Contents:

What can you find here? Reviews of new and not quite so new Sherlock Holmes novels and collections. Interviews with authors, link to blogs worth following, links to where you can purchase my books and some reviews of my work garnered from Amazon sites. Plus a few scary pics of me and a link to various Lyme Regis videos on YouTube...see what we do here and how....and indeed why!!! Next to the Lyme Regis Video Bar is a Jeremy Brett as Holmes Video Bar and now a Ross K Video Bar. And stories and poems galore in the archives.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Haunted Edinburgh

The Case of the Edinburgh Haunting by David Wilson is a first-rate pastiche and is extremely well-written. Edinburgh itself is in some ways the star of the show here just as it is in Ian Rankin's Rebus novels, Victorian Edinburgh comes to life under Mr Wilson's skilful pen. One aspect which will cheer any Holmes devotee is the appearance of none other than Dr Joseph Bell who, according to ACD, was the original template for the character of Holmes. Having the two of them meet and dazzle together is David Wilson's masterstroke; I am not sure if it has been done before, but if it has I doubt it has been accomplished so well as it has here. I found myself re-reading that section three times before moving on!  The action is presented to us from various viewpoints which works very well indeed. Watson's own narrative is uncannily spot on and one of the finest of recent Watsonian voices I have come across. The plot initially takes us to a haunted house in Edinburgh (one of many such there one would imagine), but not all is how it seems and the plot moves on from there to encompass murder and corruption. All the developments are handled very well and the pace never flags (it's a gentle kind of pace, a Watsonian pace if you will), The differing perspectives as the plot unfolds serve to give the reader a very clear, concise view on what is going on. The characters are well-drawn (some taken from life as in the case of Dr Bell) and in Constable Morthouse, the young officer who initially is assumed to be out of his depth, we have a policemen worthy of the highest praise from Holmes. He is keen, observant and remains focused in spite of being treated badly by his superior officer. This is a superior pastiche which will leave one wanting more from the pen and imagination of David Wilson, it certainly did for me.
The Case of the Edinburgh Haunting will be published by MX Publishing on the 17th of October, and will be available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, and more places than you can shake a stick at!






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