Customer Reviews

The Sign of Fear - The adventures of Mrs.Watson with a supporting cast including Sherlock Holmes, Dr.Watson and Moriarty

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Molly Carr's adventures with Mrs. Watson are great fun, and especially so if you know Holmes and many of his stories. A second read of the book is even more enjoyable as you realize more of what the writer is really doing in the book. She obviously is a person with a great sense of humor and clever mind which shows in her book and makes it a great read.

This is a deceptive book. It starts off as if it is a serious pastiche, involving Mary Morstan with Holmes and Dr. Watson in the events of "The Sign of Four." Things seem to go wrongly from the start; Holmes and then Watson wander off on tangents, strange people appear and events become ever more confused. Finally, the reader begins to catch on. This is a parody, a spoof of the Canon. Nothing is as it seems and events are certainly not as related in the tales published by `The Literary Agent.'

Mary Morstan Watson is most assuredly NOT the demure young spinster portrayed by the Good Doctor. She has a penetrating mind, a past, and a gift for catching the essence of people. She refers to Irene Adler as `no better than she should be' and wastes little time on the shams of polite society. A number of the Canonical cases are mentioned in passing, and her comments are trenchant, if not downright snide.

All sorts of people wander in and out of the pages of this book. The mother of Miss Marple and the father of Mon. Poirot both show up running their own scams while complaining about their children's attitudes. Raffles and Bunny keep popping in and out, with confusing results and ex-clients of Holmes and Watson drop in from time to time. The `the Gold King,' from "The Problem of Thor Bridge" pops up in Ballarat and `Old Abrahams' is talked into pawning some of the Watsons' wedding gifts. Others also show up. Lestrade arrives to arrest Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty at one point is seen in full Cardinal's Crimson running from the Swiss Guard.

Several of the Untold Tales are described, along with several `never happened' tales, one or two of which actually saw print. Holmes and Watson's adventures in America and Australia are mentioned but not explained. Cardinal Tosca disappears in Rome and "The Dundas Separation Case" occurs somewhat differently than as recorded in "A Case of Identity." Meanwhile, Mary keeps up her scathing commentary on people and events. She reserves her worst pejoratives for Holmes, especially for how he treats Dr. Watson.

Holmes resurfaces after the events at the Reichenbach and the whole scramble of the relationship between Holmes and Watson is cleared up for the reader and for Mrs. Watson. Meanwhile, she and Mrs. `St, Clair' from "The Man with the Twisted Lip" have succeeded in building a working detective agency and have clients to serve. A prospective heir for the Watsons opens new possibilities of genteel surveilence and Holmes is needed to appear in new stories for The Strand.

This is a funny book, an engrossing book and a book of second `takes.' Sherlockian scholars will be busy figuring `where that line came from' and `who is that, really.' The elements of The Canon are tumbled in all sorts of ways and keeping track is difficult. The Author tosses items here and there and it is all fun.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; June, 2010

The Sign of Fear - The adventures of Mrs.Watson with a supporting cast including Sherlock Holmes, Dr.Watson and Moriarty

This original book certainly has a lot of Sherlockian elements shaken together. But it's all great fun and repays careful reading. Some very well-known characters besides Sherlock Holmes inhabit the pages, including Jane Marple's mother and Hercule Poirot's crooked father. Who is outraged at the idea of his policeman son thinking of training as a detective. Come to think of it, Mrs Marple is also pretty crooked - with a lover, 'the resourceful Angelo'- who nearly does for Watson and his wife. Oh, and Mary and Emily are good too.

The Sign of Fear by Molly Carr is indeed unique. Take everything you ever thought you knew about Holmes, Watson and Mary Morstan and throw it to the winds, `cause it just ain't so! There is one surprise after another in this book of adventures of Mrs. Watson and her new detective agency. The names of the players may be the same but the stage show is significantly different. Maybe some of those cases attributed to Holmes weren't his and maybe Watson wasn't all he seemed to be. And most importantly, maybe Mary wasn't the benign creature she has been portrayed as.
For those that remember "The Man with the Twisted Lip" it seems that Mr. Fanshaw was not the only one in the family that liked to play dress up, as his wife joins the agency as a cross dressing member of the Fanshaw & Watson detective agency. Each chapter brings a new puzzle and new information about the characters you thought you knew.

I know other reviewers loved this book and I wish I could join them. Having hundreds of Sherlock Holmes books, including those making fun of the great detective and his partner this one should not have bothered me. I will say the writing is fast paced, but I am so sick of books and films that make Dr. Watson look like some kind of an idiot. In this case to enhance the brilliance of Mary Marston. To those who read this, do not be influenced by my own personal prejudice. For what it is supposed to be it is probably a good book and will appeal to certain readers. I cannot recommend the book, but will not say you shouldn't buy in. Read the other reviews carefully as for you it may be worth the price.

A great mystery novel for both fans of Victorian England and Sherlock Holmes. Mrs.Watson is an interesting leading lady and her friend Emily, who dresses up as a man often in the book is a good sidekick.