In this spin off novel, Oliver Twist is a 28 year old junior lawyer in the marvellously named firm of Gripwind and Biddle. Oliver and his assistant who is none other than Jack Dawkins, the Artful Dodger, are tasked with making an alteration to the will of Sir Ebenezer Throate. The old man, disgusted with his wastrel of a son, charges the pair with finding his long lost illegitimate other son, offspring of a "moment of madness" with a maidservant a quarter of a century before, so that he can make him his heir. The plot is twisty and turny with various red herrings as to the identity of someone making successive attempts on the life of Sir Ebenezer, though the central device of the wastrel brother and the virtuous brother of course mirrors the roles of Monks and Twist themselves in Dickens's novel. This was colourfully written, if rather implausible in places and, as in Dickens's novel, Twist is actually probably the least interesting character in the story. The final line hints at further stories featuring Oliver and Jack, but this does not seem to have been followed up by the author so far. The book also contained rather a lot of typos. Overall, worth a read, though I didn't enjoy this as much as the author's spin off Sherlock Holmes novels of which I have read two so far. ( )

Oliver Twist: The Mystery of Throate Manor by David Stuart Davies follows what may have become of young Oliver from Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist. Oliver is a man grown now, a junior at the law firm of Gripwind and Biddle, with Jack Dawkins as his clerk. Oliver and Jack are sent to Throate Manor to do will alterations for a Sir Ebenezer Throate. Unfortunately for the pair, this involves the necessity of discreetly tracking down the whereabouts of Sir Ebenezer’s bastard son. Soon after this request is made, there is an attempt on Sir Ebenezer’s life. Where could this missing son have ended up, and who wants Sir Ebenezer dead?

This story started out with spunk and mystery. Ebenezer has his own story going before Oliver comes along. There's the thread between Sir Ebenezer's legitimate son Jeremiah, and Eugene Trench, and the thread between Lightwood and Felicity. Most begin converging pretty quickly, slotting together nicely. The only exception was Felicity's thread, which seemed unnecessary altogether. I did enjoy Felicity, mind. She seemed sweet, and undeserving of her lot in life. I loved Oliver, and especially Jack. They made me want to give Dickens’ story another go. I patently did not enjoy Dickens’ work in high school.

The mystery though, really wasn't. I'm not the greatest puzzler out there, but I had this solved by the halfway mark. Even down to Lizzie, and to Felicity's fortunes. I did enjoy reading til the end for the specifics, but it turned an eager read into a lazy read. The impetus to finish, finish, finish was lost. Of the final solution regarding the missing son, even Oliver had to say 'are you kidding me?’, which I found hilarious, and points to the possibility that we are supposed to grasp the answer early. I will most likely read any sequels, should they manifest, just to see Jack and Oliver again. They were very charming, and worked well together. I could see them handling more of the firm’s sleuth-work in the future. Jack seemed to love it, and he and Oliver had quite complementary skills.

***Many thanks to Love Books Tours and the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )