Book Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord, M.K. Wiseman
Mystery: Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord, M.K. Wiseman
Blog Tour: August 1, 2023
M.K. Wiseman is a Sherlock Holmes fan who has taken her love of the great detective a step further. Writing as though she is an elderly Holmes composing his own memoirs to compliment those left by his faithful friend Dr. John Watson, this Holmes takes on cases that have a metaphysical bent.
A woman begs for the help at 221B Baker Street. She has begun receiving quite lurid letters about an affair she had many years before, when she was married. The letters appear to be pages torn from her own diary, written in her own hand, but she cannot remember ever writing of the affair let alone in such prurient detail.
Very shortly thereafter, Holmes and Watson are entreated to aid a man who has gone on an astral projection walk away from his body, but has not returned after nine days. Two others of this mystical group had done the same and died, one without ever returning, the other waking but never regaining her sense of self and dying by her own hand days later. The man requesting the aid is none other than the woman’s paramour of years past, so Holmes and Watson cannot help but believe that there is a connection between the cases.
Despite Holmes’s skepticism, shared by Watson, of the mystical arts, Holmes has a deep longing to discover meaning in his life. Having killed Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls and then spending three years being “dead” to the world while hunting the remainder of Moriarty’s crew, Holmes is reflective and a bit melancholy, realizing he has not been a good friend, not been a good brother, never had a significant relationship, and that apart from bringing joy to criminals and sorrow to those who love justice, he would be mourned by very few. Having touched death, he is not certain what his life actually means. He can see the picture of a person’s life laid out in their clothing, their appearance, the dirt on their shoes and the detritus on their sleeves. What he wants to know is: Why?
Wiseman wisely does not try to give us, nor Sherlock Holmes, the answer. Every person has to solve that case for herself/himself. Perhaps, though, having it laid out (albeit fictionally) in such a way may give more people a reason to pursue ultimate questions.
Wiseman’s novels are truly homages to the original work of Sir Arther Conan Doyle. She has managed to subtly update the sensibilities of these Victorian characters while remaining true to the spirit and tone of the creator. I can’t help but think that, after recovering from the shock of what his characters have meant to the world, Doyle himself would be pleased with Wiseman’s work.
Our thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for our copy of Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord, given so we could write an honest review of the book. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Silver Cord, M.K. Wiseman
This is a great writer
I love the 3 book set called the “Bookminder”
And the Sherlock Holmes stories are even better !