Thanks to Little Elm Press and Netgalley for a copy of The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre in exchange for an honest review.

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Genre: Historical mystery

Publisher: Little Elm Press

Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Arthur Conan Doyle provided few details on Holmes’ boyhood. His ancestors were country squires, his grandmother was the sister of the French artist Vernet, and he had a brother named Mycroft – seven years his senior.

Recently, a cache of documents has been discovered detailing, in Sherlock’s own hand, his early forays into criminal investigation.Only weeks into his first year at Eton, Sherlock’s father calls him and his brother back to Underbyrne, the ancestral estate.

The village midwife has been found with a pitchfork in her back in the estate’s garden, and Mrs. Holmes has been accused of the murder.

Can Sherlock find the true killer in time to save her from the gallows?

(from Amazon blurb)

My thoughts

As I’ve mentioned in a previous review of a Sherlock-inspired novel, I’m not the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan in the world. So I can’t precisely judge how The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife fits with other works. Even so, I know that any author who dares to use Conan-Doyles’ famed detective must tread lightly. It’s too easy to go astray. Make him too modern and lose authenticity. Keep him too faithful to the original and be, well, completely unoriginal oneself.

But Liese Sherwood-Fabre knows how to walk that tightrope. (I keep wanting to spell her last name SherLOCK-Fabre!) Here, she imagines Sherlock as a young adolescent, not yet fully aware of his own potential. As she does so, she creates a winning, fascinating character who won my respect and sympathy.

Characterization

Even at 13, Sherlock possesses an analytic mind and a keen eye for details that most people overlook. He’s a detective, even at that young age, and his mother recognizes that he has the ability to snoop around without raising suspicions.

Yet he’s also 13, that awkward age when one is part child and part hormonal teen. When he arrives home from Eton, he often seems lonely when he’s with his seemingly-distant father and intelligent brother. Throw in his first crush on a girl and a prank from Mycroft about human reproduction, and Sherlock begins an awkward sexual awakening that feels innocent and realistic. Throughout the novel, he begins to see the differences in societal gender roles, and his own privilege as a male.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the dynamics of the Holmes family. Sherlock’s relationship with his mother feels genuine; Violette Holmes won my sympathy almost immediately. Mycroft is Mycroft: cunning, intelligent, and ambitious. Sherlock’s eccentric uncle Ernest, who suffers from PTSD, lives on the Holmes property. He’s his nephew’s ally . . . when he isn’t busy refining a new weapon he swears the army can use.

Sherwood-Fabre does an excellent job developing the relationships between these complicated and oh-so-real characters. There is love here, but that love is threatened, not only by the accusations of murder and real possibility of execution, but by each person’s secrets.

The Mystery

The central mystery of the book doesn’t feel as compelling as it could. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because Sherlock doesn’t really know the murdered midwife. His real desire is to clear the Holmes name by finding the real murderer. It is a legitimate motive, but I never felt any urgency about it.

Also, the killer’s motive fell flat for me, despite the author’s best efforts to make it compelling. That was a bit disappointing.

The climatic showdown between the killer and the future detective was exciting, though. It was fun to see how young Sherlock outwits the killer.

Writing Quality

However, the writing quality is outstanding. Sherwood-Fabre knows how to create vivid scenes. They feel pitch-perfect in the historical details but simultaneously modern.

Overall, this is a solid work to add to the canon of Sherlock Holmes fiction. I recommend it to any Sherlock fans, as well as historical mystery readers.