Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and the Apocalypse Murders (Sherlock Holmes Murders)

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When Sherlock Holmes and Watson are called in to a gruesome murder they quickly realize that they have met the killer before. For Jack the Ripper's signature is carved on the neck of the victim. For Holmes this is horrible news. When he first discovered the Ripper, the killer's social position was such that it was only possible to quietly oust him from England. Now, years later, he is back, and crazier than ever.

In a matter of very little time the Ripper strikes again, this time attacking the new Director of Covent Garden in the middle of a performance of the Flying Dutchman. A performance starring Irene Adler, the only woman to ever best the consulting detective. Not only is the Ripper wandering London seeking out his persecutors, he has also formed an obsession for Ms. Adler. Holmes must split his efforts if the talented Irene is to survive.

Holmes works with his brother Mycroft and Detective Lestrade, first trying to discover the killer's new identity, and, when it is found, track him down and discover the rest of his plans. For the new Ripper doesn't want to limit himself to impromptu surgery. He fully intends to bring the four horsemen of the apocalypse down on the city of London.

"The Apocalypse Murders" is a good, solid Holmesian romp. Full of action and lots of quick deductions. The villains are villainous and our heroes are as valiant as can be. Expect Lots of atmosphere and spookiness as well. Barry Day writes with no pretension and the result rings much truer than many efforts that are more imitative of Doyle's. Don't expect a lot of depth and laborious efforts at meaning, just settle in for a great read that is just a bit too short. This time you get to wonder if Holmes will get the girl and get his man as well.

I have enjoyed the previous three Barry Day Holmes pastiches, but I would have a hard time summarizing now what any of them were about, and the present volume continues the pattern of diverting but forgettable... but maybe not so forgettable as the previous entries.

The plot is a bit different: Jack the Ripper, a British nobleman sent into permanent exile as a result of his crimes, has slipped back into England and reappeared in public (with help from his own fortune and the Kaiser) as the leader of a religious cult. "Janus Cain" preaches the coming apocalypse, and intends to bring it on himself (at least as far as London is concerned) with the help of biological weapons and a small private army.

Who can stop him? Well, Holmes, Watson, THE woman and Oscar Wilde join forces to terminate "Cain" in the London sewers! Day gets the relation between Holmes and Watson pretty much correct, but does not attempt to emulate Watson's literary style. As is getting customary in modern pastiches, Holmes often seems a bit slow on the uptake. Not much is made of "Cain's" past adventures as the Ripper, either... nor do we discover how a British Lord became so familiar with the sewers under Whitechapel.

The novel ends with Holmes and Watson getting ready for a quick trip to America, apparently a prelude to the next recorded adventure in the series.

If you can't get enough of Holmes and Watson, and don't mind some "bending the willow" (as Jeremy Brett liked to call it), you'll probably enjoy this wildly implausible adventure of the two old friends.

As a collector of Sherlock Holmes oriented works there is a certain expectation I have about the physical make-up of a book. It this is important to you as well, consider this a critical alert. When I received this printing I had to search to find it in the box - yes the book itself was small - though small does not conjure up the proper idea I am trying to communicate - I must call this printing a "book-ette". Good size for a child's doll house.

The actual story, once I found it was solid. However, I believe in the total reading experience - the physical surroundings of the room, the weather, etc. This book-ette left me disappointed. If I could figure out how to get my money back I would.

Adding to the subgenera of Holmes vs. the Ripper stories, mystery author Barry Day creates a fiendishly suspenseful doomsday scenario, one that has the Great Detective and Dr. Watson, aided by Mycroft, Oscar Wilde and Detective Lestrade, focusing their attentions on Janus Cain and his Church of the New Apocalypse. If you have enjoyed Mr. Day's previous Holmes adventures as well as mystery fiction like The Crime Doctor and The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (Oxford Bookworms Library), then I am certain that this thrilling novel will provided you with quite a few lively nights of suspenseful reading.

"This latest Holmes adventure from Barry Day is as smooth as the claret in Holmes' gentlemens' club,as rare as the fabled sirloin of Simpson's-in-the-Strand. Simply delectable."

- Strand Magazine