big Damn Hero.

It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly distressed, as she believ ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 375 pages

Published October 22nd 2019 by Titan Books

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

[ATY 2021] - Books By The Season

351 books — 61 voters

The Last of the Spirits by Chris Priestley

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

Christmas in Historical Fiction

13 books — 4 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.06 ·

Rating details

· 895 ratings · 133 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon

Dec 03, 2019 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: christmas-theme, 2019, e-book, mystery-shelf

Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove is a 2019 Titan publication.

A fun, clever, holiday mystery- Holmes & Watson style!

I have not read any of the previous Holmes & Watson mysteries written by James Lovegrove. I was a little wary about a new Sherlock Holmes mystery, written by someone other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to be honest.

However, after indulging in my usual heartwarming and saccharine sweet holiday romances, I was looking for a good holiday murder mystery, when Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove is a 2019 Titan publication.

A fun, clever, holiday mystery- Holmes & Watson style!

I have not read any of the previous Holmes & Watson mysteries written by James Lovegrove. I was a little wary about a new Sherlock Holmes mystery, written by someone other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to be honest.

However, after indulging in my usual heartwarming and saccharine sweet holiday romances, I was looking for a good holiday murder mystery, when this book popped up on my radar. For the most part the book has received positive feedback- so I decided to give it a try.

The story examines the darker side of Christmas folklore. We all know about Santa Claus or Father Christmas, but apparently these jolly souls have evil counterpoints- or opposites- for example:

Black Thurrick, who is also said to make an appearance during the Christmas holidays, punishing children by replacing their gifts with batches of Birch Twigs.

Holmes and Watson are hired by Eve Allerthorpe to investigate the ghostly happenings at her estate, after she believes she witnessed the demon Thurrick. Not only that, Thurrick’s hallmark calling card of Birch twigs were found outside of doors or windows on occasion.

The hitch is that dear Eve is about to come into a healthy sum of money, just so long as she is deemed of sound mind. Witnessing demonic apparitions might cause one to question her sanity, which is why Holmes & Watson need to get to the bottom of things before Eve loses her inheritance- or worse- is institutionalized.

Although Eve’s family is less than welcoming, Sherlock Holmes brushes off his chilly reception and gets right down to work. What ensues is a puzzling mystery, with several nice red herrings, and some truly wonderful dialogue between Holmes and Watson.

Although Lovegrove does occasionally satirize Holmes’ uncanny powers of observation and embellishes and exaggerates his and Watson’s relationship, a bit here and there, I think the author is very sincere and takes his task very seriously. He obviously respects these classic characters and does them justice.

I thought the author did a good job with this mystery, which kept me guessing and thoroughly entertained. I suspect Lovegrove enjoyed breathing new life into the Sherlock Holmes mystery series and I for one truly enjoyed reading it!

4 stars
...more

flag 105 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2020 Sean Gibson rated it it was amazing

There are two types of Sherlock Holmes readers: those who really enjoy big butts and those who lie about how much they enjoy big butts.

But, you can further subclassify Holmes readers based on their tolerance, or lack thereof, for the presence of supernatural chicanery. There are those, and perhaps it’s the majority, who disdain the spiritual and that when it comes to the great detective and ghosts, never the twain shall meet. There are those, however—myself included—who count Hound of the Baske ...more

flag 36 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2021 Elaine Lawson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery

Lovegrove is superb at bringing us new Holmes and Watson detection! I loved this book and am now getting a couple more.

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2019 The Tattooed Book Geek (Drew). rated it it was amazing

As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...

It is late December 1890, Eve’s Allerthorpe’s birthday is fast approaching and on Christmas eve she will turn twenty-one-years-old. On her birthday she will inherit a sizeable fortune left to her by her aunt…but only if she is found to be of sound mind. If, however, Eve is found to not be of sound mind then the inheritance will be divided and spread equally between other family memb As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...

It is late December 1890, Eve’s Allerthorpe’s birthday is fast approaching and on Christmas eve she will turn twenty-one-years-old. On her birthday she will inherit a sizeable fortune left to her by her aunt…but only if she is found to be of sound mind. If, however, Eve is found to not be of sound mind then the inheritance will be divided and spread equally between other family members.

Every year for Christmas the Allerthorpe’s host a gathering with their extended family coming from far and wide to celebrate the festive season at their family home of Fellscar Keep, an isolated castle located in East Riding, Yorkshire.

