Customer Reviews

Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse

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I actually purchased this novel with a certain amount of trepidation-because I have one Mrs. Hudson novel (not by this author!) on my shelves, and try as I may, I just can't seem to get into it. But I liked the write-up on this novel, and as this was Mr. Davies first attempt, I felt I should at least give him a chance. I'm glad I did.

The story is told through the narration of a young girl named the unusual sobriquet of "Flotsam", called tenderly "Flottie". She has came along with Mrs. Hudson to keep house for two unusual gentlemen: Sherlock Holmes & Dr. John H. Watson. Flottie has a past with a rather disreputable man, alias for the moment, Maurice Orlando Fogarty, AKA, Melmoth. He seems eager to have the young girl let him know how Holmes is doing in his latest case, which seems to involve a Sumatra Curse. (My only ding: Sorry, Martin, but the Giant Rat Story IS getting old. The one in Resurrected Holmes, by Paula Volsky will always be my favorite. On the plus side, this is a new twist that I will guarantee is original, and not bad. )

But Mrs. Hudson has her own ideas about the case, and they don't exactly square with The Great Detective's own. One thing is certain-murders are being committed by strange devices, and SOMEBODY is not what they seem. Is the client lying? If so, why? Why is Fogarty so mixed up in this that he tries to bribe Flottie by telling her he has found her long-lost brother, but he's a dope addict and will die if she doesn't cooperate? And does Mrs. Hudson REALLY beat Holmes at his own game?

Tell you what. Are you looking for a really good reading experience? Then buy the book, read it, and find out! This is one book that The Raven has very little bad to say about. Martin Davies, my hat's off to you. Quoth the Raven...

Homeless and hungry Flotsam tries to steal a rotting cabbage but the grocer's son Scraggs catches her. He turns her over to housekeeper Mrs. Hudson, who sees something in the orphan and takes her into service as a maid. Mrs. Hudson insures that Flotsam is educated in the domestic arts and the three R's. When her employer commits suicide Mrs. Hudson takes a job as housekeeper to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson; she brings Flotsam along to keep her safe and secure.

One night a man with one eye and a scar on his face and wearing a cowl, comes calling with a note saying his master wants to meet with Mr. Holmes. The next day Nathaniel Moran asks the famous detective for his help. He is clearly frightened because he believes he is under a Sumatran curse caused when he and his two business partners disrespected their gods. Several people connected with their enterprise in Sumatra are dead and Nathaniel hopes Holmes can break the curse. Holmes believes a human is killing people but before he can solve the case, Moran's partners die. It takes Mrs. Hudson to help the great detective solve the spirit's curse.

Readers who are fans of the Mrs. Jeffries mysteries will want to read MRS. HUDSON AND THE SPIRITS' CURSE. Although Sherlock Holmes gets the glory, it is Mrs. Hudson working behind the scenes who solves the case. Her relationship with Flotsam is more like mother-daughter than upper and lower servant. The protagonist has a heart of gold beneath her gruff exterior and readers will take her into their hearts. Martin Davies take on Sherlock Holmes will shake up die hard fans of the master detective.

Harriet Klausner

I hope this book will become the first of a series. Martin Davies gives us a fresh and innovative look at the housekeeper of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. She is an extraordinary character, kind and caring, but at the same time, shrewd, perceptive, and capable of brilliant deductive thinking. She never becomes a rival to Holmes, but in her own subtle way she provides many of the insights and clues that lead the great detective to his solution to the puzzle at hand.

Davies is adept at creating endearing characterizations and evoking the atmosphere of Edwardian London with its fog-shrowded cobblestone streets, gaslights and sinister alleyways. This is an irresistable treat for all fans of Sherlockiana.

In this story, it is Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock Holmes housekeeper, who is the brains behind the "great detective." The case presented is a series of murders connected to a Sumatra curse made against three young men who recently have returned to England from the Near East. Using all her practical daily life smarts, plus her connections to her working class peers, Mrs. Hudson finds clues which lead to solutions that seem beyond the abilities of Holmes and Dr. Watson. As she tells them, "I've had years of experience that you gentlemen don't have, so it's hardly surprising I see things in a kitchen that are beneath the attention of your investigations." This is fun, but it is disturbing to have Holmes so inept, his self described "rigorously trained intellect" so shockingly missing.

The author gives the narrative voice to the household scullery maid, Flotsom (Flottie). It is through Flottie that we learn of the abusive lives of London's poor orphan girls, effectively contrasted with that of her pampered upper class friend, Miss Peters. Flottie's vocabulary and insights, however, sometimes exceed what one would expect from a girl Mrs. Hudson saved from the streets. Example: "I found myself imaging the steaming isolation of the island working gradually on the little group of Britons until it had stripped away from them the veneer of civilization they had brought with them, the very thing they used to justify their contempt for those around them." The other speech patterns and general tone of the story is pure Holmes - foggy London streets, dark Victorian style houses, horse drawn hansoms trying to maneuver through muddy streets and milling crowds. And typical Holmes London underground characters appear along side unscrupulous British merchants and imperial types out to make their fortunes abroad.

I was expecting a so-so pastiche with this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the characters, and they held my interest to the end.

This is a good story.

As a long-time fan of anything to do with Sherlock Holmes, I was really looking forward to reading this novel about the little known Mrs. Hudson. Mr. Davies main characters and storyline were very plausable, but the final pages with the finale was confusing, unbelievable and loaded with character explanations that could have been incorporated within the main pages. I'm sure I'll read "The Malabar Stone" but have my doubts things will improve.