Customer Reviews

The Curious Case of the Purloined Hard Drive (Sherlock Holmes in Silicon Valley)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved the idea of bringing the classic crime solving skills of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson into the 20th century! This story is a fun read, with spot-on descriptions of Silicon Valley, clever plotting, and engaging dialogue. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment!

From the information in the stories, I believe the order should be "The Curious Case of the Purloined Hard Drive", "The case of the Burlingame Emerald", "The Fall of the Croesus Club", The Case of the Hsieh Abduction", and "The Turner3 Case."

For one, these are not very long stories. Each seems to be set with a couple of mysteries. About 1/3 to 1/4 of each set is used to set up the situation, which is the Great-Grandsons of John Watson (who is now a Dr. himself) and the Great-Grandson of Sherlock Holmes meet up in Silicon Valley, California, and become friends.

I don't mind the size, although I'd price them quite a bit lower due to their small size. But what is throwing me off is that the 'voice' of Dr. Watson is nowhere near contemporary.

They talk as if they're all in Victoria England. It gave the stories a cartoonish feel when set in the 1970's. Even the American characters talked as if they were in the late 1800's. There are a few references thrown in to try to make them fit into the decade, but it just doesn't work for me.

I was hoping for something more contemporary, to fit with the correct decade, and some more action to the stories. Most seem to be Holme's telling everyone a story, or the surrounding background of a case with very little action at all. The clues to most of the mysteries are weak. Watson really isn't all that helpful to Holmes. They eat a lot of meals together, and we get a lot of info on the local restaurants. They spend a lot of the cases at their Tuesday Night Trivia club where Holmes tells most of his stories for an audience.

I think the voice of the stories, keeping the dialog antiquated, just didn't work for the decade, and I would have like to have seen a *lot* more action, and less sitting around and talking about a case.

A good try, and maybe the right cup of tea for some, but just didn't work for me on any level.

I'm not usually a mystery fan, but this story had me from the very beginning. Great updating of the classic Holmes-Watson relationship, and a really good read!