Fellscar Keep has a history and the local area is steeped in folklore, myth and local legend. One such local legend is that of the ‘Black Thurrick’ an evil entity, the dark to the light and an anti-father Christmas. The Black Thurrick replaces the benevolence and goodwill of Father Christmas with malevolence and ill will. The Black Thurrick removes the toys of those children who have been bad and exchanges them with bundles of birch twigs. And, if an offering isn’t left out for the Black Thurrick then, the Black Thurrick will steal the children of the household, take them back to its underground lair and eat them.

When she was a child, alongside her younger brother, Eve’s mother used to regale the two children with tales of the Black Thurrick, a tale told to scare the children into being good and one that has been etched in Eve’s memory. Now, nearing Christmas and Eve’s birthday bundles of birch twigs are being left around Fellscar Keep. In the dark of the night, mysterious noises are being heard emanating from the east wing of the castle. And Eve, herself, by the glow of moonlight has glimpsed a figure resembling the countenance of the sinister Black Thurrick walking across the frozen lake late at night.

With no-one else to turn to, Eve travels to London where she asks Holmes and Watson for aid, for their help in the hope that they will be able to uncover the truth behind the strange occurrences that are plaguing both her and Fellscar keep. To add to matters, while Holmes and Watson are at Fellscar Keep investigating the tale of the Black Thurrick things take on a more serious tone when one of the household is found dead under suspicious circumstances.

The folklore is well incorporated and adds an ominous air to the story. Deep in winter Fellscar Keep is gripped by the coldness of the season with snow blanketing the area and the setting is very atmospheric. The gloomy, expansive and secluded Fellscar Keep, a castle on an island in the middle of a lake, joined to the land by a causeway, surrounded by a forest and miles away from the nearest village.

There’s a vigour to the storytelling, a zeal to the writing and you can tell that Lovegrove has a genuine love for the iconic duo in his work. The mystery doesn’t disappoint, neither does the setting, the characters, the deductions, the twists or the denouement of the investigation. It is all cleverly plotted, honours and serves to pay homage to the characters of Holmes and Watson by once more bringing them to life in a gripping and highly entertaining mystery that captures the era perfectly and feels deeply reminiscent of a classic Holmes tale.

I really liked the actual ending with Lovegrove ending things with some festive cheer done in a very Holmesesque way. It felt like a fitting end and leaves you with a smile upon your face.

Simply, Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon was an absolute joy to read. ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2019 Clare rated it it was amazing

Now I haven't read any Sherlock books since I was younger and they were Conan Doyle ones which I loved. I was a bit dubious about reading this as I didn't think anything could come close to his, but I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I throughly enjoyed it and loved how I was transported to back in time. The characters were so descriptive and the story was so well written. I have gone on to reserve a few of his others and cant wait to get my hands on them. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2020 Bruce Hatton rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, english-crime

Eve Allerthorpe, daughter of a wealthy dysfunctional Yorkshire family, enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. She believes her family home, a large ugly and remote Gothic castle called Felscar Keep is haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit called Black Thurrick – a sort of anti-Santa.
Although, of course, Holmes dismisses such supernatural mumbo-jumbo, he does suspect that something criminal is afoot. His suspicion is endorsed when, soon after he and Watson arrive at Felscar Keep, ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2019 Runalong rated it really liked it

This was just a huge amount of fun and got the characters spot on - great mysteries too!

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl... ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2020 Mary Pagones rated it it was amazing

A delightfully easy read, and happily for a Christmas hater like myself, there's not too much about the holiday, except at the beginning and the end. I didn't read it around the holiday season, so I would recommend it as a great book for any cold time of the year.

Lovegrove gets the banter between Holmes and Watson just right. It's not a particularly edgy take on the relationship, but warm and compassionate, and the mystery is suitably atmospheric while still being true to the spirit of the canon ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2019 Deepu Singh rated it it was amazing

Yes, its five star when it comes to the writing style and vocabulary, explaining the characters, building a character over the time, without giving a loose thread in the main storyline, keeping up suspense for even a little bit of details in story.

It was my first book i read of James Lovegrove and not only it stuck to the point that its a Sherlock Holmes story but also it made me fall in love with these characters again.

Writer did a excellent job to make the characters alive again, no concession ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2020 hannaღ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ficiton, thriller-suspense, historical-fiction

Such a cozy and clever book, perfect for this time of the year!

