Book Reviews

[redfiona99]

An interesting collection of stories written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally written to accompany a radio series that I would still like to get my hands on.

The linking theme of the stories is the supernatural, with a strong hint of ghosts, ghouls, witches and curses, and it is down to Sherlock Holmes to bring the human villains to justice.

John Taylor does a far better job of writing like Conan Doyle than most. This is shown particularly in the opening of the stories in 221B Baker Street, where instead of settling for the parody that most authors accomplish, and in Dr. Watson's foreword.

Of the 6 stories, there are 3 I particularly like - The Wandering Corpse, The Paddington Witch and The Devil's Tunnel. I am less fond of the other three stories although the Phantom Organ's ending fits in well with stories in the actual canon. The mysteries are not as tightly wound as the originals, but have their own quirks and some nice stylistic touches, particularly the Wandering Corpse.

An enjoyable collection.


Suggestions are a mix of Holmesiana. No unsuggestions.



The best thing that Christie ever wrote.

Mr. Satterthwaite is our guide into an upper class world of murder, deceit and property. An old man, he is Poirot without the little grey cells, or Miss Marple without the ability to apply his strong observational skills to problems, and is mostly content to be an observer of life rather than to take part in it.

All this changes when the highly mysterious Mr. Harley Quin arrives on the scene. Odd and unusual, where he goes drama follows, leaving Mr. Satterthwaite anxious to see him again. Quin is one of the most successful modern trickster characters in that he has a darkness necessary to have the dangerous edge a 'good' trickster needs.

The stories in this collection are not mysteries as such, although several do feature crimes that need to be solved. They are more like puzzles, whose pieces need Satterthwaite and Quin to find their place.

Unlike a lot of Christie's short story collections, this does not tail off towards the end. Instead it builds and builds, with tension increasing with every page.

A masterful work, with a cracking denoument, this is well worth reading.


As you may have gathered, I love that book something chronic.

The Suggestions are all golden age murder mysteries or books about them.


Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk (expected 23.2, found 0)
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (expected 22.6, found 0)
Survivor: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk (expected 22.3, found 0)
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (expected 20.3, found 0)
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk (expected 19.4, found 0)
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk (expected 19.3, found 0)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (expected 17, found 0)
You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers (expected 16.5, found 0)
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (expected 16.4, found 0)
Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld (expected 16.3, found 0)
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (expected 16.2, found 0)
Dry: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs (expected 15.4, found 0)
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (expected 15, found 0)
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner (expected 14.6, found 0)
Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire (expected 14.6, found 0)
Lucky: A Memoir by Alice Sebold (expected 14.4, found 0)
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (expected 14.1, found 0)
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre (expected 13.4, found 0)
The Fall by Albert Camus (expected 13.3, found 0)
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (expected 13.2, found 0)


I have no idea what Chuck Palahniuk did to Agatha Christie readers but he's written most of the unsuggestions. Given the contents of 'the Mysterious Mr. Quin' I'm also amused by how many of those books are 'edgy'.