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3.7 stars. Interesting. ( )

This was not a bad book. It didn't have enough Holmes in it. I figured it out in the first few chapters but after that the story pulled me away from what I thought was happening. In the end it was what I thought it would be.

The author said he didn't just want to clone ACD's writing style and he succeeded. Watson was the Watson I came to expect. Holmes was what I came to expect of him. But there was too much Watson and too little Holmes. In that way it reminded me of Hound of the Baskervilles.

The story kept me engrossed. It never slowed in its pace. In the end I enjoyed it. ( )

A reverend take on Conan Doyle’s most enduring heroes, Dr John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, this book is a fantastic read on a rainy winter’s day. The only criticism I have is that there doesn’t seem to be a follow-up! Actually no, there’s one small niggling point: the novel should be called “Dr Watson, the Breath of God” for there’s precious little of Holmes in it, but what there is, well, it’s witty, affectionate, illuminating and totally in the Conan Doyle tradition.
Guy Adams takes some of his favourite childhood literary heroes together with one real life person, Aleister Crowley to wit, and weaves them into a helter-skelter adventure that involves the infamous Golden Dawn, travels to Scotland and back, the murky underground world of London and some utterly bizarre murders that are as inexplicable as the yeti and as mysterious as Kylie’s firm bottom. The whole thing starts when a rich, idle socialite is found murdered on Grosvenor Square on a snowy night. No footprints are near, when the body is discovered almost immediately after the man’s met his end. Another bizarre death follows a few days later. Holmes receives a visit from the mysterious Dr Silence, who doesn’t want to engage the great detective’s services but merely wishes to put him on his guard that the game’s afoot!
Adams manages to pull off the near impossible and gets Holmes to investigate a supernatural series of deaths in an entirely believable plot twist that sees several “expert” demon hunters, rune specialists and investigators of the extraordinary work together. Holmes, the man of logic, the man who doesn’t credit the existence of Santa let alone “The Breath of God” killing London’s rich and idle gamblers, plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse, putting his trusted friend Watson, who is frankly for me the hero of the whole story, in mortal danger.
Like many fans, Guy Adams couldn’t content himself with the number of adventures Conan Doyle wrote for the greatest detective of all times. Adams, like so many of us, indulged in his very own version of “fan fiction”. However, ripping off doesn’t come into it – this is as original as it gets, even if Guy Adams has a cheeky wink at Kate Bush lyrics in the process and pays homage to several other literary giants at the same time.
A highly recommended read and no, I’m not going to tell you what it is about, as it would only spoil your enjoyment! ( )