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2020 Fred Hughes rated it really liked it

A great story from the Holmes canon. A rich family starts to experience ghostly apparitions and then there is a death while Sherlock is on site.

Soon we get into the family history and Sherlock is on the trail to determine the killer.

Recommended

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2020 Ken Kirkberry rated it it was amazing

OK, not the great Arthur Conan Doyle but, a modern author writing in his style. Based in a creepy haunted castle, this story provides an atmospheric Christmas read. Holmes and Watson have several mysteries to solve. There is the obligatory murder, a haunting, and the presence of an eerie folklore creature that is the opposite of Santa Claus.
A mix of Halloween and Christmas maybe? With two of the best detective characters to hit the print, well worth a read.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2019 Mark rated it really liked it

After the last of the Cthulhu Casebooks, Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils, was published last year, I thought I’d got to the end of James’s entertaining cross-genre series.

So, it was a lovely surprise to get this one arrive through the post – even though it’s a Christmas tale which has arrived before Halloween!

It is 1890 and Sherlock and his friend John Watson are approached by Eve Allerthorpe, whose family seat at Fellscar Keep in Yorkshire appears to be haunted by a demonic spirit – t ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2019 Lee Allen rated it it was amazing

A gripping new case for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for the Yuletide season.

There have been many follow-ups and interpretations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, as well as spin-offs featuring other characters from the canon, both in print and in film and television. Some are widely successful - Anthony Horowitz's two authorised novels and Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' modern-setting BBC TV series amongst the most notable. James Lovegrove has written several Sherlock Holmes stories si A gripping new case for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for the Yuletide season.

There have been many follow-ups and interpretations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, as well as spin-offs featuring other characters from the canon, both in print and in film and television. Some are widely successful - Anthony Horowitz's two authorised novels and Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' modern-setting BBC TV series amongst the most notable. James Lovegrove has written several Sherlock Holmes stories since 2013, with this the latest, published in 2019.

'Sherlock Holmes & The Christmas Demon' begins a few days before Christmas in 1890 with the arrival of a potential new client in the form of Eve Allerthorpe, who is terrified that she is being haunted by preternatural forces - a ghost who may or may not be the spirit of her dead mother; and a folkloric demon known as the Black Thurrick, one of the many interpretations of a Christmas demon (Krampus being the most widely-known in the 21st century).

Intrigued by the story of her persecution, and not at all convinced her tormentor is supernatural in origin, Holmes agrees to take on the case. He and Watson travel to the Allerthorpe family home in Yorkshire, where they encounter Eve's immediate family, who immediately make it known they are not welcome. As Holmes begin to unearth secrets and lies, the Black Thurrick selects Watson as his next target, followed by a suspicious death that may finally crack open the case.

'Sherlock Holmes & The Christmas Demon' is a thrilling Victorian mystery, packed full of Holmes' deductive brilliance and wry wit, foreboding atmosphere and a seasonal chill. Revisiting Holmes and discovering a new story that captures the essence of Conan Doyle's storytelling and Holmes' character is a joyous gift - this reminiscent of a Christmas 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', with its remote setting, historic dynasty and folkloric horrors. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this while enjoying a few days off over the Christmas period.

I sincerely hope that Lovegrove writes more Holmes mysteries in this vein. Synopses and reviews of his other Holmes' novels suggest they stray considerably from the tradition of Conan Doyle's stories, but on the merit of 'The Christmas Demon', I may explore them in the future. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2019 Oliver Clarke rated it really liked it

Review coming soon on Sci Fi and Scary

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2019 booksofallkinds rated it it was amazing

*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher.

As always, James Lovegrove has blown me away with this masterpiece of historical fiction featuring my favourite Victorian sleuths, Holmes and Watson.

