Book Review: The Haunting of Roderick Usher, The Watson Letters Volume 6, Colin Garrow
Mystery: The Haunting of Roderick Usher, The Watson Letters Volume 6, Colin Garrow
Blog Tour December 9, 2022
I was expecting another Holmesian-tribute novel when I accepted this request. It would not take a particularly lengthy search of the Scintilla site to conclude that I have an “elementary” fondness for Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and the sundry associated characters in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s collection.
I was not wrong, but Colin Garrow definitely finds his own path. There is some effort to copy the Victorian English of the original. Some. It’s actually a rather desultory attempt, and when even Mary Watson says, “{&$#” it’s quite apparent that we have abandoned Victorian conversational mores and gone in a very different direction.
Then there are the nods to other fictional characters. I was not necessarily surprised to read of another detective by the name of “Fred” in the book, but when he was joined by his “gang” which included Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their dog Scooby Doo, that was a bit of a surprise. Other teasers are in the book as well, but the pop culture references definitely separate Garrow’s work from competitors.
(Is the gang from London? I guess I had just assumed they were American–the midwestern accents are rather strong–and I am now wondering how their groovy VW van got around the cobblestone streets of the time. But, I digress.
The Haunting of Roderick Usher does bring the great detective new challenges from some old enemies, although Moriarty is present only as a conversational topic. Three mysteries, loosely connected, challenge our own detective gang. Solving one brings them into the web of the next, and things look dicey for all of them through most of the book. Although, as Mary says, they must have survived it or they could not have written about it.
I enjoyed this book immensely. I wouldn’t call it the best adaptation of the source material. It is fun and exciting, gives Mary Watson a much bolder (and bawdier) role than most books do, and dividing it into three sections means each of them can be taken individually and fully enjoyed. It is a quick read, one that highlights the delights of Garrow’s writing. I liked it.
Our thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for our copy of The Haunting of Roderick Usher, provided so we could participate in this blog tour. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives on this book, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: The Haunting of Roderick Usher, The Watson Letters Volume 6, Colin Garrow