Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Dead Rabbits Society

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I liked this book very much. I don't normally write comments on the web, but reading Marc Ruby's review I just felt I had to remark on a couple of things he said.

1. He says (asks) why would Holmes help the police and solve crimes when in hiding (from Moriarty's gang? That, to me, is like asking why doesn't Holmes stop breathing while hiding? Holmes must be Holmes. It is second nature to him. I think any fan of the "canon" would agree. This thus strikes me as a frivolous criticism.

2. Marc says the ending (unique to say the least)is "unlike Holmes". Here I think he is totally off the mark. Any reader of the Doyle stories knows that Holmes is not afraid to act "outside" the law when he deems it necessary. Far from being "unlike Holmes" I thought the ending was something Holmes would very likely do. Although the morality of it is worth a discussion or two. It certainly makes Doctor Watson's eyebrows go up when Holmes tells him of it. Although in the end he (Watson) agrees it was the right thing to do.

3. He says it's a bit easy to "get ahead" of Carraher. I'm not certain what this means. Does it means it is possible to figure out (guess) who the killer is prior to the end? Perhaps. But this too is not a true criticism. I certainly did not "get ahead" of Carraher in terms of the twists and turns of the plot and the killing of at least two of the people came initially as a surprise. Anyway, Holmes stories are not really about "hiding" who the "bad person" is (Anyone read "The Speckled Band" and not know right off?) but rather about the logic and display of observation that Doyle (and now Carraher) offers the reader. Holmes mysteries are not about the cliche of having the killer be "the one you suspect the least". Rather they are about the manner in which Holmes solves crimes, the way he "sees" things that others (the police) don't see, and strings together inferences from the smallest detail. That is what (I think)defines a true Holmes story and this is what Carraher's book truly offers. I notice that Marc Ruby does say in his review that the book allows "our detective to once again reveal his scintillating analytical abilities, which barely stop short of estimating the brothers' respective bank balances." I agree with Marc on this point. In fact, that really is the joy of the book (besides the excellent writing) for Carraher does allow Holmes to "reveal his scintillating" abilities, not just once but throughout the book. Holmes is the detective "magician" with the "eyes in back of his head" and that is the Holmes that many other "Holmes" writers ultimately fail to give us but which Carraher offers us in abundance. This book is a must-read for any Holmes fan.

This tale finds Sherlock Holmes ensconced in the Dead Rabbit's Society a brasher version of the British gentleman's club. 'Dead Rabbit,' in turn of the century New York patois, means 'best opponent.' I admit it is an odd name for what is supposed to be a fashionable establishment. Although, given the description of the food, the name may be apt for a different reason. Lest I forget, Holmes is only occasionally Holmes in this story. He is on that infinitely long hegira that lasted from Reichenbach Falls to his eventual reappearance in England, and has chosen Simon Hawkes as his nom de detection.

The story opens dramatically with a woman's suicidal plunge into the Hudson and then switches abruptly to the public rooms of the Dead Rabbit's Society. There we find Holmes/Hawkes discussing the recent death with George Hammond, a Rabbit of long standing. Their conversation is interrupted by a brief confrontation between Franklin and Charles Dunmore that enables our detective to once again reveal his scintillating analytical abilities, which barely stop short of estimating the brothers' respective bank balances. Hammond is appropriately awestruck. Little does Holmes realize that, in short order, Franklin Dunmore is about to become a client.

A week later, attempts on Franklin's life suddenly begin. He turns to Hammond for help, fearing that these efforts are from his brother's hand. Hammond, in turn, recommends that Franklin seek help from Holmes. Despite being busy saving the Police Commissioner from blackmail, Holmes has a flash of inspiration and generously offers to help. While Holmes discovers much, he is unprepared for the swiftness of events. Death comes early in this case and proceeds with nightmarish violence. Holmes finds himself at his wit's end.

Phillip Carraher is a promising writer, but I found the story a bit unsatisfactory. As indicated earlier, Holmes, disguised as Hawkes, and without Watson, never seems to settle completely into his role. He behaves atypically, both in the nature of his disguise and in an unusual tendency to reveal more than he should. If he is attempting concealment from the remains of Moriarty's gang, why he would then intentionally make a point of aiding the police. After all, his modus operandi is well known on both continents. If the gang was really intent on getting even with Holmes he would be singularly easy to come across.

Less tolerable, the plot devices chosen to move the action along are too tranparent, and diffuse most of the mystery. The plot is thin, and it is too easy for the reader to get ahead of Holmes. The ending so is unlike Holmes that Carraher actually has Watson remark on it to Holmes on its retelling. Characterization, however, is quite good, and the writer does a good if slightly over-dramatic imitation of Watson as narrator after the fact.

If you like fairly traditional Holmesian fare (a la Val Andrews), I think that you will find the Dead Rabbits Society a journeymanlike tale, short but satisfactory. If your tastes run to more ambitious additions to the canon I would suggest first looking to Larry Millett and Laurie R. King.

I will be succinct in this review.

If you ever wanted to see Holmes in a different setting, being Holmes around a different circle of acquaintenances, living in a different city, different country, different living quarters, working with a different, yet, oft times clueless police department, but STILL solving perplexing crimes...then the ALIAS SIMON HAWKES (The Adventure of the Dead Rabbit Society, The Adventure of the New York Ripper, and Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in New York) series is for you! These three works are excellent and I suggest that every Sherlock Holmes fan buy and read all three!

This book does not mark the return of Sherlock Holmes but rather the return of Arthur Conan Doyle. Phillip Carraher writes a novel that could easily be mistaken for a manuscript from the original author. He paints a vivid and plausible scene of 1890's New York that is historically and geographically accurate. The scene of the crime is tactfully shifted from London to New York where we witness a series of appalling and baffling murders and the strange events that lead up to them. But can the criminals hide the evidence from the powers of deductive reasoning of the "worlds only consulting detective?" I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the adventures of Simon Hawkes (aka Sherlock Holmes).

This is a really good Sherlock Holmes book. At first I thought the ending was sort of unusual for Holmes but then after thinking about it, I thought not. It's not the first time Holmes has worked for justice outside the official police force, is it? Or outside the law, come to that. I liked the cleverness of the way Holmes solves the crime(s) too. It seems that more than one recent Holmes book has the detective being more like Mickey Spillane than Holmes. This one got Holmes right.
I'm not sure if what Holmes did at the end is legally correct but I have to say it seems morally justified to me. I don't think I could have done any differently.

I confess to being a Sherlock Holmes addict and a Holmes purist. The Adventure of the Dead Rabbits Society is, I'm happy to say, pure Sherlock Holmes and an excellent addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon, one to which, I think, even Sir A. Conan Doyle himself would offer a hearty "Well done!" The crime is solved solely through Holmes' amazing powers of deduction (as it should be), and the überdetective's character, his personality, is depicted perfectly in this new adventure, sub-subtitled The Lost Reminiscence of John H. Watson, MD. This is the one and only Sherlock Holmes as we Sherlockians know him and love him.

I've read many post-Doyle Holmes stories and most I find unsatisfactory in one way or another. Even The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (1952), written by Adrian Conan Doyle (Sir Arthur's son) and the great mystery writer John Dickson Carr, failed to grasp the style of the original stories, which are as much about atmospheric tone and the subtlety of Holmes' character as about mystery. Carraher's book is quite different, capturing as much as possible the flavor and writing style of the Doyle originals.-- Review From Curled Up With a Good Book.
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