It is the week of Christmas and Holmes and Watson find themselves travelling to Fellscar Keep, a wealthy castle by all accounts, to solve a mystery for their young client, Eve Allerthorpe. In a few days, Eve is due to come into her inheritance from an aunt as long as she is found to be of sound m ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2019 Doreen rated it really liked it

Shelves: titan

I'm conceding defeat and I'm not even sure whom to. See, despite being an ardent mystery fan since a wee girl, I've been lukewarm at most to the Sherlock Holmes canon, and have had very little interest in reading the Sherlockiana that has spawned since. Not even Neil Gaiman's brilliant A Study In Emerald could draw me in, and I waved off my delight in G. S. Denning's Warlock Holmes series as being of a similar exception, given the overtly supernatural element common to both. Nancy Springer's Eno I'm conceding defeat and I'm not even sure whom to. See, despite being an ardent mystery fan since a wee girl, I've been lukewarm at most to the Sherlock Holmes canon, and have had very little interest in reading the Sherlockiana that has spawned since. Not even Neil Gaiman's brilliant A Study In Emerald could draw me in, and I waved off my delight in G. S. Denning's Warlock Holmes series as being of a similar exception, given the overtly supernatural element common to both. Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes series and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Anna Waterhouse's Mycroft & Sherlock books were also, I rationalized, exceptions since they focused on the deeds of Sherlock's siblings, and not on the tiresome detective and his sentimental companion themselves. Not even my appreciation for the most recent adaptations of Sherlock on the screen -- whether they be Guy Richie's movies, the Beeb's episodes or the excellent Elementary -- could sway me.

So I'm not sure why I said yes when the magnificent Polly Grice over at Titan Books offered me a copy of James Lovegrove's Sherlock Holmes And The Christmas Demon. Perhaps it was because of all the other Titan-published Sherlock-adjacent books that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps it was because I absolutely adored what James Lovegrove did with his recent Firefly novels. Regardless, reader, I trusted the sources enough to finally say yes.

There was always the chance, of course, that I'd find this novel tiresome in the same ways I find Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works tedious. All the hallmarks of the original Sherlock stories are still present here in this gorgeously bound volume but Mr Lovegrove's deftness of touch makes it so that I don't find the relationship between the main characters irritating, and that I'm not wildly annoyed by the "exotic" touches to the story (just thinking of The Speckled Band still makes me incredibly grouchy.) While this wasn't a difficult mystery to solve -- tho some of the clues were quite ingenious -- it held together better for me than a lot of the original canon, and was so entertaining as to completely batter down my resistance to new material. Plus, I do love a Victorian Christmas! Perhaps I would have been grumpier if this book had come out after Halloween, as I'm always aggrieved at retailers ignoring Thanksgiving due to profit margins being better on the bracketing holidays, but with the weather turning and the supernatural bent to this Christmas tale, it felt like perfect timing. I can't imagine a cozier new book for fans of classic mysteries to curl up with as winter looms, and sincerely hope this book finds its way into many a mystery-lover's stocking as Yuletide approaches. It has certainly given me the gift of appreciation for new Sherlockiana, and for that I am thankful. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2020 Bibliophile rated it really liked it

This was one of the better Holmes pastiches that I've read recently, with Holmes firmly rooted in the scientific realm while he and Watson go about solving this case.

Holmes and Watson have just wrapped up a shoplifting case and are taking lunch when they are approached by a well-to-do young lady. Eve Allerthorpe stands to inherit a large sum of money from her maternal aunt Jocasta on her birthday - Christmas Eve - provided that she is of sound mind at that time. Eve's mother had had mental heal This was one of the better Holmes pastiches that I've read recently, with Holmes firmly rooted in the scientific realm while he and Watson go about solving this case.

Holmes and Watson have just wrapped up a shoplifting case and are taking lunch when they are approached by a well-to-do young lady. Eve Allerthorpe stands to inherit a large sum of money from her maternal aunt Jocasta on her birthday - Christmas Eve - provided that she is of sound mind at that time. Eve's mother had had mental health issues and had committed suicide almost a year previous, so it was a valid concern. Eve thinks that she is being haunted by two ghosts/specters and implores Holmes to help her.

Eve believes that the ghost of her dead mother is haunting the east wing of Fellscar Keep, the main family's ancestral seat. Her mother jumped to her death from the tallest window in that wing. While she hasn't experienced phenomena herself, the servants reported hearing odd grunts and groans, as well as seeing a figure dressed in white.

The second apparition haunting her is Black Thurrick, a local legend akin to Krampus or some other opposite of Santa/St. Nick. She and her brother Erasmus have found bundles of birch twigs on their windowsills, and she found another bundle while walking the grounds. Eve also spotted what she believes to be the figure of Black Thurrick crossing the frozen lake surrounding the Keep late one night. She invites Holmes and Watson up to Fellscar Keep until her birthday, hopefully to solve the hauntings once and for all and prove that she is not insane.

