Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance [Hardcover]

Larry Millett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2001

The numerous followers of Larry Millett's extraordinary Sherlockian series will be thrilled to find Holmes's American consort, Irish saloonkeeper Shadwell Rafferty, taking his first crack at a case that looks like it might send a whole city government tumbling. Rafferty, large hearted and massively built, has a talent for logic, dissimulation, bribery, and action that is surpassed only by his love of "the detectin' game." On the eve of President McKinley's visit in 1899 to Minneapolis, a gruesome crime draws Rafferty from St. Paul to the booming city across the river.

A young union activist has been found, strung naked from a tree outside a ruined mansion. A placard around his neck bears the ominous words the alliance has spoken. Rafferty plunges into the case with his usual gusto, but finds more questions than answers. Was the murder the work of the union-busting Citizens Alliance or wild-eyed anarchists? Was the victim linked to an empire of corruption controlled by the city's slippery mayor? And how did the young man come to possess a photograph of a prominent citizen engaged in sexual congress? As the puzzle deepens and the dangers mount, Rafferty is joined by his old friends Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Together, they make their way through a fog of deceit toward the startling truth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Millet's fourth, well-researched Holmes in Minnesota adventure (after 2001's Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery), flamboyant Irish saloonkeeper Shadwell Rafferty scents an impending bloodbath when Michael O'Donnell, a young union man and mill worker, is found hanged, naked, from an oak tree in downtown Minneapolis. Around the victim's neck is a placard: "The Secret Alliance Has Spoken." Everyone assumes it is a warning from the paramilitary anti-union Secret Alliance, but no one seems to understand its significance. Rafferty seeks help from Holmes, who's in New York on a case for John Jacob Astor. The world's greatest private consulting detective doesn't enter the action until the novel's half over, though entries from Dr. Watson's journal at the start of each chapter keep the reader informed of his thoughts and movements. Turn-of-the-century Minneapolis on the eve of a visit from President McKinley comes vividly to life as one of the most corrupt cities in America, rife with evil schemes and dirty deeds. Rafferty is no deductive wizard like Holmes, but a street-smart, methodical man who plods from witness to witness to discover the truth behind O'Donnell's lynching, which, in the end, proves amazingly complex. A columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the author is obviously in love with local history. Both Holmes fans and historical mystery buffs should be pleased. Agent, Bob Barnett.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In Millett's Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance, Shadwell Rafferty, an Irish saloon keeper and sometime detective, returns for his fourth adventure. The book opens with the gruesome lynching of Michael O'Donnell, a union activist, by a secret anti-union organization in a very corrupt Minneapolis in 1899. As various complications ensue, including the visit of President McKinley to the Twin Cities, Rafferty realizes that he is out of his depth and enlists the aid of Holmes and Watson. The novel contains structural flaws that will mar the experience even for readers who accept the absurd premise of the presidential visit. The narrative flow is periodically broken by entries from Watson's journals, written in an elliptical style that omits certain short words and refers to characters by their initials. On the other hand, Millett provides a map and 20 pages of historical and explanatory notes at the end of his book, which lend an air of verisimilitude. Still, if library purchase of only one of these is possible, the Kendrick is the better bet. Fred Gervat, Concordia Coll., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1St Edition edition (October 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670030155
• ISBN-13: 978-0670030156
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disapointing book, April 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (Hardcover)

I really have to say that I was disapointed with this book. The writing became longwinded and boring, and the story just seemed to drag on and on. Of Millett's four stories, this plot was by far the worst--the whole thing was based on the sexual preferences of two men.

The other big problem I have with the Secret Alliance is that it doesn't really involve Holmes at all. The main character is clearly Shadwell Rafferty, which is not exactly what I was expecting. The long portions taken from Watson's diary were added so Millett could call it a Holmes story. The writing from Watson's diary is extremly boring and hard to read, since little of it actually involves the story.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Millett's Best, December 19, 2002

By 

S. L. Cheek (Denison, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (Hardcover)

Disappointing. Sherlock Holmes basically disappears from the book - except for the stupid diary form that is practically unreadable - and Shadwell Rafferty does not take the stage. The narration might as well be from a newspaper - no humor, no real way to identify with the characters. He has no alternate narrator to take the place of Watson, and that reduces his usually wonderful book plots to dust.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sherlock Holmes and the missing character, March 4, 2003

By 

Fecklar (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (Paperback)

How Sherlock Holmes' name can be used in the title with good faith is outside my understanding. I've read all of Millett's "Holmes" books, and this story is not only the most tedious, the most uninspiring and the least exciting, it is also the most non-Holmes mystery. We really only experience his presence toward the end of the novel, and then it is still only a shell of the Holmes we've seen from Millett in the past.
Shadwell Rafferty is a respectable character, but he is no Holmes. Please, next time just give us a real title like "Shadwell Rafferty and the Englishmen." At least that would be fair warning.