Customer Reviews

The Night Calls

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sherlock Holmes. Very few names are as evocative as that one. And yet there are many questions and speculations surrounding the creation of that marvelous fictional detective. It has been said that the only way to gain any true knowledge of Holmes is through his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. David Pirie must subscribe to that train of thought as well and has therefore devised a background for Doyle. In so doing, Pirie gives us an imaginative glimpse into the relationship between the writer and Dr. Joseph Bell, the man credited with being the inspiration for Holmes himself.

`The Night Calls' is first and foremost a thoroughly atmospheric, not to mention a completely absorbing, story. Each setting and scene is described in careful detail, which lends the prose a rich density that manages to escape any sense of being cumbersome. The reader is allowed to take to the streets of Edinburgh and London right alongside Doyle and Bell. Yes, those streets are dark and unsavory, but you would never think of turning back. And even though Pirie takes the mystery on a couple of tangent jaunts that may seem unnecessary, the heart of it remains compellingly close and "concludes" in a highly chilling manner.

After reading the Historical Note included at the end of the novel, I was surprised to find just how much of Doyle's real life had been snuck into the narrative. Pieces of the man's history that you think must have been part of the fiction turned out to be true and you appreciate the way the story was crafted even more for it. This is the type of novel that makes you want to learn more. More about Doyle himself, about the real-life serial killer that plagues Bell and Doyle throughout, and more about the women's movement that rose up during the time.

I thoroughly enjoyed `The Night Calls' and have since purchased `The Patient's Eye' which actually precedes this novel. I am also anticipating the dvd release of `The Murder Rooms', a miniseries upon which the novels were based.

Once again David Pirie has given us a winner: complex plotting, rich detail, characters who are real, beautiful writing. As you follow Doyle and Bell through the misty streets of old Edinburgh, it is quite possible to forget that you are not actually there. In "The Night Calls", Doyle has begun to open the darkest, most frightening of his "Murder Rooms", and the reader is drawn into all the fear, frustration, pain, and failure, as well as the successes, of that awful year in Doyle's life. A warning: "The Night Calls" and "The Patient's Eyes" are intertwined in some ways - a tidbit here, a phrase there - and you may find yourself picking up and enjoying "The Patient's Eyes" once again, as I did the moment I finished "The Night Calls". I hope Pirie intends to open every one of Doyle's "Murder Rooms"!

David Pirie's excellent novel, "The Night Calls," features a young Arthur Doyle, who is a medical student, and his mentor, Dr. Joseph Bell. Bell's sharp powers of observation and clever methods of detection were an inspiration for Doyle's fictional character, Sherlock Holmes.

It is the late 1800's in Edinburgh, Scotland. Arthur Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell combine their resources to investigate a series of grisly assaults on women. Ultimately, Bell fears that the assaults are the work of an unhinged individual whose crimes may soon escalate to murder. It turns out that Bell's fears are well founded. Their antagonist is a sadist who has tremendous intelligence, imagination, cruelty, and daring.

With his skilled description and vivid characterizations, Pirie has done a marvelous job of capturing the mood of the times. He tackles several feminist themes, including the discrimination that faced young ladies who wished to attend medical school, and the wretched exploitation of impoverished women who sold their virtue in order to survive.

The characters of Bell and Doyle and sharp and well-drawn. Bell's incisive mind, no-nonsense approach, and tenacity when faced with a difficult problem are indeed reminiscent of the great Sherlock Holmes. The central villain of the piece is a vile individual who will make your blood run cold.

Pirie includes several intriguing subplots, including one about a chauvinistic and cruel husband and another about an arrogant scientist who believes that the ends of scientific discovery justify unethical means. "The Night Calls" is a chilling, fascinating, and expertly written novel, and I recommend it highly.

In 1878 Arthur Conan Doyle studies medicine at the University of Edinburgh under the tutelage of Dr. Joseph Bell. However, Arthur particularly appreciates the deductive reasoning that his mentor brings to solving crimes by turning an investigation into a more scientific approach. Between his studies, the occasional detective work (see THE PATIENT'S EYES) and an intelligent female student, whom the professors treat with gender scorn, Arthur is able to somewhat put aside his family troubles.

However, the city is gripped with fear as a killer begins murdering women in brothels leaving behind strange clues such as neatly piled coins "paying" the fee perhaps. Bell believes a new type of culprit has surfaced. This is a clever individual with an obsession that leads him to most likely kill again. As the duo struggles to solve a case with an MO outside their normal methodology, Bell and Doyle try to invent a different approach still using deductive and inductive logic.

Doyle as a young man accompanied by his teacher are fun to follow while student Elspeth Scott provides more than a romantic interlude as the audience sees the disdain and prejudice the Victorian Era faculty and her peers bestow on her because of her gender. The historical look is fascinating as the reader observes Doyle before Holmes and Moriarty. However, unlike the first novel in this series, solving the mystery surprisingly is un-Holmes like especially in light of Bell recognizing a whole new category of homicide. Still David Pirie writes a solid tale, but not quite the par excellence of his previous book.

