Customer Reviews

The Naval Treaty

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In the Durkin Hayes audiobook, actor Edward Raleigh makes a dozen characters come alive, distinguishing the voices so clearly that the listener is hard pressed to remember that this is only one actor and not an ensemble group. The characters represent a full cross-section of society--including the future prime minister--and Raleigh gives them rich, unique voices. The somewhat effete Holmes, with his upperclass accent, the growly-voiced Watson, the weak-sounding victim of theft (who has been suffering from "brain fever" for nine weeks), his sweet fiancé, and all the Cockney servants sound lively and true-to-life. Through his ability to change voices instantly, Raleigh succeeds in creating real mood and tension, and the conversations between two characters, with their different voices and accents, are worthy of study by any acting student.

The mystery itself is typical of other Holmes cases. Here Percy Phelps, who was a fellow-student with Watson in the old days, contacts him, begging him to ask Sherlock Holmes to investigate the theft of an important naval treaty between England and Italy. Phelps, working for the foreign office, has been entrusted with the job of making hand copies of this treaty, but when he is getting his tea from outside his office, someone makes off with it. Phelps's career will be ruined if he cannot get the treaty back before someone sells it to France or Russia and upsets the balance of power.

As usual, Holmes uses his powers of deduction, but most readers who are familiar with Doyle's style will figure out who the villain is well before the conclusion. The performance of Edward Raleigh, however, turns this fairly typical Holmes mystery into delightful performance art, making this audiobook a fine entertainment for Holmes fans. n Mary Whipple