Holmes and Watson do not find a very warm welcome when they arrive at the Keep: Eve's father is convinced that it's all a product of her poet's imagination and that the holidays are supposed to be a family-only affair. The London pair are seen as interlopers. Things soon begin happening: Watson finds a bundle of birch twigs on his windowsill, a scullery maid is found dead, fallen from the same window that the mistress of the house fell from a year before. Watson is all-to-ready to believe that the strange happenings are due to the supernatural, but Holmes is not so sure.

There are plenty of suspects and red herrings in this book, but readers will probably begin to realize who the culprit is soon enough. I found Eve Allerthorpe to be a bit prone to dramatics (as her father said, the girl has an imagination) and a bit too kind-hearted. We do get to see why, for all that Watson can be exasperated with him, Sherlock Holmes remains his very good friend. We also get clues on when in the canon timeline this story occurs, with Watson mentioning that it was a few months before Holmes confronts Professor Moriarty. The fussy reader obsessed with timelines and dates in me appreciated it greatly (but that's just me). ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2020 NightOwl rated it it was ok

A Christmas mystery set in Victorian Yorkshire, possibly supernatural goings on, and Sherlock Holmes. What could go wrong? Well…

I can’t put my finger on what exactly what went awry with this book, although I think it suffered from an acute case of trying too hard to emulate Canon, and missing it’s mark entirely because of it. The writing was good, the character voices rang true. The plot and setting captured the atmospherics in Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes’s methods were about right, but t ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2019 Katie rated it really liked it

This was the first novel by James Lovegrove that I have read, and it was enjoyable. He kept the flavor of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, he didn't add any un-needed details to Holmes or Watson and did not try to make them anything besides the detectives we have come to love them for being. The supporting characters were multi-dimensional (as far as they could be when they only appear to drive the mystery forward), and the mystery was one that Doyle could have thought of himself. I appreci ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2020 Drew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Lovegrove has made himself into one of the better and more regular Holmes pastichers in the game today -- not as celebrated as the "estate-approved" Anthony Horowitz novels, but honestly the better for it. I enjoyed the hell out of Lovegrove's first Holmes/Cthulhu book (and just ordered the other two) and this, while lacking in the supernatural, was a delightful Christmas mystery that delivered all of the pleasures one could want from a modern Holmes novel. It manages to feel fresh and keep the ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2021 Marcie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-aapl-52, mystery, 2020, christmas, sherlock-holmes, fiction

I selected Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon as a seasonal read. Reading over the holidays is one of my most-favorite traditions, and each year I try to read a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, or I revisit the canon.

Although not fully entrenched in the trappings of the Yuletide season, Mr. Lovegrove's Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon mystery involves a folklorian character that deposits birch-twig bundles to miscreant children undeserving of Christmas gifts.

True to canon form, Mr. Holmes and ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2019 Niki rated it liked it

3.5/5 - an excellent sherlock holmes pastiche - and two good plots -
however i discovered the culprit of the attent on eve allerthorpe to make her mentally ill, and i also discovered the second culprit, the one of the murder of the scullery maid, but there i didn't know the why's -
...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2019 Sharon rated it really liked it

I found this to be an engaging and complex mystery with a slightly warmer and more human Sherlock Holmes and a more competent version of Watson. Thoughly enjoyable with an interesting cast of characters.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 22, 2019 Chloe Williams rated it really liked it

This was so much fun. A perfect Christmas read.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 25, 2019 Connie rated it it was amazing

1890 - Eve Allerthorpe, the eldest daughter from a wealthy family stands to inherit a fortune when she turns 21 on Christmas eve. However there is a clause in the will that stipulates that Eve must be of sound mind to inherit.
Eve arrives at 221B Baker street upset and on edge and explains to Sherlock Holmes that she is being haunted by Black Thurrick - a Crampus style demon from childhood stories. She claims to have seen him from her window, a dark face with glowing eyes, crossing the estate wit ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 22, 2020 Shifad rated it liked it

The book is in many ways similar to the Hound of Baskerville. The demon, a rich client, a place of myth and finally it all falls down to the legacy. There are many places where the book tickles your imagination. I was disappointed with the mystery but I enjoyed the overall plot.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2020 Ioana Barcan rated it liked it

Well it didn't keep me hanging on the edge of my seat, but it did make me curious enough to pop it up on the "currently reading stack" until I finished it :). I liked the winter vibe of the story and Sherlock's assessments of the characters' personalities. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2019 Theresa Derwin rated it it was amazing