Harriet Klausner

another in the series of books about Arthur Conan Doyle and his mentor Dr Bell. Dark, brooding and filled with labyrinthine scenarios. I loved it

I just finished reading this book, and I absolutely LOVED it, I couldn't put it down. Thanks to a friend in Edinburgh who sent me this book, I am now an avid fan of the series, and having never read any Sherlock Holmes novels (I know, shame on me!), not only did this book fascinate me, but it also made me want to read Doyle's works, and learn more about the man. Anyone who loves literary fiction or who is a Holmes fan (obviously), or just likes a good suspenseful horror novel, will LOVE this book!

While the Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel has become a mini-genre of its own, some of even the most faithful had begun to feel it was beginning to show signs of being overdone. So it was only natural for some of the more ingenious of our writers to try to pump new blood into it. And what better way than to go back to the source, the original inspiration for Holmes himself, Dr. Joseph Bell? Thus we have seen the nascence of a new series of works with the brilliant, and very real, doctor performing as his later inspired fictional counterpart. Among the best of the practitioners of this new form (and arguably its progenitor) is David Pirie. He first presented Dr. Bell, deductive detective in a TV movie starring Ian Richardson. This was followed by the masterful and chilling "The Patient's Eyes", a marvelous novel using the same ideas as the film and extending them to other cases. Now Pirie is back with "The Night Calls" and it is both more and less interesting than his first book. First the less part. The first, and largest, portion of the narrative is essentially a novelisation of the aforementioned film. Those who have not seen it will find it fascinating, but those of us who have will, I think, find it somewhat slow. The more is that it continues beyond the ending of the film which, without giving anything away, I hope, was curiously, albeit chillingly, open-ended. In any event, the book, and the series, provide the pleasures of marvelously atmosheric writing and intriguing characters in a highly entertaining blend of fact and fiction. Baker Street Irregulars and their ilk will love it!

I have had David Pirie's trilogy of books featuring Arthur Conan Doyle on my list of potential books to read for quite some time now. I wish there was some way to know what books you will love before you read them.... perhaps a little metal detector, or a literary Geiger counter that would give you a reading on its dial indicating you will like this but not that, even a forecast predicting enjoyment...you have a seventy five percent chance of enjoying this book. If only... and if so, then I would certainly have read David Pirie's books long ago.

I was lucky enough to find these books after there were three of them to read. I'm sure I would have been frustrated to read the first one only to have to wait a year to read the second then do the same for the third. I read them one right after the other and I recommend others do the same.

Pirie writes about Arthur Conan Doyle, embellishing on the known facts about his relationship with Dr. Joseph Bell, who was the model for Sherlock Holmes. The Historical Note alone makes for fascinating reading and I read that before starting the book, which for me made the fiction that much more enjoyable.

I think I liked 'The Night Calls' best of the three books because there is a bit of happiness for ACD in this story and we learn about his relationship with Elsbeth who was referred to numerous times in 'The Patient's Eyes'. This was a fast paced read with all of the necessary ingredients for a favorite for me; realistic and likeable characters with convincing relationships, believable dialog and a story that follows logic. There were a few sloppy editing errors which reflected poorly on the proof reader but didn't influence my appreciation for the story and the characterization created by the author.

I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction and mysteries and I think Sherlockians would appreciate this as well. Overall well done, I wish David Pirie would write more like this.

After the exceptionally well-crafted The Patient's Eyes: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, this second book of the 'Murder Rooms' trilogy is a slight let-down. Chronologically speaking, the events happening in this book precede those in "The Patient's Eyes", and describe the following: -

* although the events that had first brought Arthur Conan Doyle into the world of Dr. Joseph Bell had been described in the 1st book, the events that had followed that 'introductory' phase, are all here;
* the deep scar left by Arthur Conan Doyle's nemesis, who went on to become the template for Professor Moriarty;
* episodes in the Dr. Bell's crime-solving episodes, one of which surprisingly ends in placing Doyle face-to-face his nemesis, in a cliffhanger ending.

As usual, it is a great fun for Sherlockian aficionados trying to find out as many references to the 'Canon' (yet to come, in a much diluted version, since Doyle must have been trying very hard to evade the shadows accompanying all those memories) as possible. But the book, while succeeding in creating a gothic atmosphere of palpable evil (a precursor of the events in Whitechapel in 1888-91?), does not do justice to Dr. Bell's detective skills as much we have started expecting. Nevertheless, heartily recommended.

I've read the first book in the series, and wasn't much impressed, but continued on in case the writer found his stride in the second. This is a strange book, second in a series, but with the feel that it should have been the first story. It would have made more sense if this had been book one rather than two. Now book one makes less sense when it comes to the Doyle and Bell relationship. They don't feel like the two books fit together.

There are mystery murders presented from early in the Doyle and Bell collaboration in this one, and the story actually feels finished by 2/3 of the book. The last 1/3 just flounders. It feels like the author is tacking it on to get you to the third book, because the last third isn't a complete story.

I don't really find Doyle all that likable, not that he's not presented as a good man who means well. But his temper is annoying, and endangers cases causing problems. By the time he should have more belief and respect for Bell's methods he fights believing in them. Doyle and Bell work together, but it seems that they're more annoyed with each other than anything. Because they're drawn into the first mystery together they form an alliance which feels forced rather than natural.

The characters just don't do it for me. By the end of this book, and the last meandering 1/3 that dragged it down, I found I just don't care enough even with the surprise ending to go to the third.