DNFing at ~10%. The dialogue is awkward and stilted and hard to get through, and the Medium has been referred to as the G-slur at least three times by this point. I am hopeful that the use of that word would have eventually been addressed, since "Romani" is in the glossary, but it was too much of a slog to get to. I also felt a bit cringe about a white woman writing about the perils of being a Black man in the setting, but how white women were prone to swooning for Watson when he put on the charm - it just felt off! There are lots of great and good reviews for this from diehard Sherlock fans, so if that's your cup of tea you may find this to your liking. It's not for me, though.

One-time Baker Street Irregular Timothy Badger has found himself a partner-in-crime, Benjamin Watson, and has set out to tackle intriguing and unusual cases Sherlock Holmes doesn’t have time for. Their first case is a tricky one when a man is brutally murdered during a séance. Their client is a man accused of committing the crime. Can they prove their client innocent and catch a cold-blooded killer?

As someone who fell in love with the original stories at a young age, I am always looking for a good pastiche. This one had an interesting premise: what if one of Holmes’ street urchins, a Baker Street Irregular, grows up and takes the things he’s learned from Holmes to solve crimes on his own? The writing style is similar to the original stories, but there were phrases and words that did not fit the time period.

The two main characters were interesting, though I found Badger to be extremely frustrating. Almost as frustrating as a side character, intrepid journalist Ellsie Littleton. Any time those two shared a scene (which was often) I did not enjoy it.

Overall, the mystery was interesting. I liked when Sherlock Holmes appeared, though he wasn’t quite the detective I love from the original stories. I would recommend this to readers looking for an unusual spin-off adventure set in the world of Sherlock Holmes.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )

I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I somewhat hesitated before clicking "request" on this book when it was offered in Early Reviewers...here's another author taking on Sherlock Holmes. HOWEVER, I shouldn't have had any worries. This book is a fun ride with a bit of a different spin on the Holmes novels. Tim and Ben are detectives who open their own shop after Tim leaves the Baker Street Irregulars. Tim has to convince Scotland Yard, Ben, and others of his ties to Mr. Holmes while using everything he learned from Holmes to help solve the mystery of murder at a séance.

An enjoyable read with a wrongly accused and associated twists and turns of a typical detective novel. All-in-All an enjoyable read. I'm already looking forward to the second installment in the series. Likeable characters. 4 stars. ( )

Won this on the Early Reviewers group. Let me start off by saying this was a fun read that kept me guessing until the conclusion. Some of it I figured out ahead of time but it was still entertaining.
I approached this book thinking, "Oh great, another Sherlock Holmes knockoff." But the characters were well written and the mystery was good and most of all it was FUN. By the time I was half way through I couldn't put the book down and that doesn't happen as much anymore. Highly recommend and I am wanting to read more by this author. ( )

"The Isolated Séance" by Jeri Westerson is the first book in the new series "An Irregular Detective Mystery". The book follows the sleuthing duo of Timothy “Tim” Badger, a former Baker Street Irregular, and Benjamin “Ben” Watson, his partner. With cameos from the master detective himself, Sherlock Holmes, I found this to be an enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. ( )