To say I’ve been looking forward to this for most of the summer - is something of an understatement.
I adore Christmas, love horror, get an incredible kick out of Victoriana fiction, so to combine all three by none other than James Lovegrove; well, it’s a Christmas dream come true.
The action literally starts with a chase, as Holmes is looking for a jewel thief, stealing pearls from a period-accurate department store.
It doesn’t take long to figure out the villain is a store employee working with a ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2019 Swords & Spectres rated it it was amazing

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up … well, when I was about 16, I remember pretending to be sick so I could stay off school and plow my way through the Complete Sherlock Holmes collection that I’d come across. That book (a few shorts aside) was the best book I’d ever picked up and it was one of my saddest days as a reader when I finished it. So, when I got an e-mail advertising Sherlock Holmes and The Christmas Demon from Titan Books it I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up … well, when I was about 16, I remember pretending to be sick so I could stay off school and plow my way through the Complete Sherlock Holmes collection that I’d come across. That book (a few shorts aside) was the best book I’d ever picked up and it was one of my saddest days as a reader when I finished it. So, when I got an e-mail advertising Sherlock Holmes and The Christmas Demon from Titan Books it was impossible to refuse.

I’ll also say that I had a bit of a mixed set of feelings about reading a Christmas novel in October, but it actually felt really good and now I’m well into the Christmas spirit. Sadly it will be a much different Christmas due to living in the modern age rather than Holmes’ time, but beggars can’t be choosers.

My main concern (never having read a book by this author, much less one set in the world of my favourite consulting detective) was that it wouldn’t be any good. I imagined someone trying too hard to fill the shoes left by the death of Sir Arthur. At the very least, I assumed it would be nowhere near as good as the work by Anthony Horowitz. Thankfully, it over-performed and knocked me for six. The long and the short of the previous paragraph ‘thought it might not hit a homerun, but it went and hit two.’

The writing itself is just different enough from Conan-Doyle’s writing to not make it feel like Lovegrove is trying too hard to be the great man, but brilliant enough that it fits the characters perfectly and tells a wonderful story from start to finish (even if a couple of the deductions were a bit too shoe-horned in, but then Conan-Doyle had a habit of that as well, so I suppose it fits perfectly.)

The general plot is that a young woman from a wealthy Yorkshire family comes to London at her wit’s end, claiming to be haunted by a demonic Christmas being known as ‘The Black Thurrick’. She implores Holmes and Watson to come and prove her to be of sound mind for, if she is not of sound mind, she goes without her inheritance. Holmes, spying an easy case because any sane man knows that supernatural creatures are a thing of fairy tales to scare small children, readily agrees.

The overall plot is one that the reader needs to keep a vigilant eye on (much like with any Holmes plot by any good Holmes author). The plot fractures into several different paths and the shrewdest investigator might find themselves at a loss as to how to keep all the threads tied. The book provided me with hours of evening enjoyment and sucked me right into the cold, inhospitable Yorkshire countryside come 19th century Christmas and I loved every second of it.

The characters, for the most part were well-fleshed out and believable. Some of them felt a bit over-exaggerated at times but it didn’t make the book feel bad in any way, shape or form. In fact, they felt over the top in the same way some of Conan-Doyle’s were. I would highly recommend this as not only Christmas read, but a read for any time of the year if you want a good Holmes and Watson tale.

And that cover. Beautiful? Elegant? Both describe it well. All I can say is that it’s the kind of cover that makes me happy I own the physical copy rather than a kindle version.

I hear the same author also has a Homes and Watson series set around the Cthulhu mythos and am very intrigued by that. I will have to get my hands on those books as I seriously need more Holmes and Watson in my life after the tale of The Christmas Demon. ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

58 users

Holiday > Christmas

33 users

Mystery > Crime

16 users

Fiction

13 users

Historical > Historical Fiction

12 users

Holiday

7 users

Historical

7 users

European Literature > British Literature

6 users

Mystery > Historical Mystery

5 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

5 users

See top shelves…

About James Lovegrove

James Lovegrove

347 followers

James Lovegrove is the author of several acclaimed novels and books for children.

James was born on Christmas Eve 1965 and, having dabbled in writing at school, first took to it seriously while at university. A short story of his won a college competition. The prize was £15, and it had cost £18 to get the story professionally typed. This taught him a hard but necessary lesson in the harsh economic ...more