Leonard Goldberg (2) (1936–)

This is 3.5 stars for me, and I'm rounding up because I think the most upvoted reviews are much more negative than the books deserves. Writing Sherlock Holmes pastiches is not easy, and even less so when it's not Sherlock Holmes, but his daughter, after Sherlock is dead (but Watson is still alive). Getting the tone right is not easy.

I read the first in the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mystery series by Laurie R. King, and although it was well-written I found it insufferable, with the most Mary-Sueish character ever, and completely unnecessary Watson-bashing. Like a bad fanfiction where the author-self-insert character dazzles all the characters from the original work with her brilliance.

This one got the tone better. It is not badly-written, either. It is perhaps a bit too precious, taking the "next generation" concept a bit too far. Having Watson's son, Holmes' daughter and the original Watson himself collaborate in an investigation is the premise, but was it necessary to have Lestrade's son be the Scotland Yard investigator, and the son of a Sherlock Holmes villain be the villain here? It's just a bit too much.

The mystery also could have been a bit more interesting. We readers, and also the investigators, knew the identity of the murderer from the beginning, and the whole book is about finding proof. It's not bad, with elements reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes' stories, like deciphering a secret code.

The tone felt mostly right to me, much more respectful of the original stories than Laurie R. King's series. The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes was quite readable, although not as fresh and exciting as it might have been.… (mehr)

The Art of Deception was well-played and aptly named. I had decided that this was the year to venture out to read other genres that I don't usually read, such as mystery. I am glad that I did. As a result of how interesting this book was, I hope to go back and read the other books in this series. I will also pass this on to my dad as a good read for him!

The Holmes clan has a mystery to solve. Who is the art gallery thief? How doe he or they keep getting away with repeated vandalism? This book will teach you a lot about paintings and art if you don't already have a background. It will also show you how intelligent criminals can be when trying to rip off highly valued and expensive items.

I liked the background provided, as well. The time period was when many people died of cholera. Now, I highly recommend that if you are reading this book during Covid, which I did, that you might want to take it slowly, only read a few chapters at a time, and not too close to bedtime. I was already anxious when I started this book, and a lot of the similarities between two major worldwide diseases almost became too much for me to handle. But, this is only a small part of the book, and just keep going, as it will be all right.

The character I enjoyed most in the book was Joanna. Very intelligent, detailed, ready for action, and I laughed at how she got the best of one of the characters toward the end of the story. Also, she is a durable character, had suffered a lot of hardships, but was moving forward. I so very much identified with her. However, she was not the narrator. Read to find out who was!… (mehr)