Robert J. Harris

(2021) What I call a Sherlock Holmes derivative. Based on the characters and actually the movies made in the 1940s, this puts Holmes in WWII London. A series of murders closely reminiscent of Jack the Ripper has Holmes & Watson trying to crack the case. Many possible murderers are tracked down including the descendent of one of the original suspects in the Ripper killings. Rayner, a military investigator who is helping the police turns out to be the killer and is also a spy for Germany. He latches onto the Ripper legend to cover his tracks. Holmes figures him out as the case is afoot. Bookpage:When Universal Studios acquired the film rights to Sherlock Holmes in 1942, they changed the setting of the stories from the Victorian era to the then-present day. The 12 films starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as John Watson in World War II-era Britain serve as inspiration for Robert J. Harris' A Study in Crimson. In 1942 London, the newspaper headlines are all about the war. That's good news for Scotland Yard Detective Lestrade, who would like to keep his investigation of a Jack the Ripper copycat under the radar. No point in further scaring Londoners who are already frightened out of their wits by the nightly bombings. ?Crimson Jack? has been taunting the police, leaving cryptic notes at the scenes of his murders and timing the killings to the precise dates of the original Ripper's murders. Lestrade's strong suit is knowing when he is outmatched, and he summons Holmes to ?lend a hand? (i.e., solve the case). Harris' take on the iconic characters is outstanding. Fans of the films will have no problem evoking mental images of Rathbone and Bruce moving through their wartime London milieu.… (meer)