Before Sherlock Holmes became the world’s greatest consulting detective, murder followed the arrival of unexpected guests to the Holmes family estate.
Shortly after one of his Uncle Ernest’s old acquaintances joins Sherlock and the extended Holmes family for the holidays, a dead man is found in the barn. This marks the beginning of the disruptions of the family Christmas celebrations. Sherlock’s young cousin reports hearing footsteps outside the nursery, the family learns that their guests are not who they appear, and Mycroft suddenly falls head-over-heels in love. Are there more murders to come, or will Sherlock prevent them by determine how this body materialized in the barn? (Goodreads blurb)
My thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed Liese Sherwood-Fabre’s first book in the young Sherlock Holmes series, The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, and was thrilled to have the chance to read book two. If you like historical mysteries, be sure to check out this series!
The story starts with a kick–literally. Sherlock and his unconventional mother are taking baritsu lessons from Mr. Moto. (If you’ve read Conan-Doyle’s original books, you may remember Sherlock uses baritsu to defend himself against Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls.) When his young cousin distracts Sherlock, Mr. Moto sweeps him off his feet with a swift leg across his ankles. Then he teaches him a valuable lesson: never turn your back on an opponent. This will prove to be an important point as the mystery progresses.
Once the principle players are in place and a man is found dead on the Holmes’ property, momentum builds. Characters from eccentric Uncle Earnest’s past arrives, dredging up old emotions and loyalties. Mycroft behaves in a decidedly un-Mycroft-ish manner, bewildering his young brother. Additionally, Sherlock’s delicate aunt and young cousin are visiting. The adults often relegate Sherlock to babysitting little Trevor, much to the older boy’s annoyance.
(Trevor may annoy Sherlock but he’s probably more like him than Sherlock would care to imagine. I rather liked the young boy. He’s a chatterbox and surprisingly observant. I’d like to see him appear in future series titles.)
Events swirl just outside of Sherlock’s grasp. He’s hampered by age and station from pursuing the truth that beckons to him. He can’t help but pursue it. This is a compelling portrait of a young man, still finding himself and finding more questions than answers, like most adolescents do. But he has the added burden of wondering what his high status means for life as an adult.
Sherlock struggles with his friendship with Constance, the daughter of his father’s steward’s assistant and their social inferior. Given their different educations, statuses, and futures, it is natural that their friendship will be awkward at times. It will need to change as time progresses. Sherlock sees her as his first friend outside his family, and it’s rough on him. But it’s heartbreaking to see Constance struggle, too, especially as she is still grieving the loss of her mother. Sherwood-Fabre does a great job making the boundaries between the various social statuses clear to the modern reader.
Sherlock is becoming aware of the areas where he lacks knowledge, such as attunement to others’ emotions. Now he’s contemplating how to remedy these weaknesses, probably through some logical, vigorous course of study. Sherwood-Fabre does a great job foreshadowing the adult Sherlock: he’s learning the value of detached, dispassionate observation, especially at times when emotions distract others.
In many ways, it’s the Holmes family who solves the mystery together. Some families have “family game night” or “family movie night”; the Holmes have “family find-the-killer night.” (Not that they call it that.) Somehow it works, and it’s great training for young Sherlock.
The Adventure of the Murdered Gypsy is most likely to appeal to Sherlock fans and historical mystery readers. It’s a satisfying, absorbing book.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.