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Title: The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #4
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 212
Words: 74K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

An escaped cannibal, a family curse ... and Reginald Worcester turning up on the doorstep. Could things get any worse for the Baskerville-Smythe family?

As the bodies pile up, only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is so rare it's positively endangered - can even hope to solve the case.

But... there is the small matter that most of the guests aren't who they say they are, the main suspect has cloven feet, and a strange mist hangs over great Grimdark Mire.

Luckily the young master has Reeves, his automaton valet, and Emmeline, his suffragette fiancee, on hand to assist.

My Thoughts:

While this is the 4th (or fifth depending on how you add/subtract/multipy/divide the series) book in the series, it is the first full length novel and I have to say, it suffered for that. Which is why it is getting 3.5stars instead of 4.

There was nothing bad about this, but the Wodehousian humor, just like with the original Jeeves and Wooster, can wear thin if spread too thick (ironic isn't it?) Novellas and short stories work best it would seem for both Wodehouse and Dolley.

There is another novel after this one but I think I'm going to hold off on it until I see if Dolley produces any more and if he does, whether they are more novellas or full length novels. There is no overarching plot to draw me on and I have to admit, I am thankful Dolley didn't go that route.

The title is a clever mix of both Sherlock Holmes (Hound of the Baskervilles) and Lord Peter Wimsey (Unpleasantness at the Belona Club). I didn't make much of a connection to the Wimsey novel outside of the title but a more seasoned mystery reader might be able to put the puzzle together better than I did.

I am glad I read this series, as it tided me over until I felt like reading some books by Wodehouse himself. Kind of ease my way back into that brand of humor.

★★★✬☆ ( )

I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I'm a huge fan of the original Jeeves and Wooster series by P.G. Wodehouse and was thrilled to have the chance to read and review this book. The story is a steampunk version of the original Jeeves and Wooster books, where Jeeves (called Reeves here) is Reggie's robot butler and the pair investigate a mystery based off of the Sherlock Holmes book the Hound of the Baskervilles. My girlfriend and I read this together and loved it. Chris Dolley does an excellent job of imitating Wodehouse's writing style and pays a bit of homage to Oscar Wilde. Reading Reggie's attempts to emulate famous detectives and solve this Baskerville mystery is hilarious. Laughs abounded. I highly recommend this book, though recommend reading What Ho Automata first since some plot points from the previous stories are mentioned (though not necessary to follow the story). ( )

'I've always been a strong believer in the old proverb -- too many thoughts spoil the child.'

I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an HONEST review:

For audiobooks, there are really three ratings I look at: the story, the narration and the overall score.

The story is about a private consulting detective and this automaton man servant/assistant. As they search for answer to the mystery, the Automaton (Reeves) proves himself to be the brains of the two while the detective (Worcester) is usually the "comic relief". The author used some real historical figures through out the story and added some interesting twists to them.

I am a firm believer that a great narration of an OK or decent book can be a masterpiece. With that being said, I enjoy listening to "The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall but I am not 100% sure if it was the story or the narration that I liked.

The story itself seemed "fun" but I have the feeling that I may not have enjoyed it if I was reading it. I'm not sure what made me feel this way...lots of "not sures" so far in my review. I give the story itself 3 stars.

I am 100% SURE (this time) that I loved the narration. The voice was a perfect match for the writing/story style. The narrators range of voices and inflection was outstanding. I give the narration 4 stars.

So overall, my assessment is: I am NOT SURE if reading the book will be much fun but I am 100% SURE that the audiobook is VERY MUCH worth your time! I give the whole shebang 3.5 stars!

I look forward to checking out the audiobooks from the series. This book is #4 and perhaps I would have enjoyed it even more if I was already familiar with the characters. ( )

This Early Reviewers book was my introduction to the Reeves and Worcester series. The story is a crazy humorous mix of Jeeves and Wooster, Sherlock Holmes and steampunk. It's satire, mystery, science fiction and fantasy all mashed together. I enjoyed the book but I found the mix a little bit too chaotic for my tastes. The audiobook version was competently narrated by Paul J. Rose. ( )