annieb123's Review of The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols

by Nicholas Meyer

With his international bestseller The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes, as recorded by his amanuensis, Dr. John H. Watson. Now Meyer returns with a shocking discovery - an unknown case drawn from a recently discovered Watson journal.

January 1905: Holmes and Watson are summoned by Holmes' brother Mycroft to undertake a clandestine investigation. An agent of the British Secret Service has been found floating in the Thames, carrying a manuscript smuggled into England at the cost of her life. The pages purport to be the minutes of a meeting of a secret group intent on nothing less than taking over the world.

Based on real events, the adventure takes the famed duo - in the company of a bewitching woman - aboard the Orient Express from Paris into the heart of Tsarist Russia, where Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of this explosive document. On their heels are desperate men of unknown allegiance, determined to prevent them from achieving their goal. And what they uncover is a conspiracy so vast as to challenge Sherlock Holmes as never before.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is a new Holmes & Watson homage from Nicholas Meyer. Due out 15th Oct 2019 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I'm a huge Holmes and Watson fan and this was an interesting and worthwhile addition to the category. The author does a creditable stylistic homage to Conan Doyle as well as developing (but not exploding) the canon. I enjoyed reading the interactions and dialogue and seeing more of Mycroft, who has always intrigued me.

The plot is skillfully interwoven with actual historical characters and occurrences so that it fits fairly seamlessly into a framework of real history. The story revolves around the political machinations of the Russian propagandizing of the fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion to incite violence and pogroms against Jews in Europe. The message is frightening and timely.

I would heartily recommend it to fans of the canon who are yearning for more Holmes and Watson adventures. Meyer is a capable, masterful writer with a sure voice who captures the period very well.

Four stars. Well done and entertaining.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols

by Nicholas Meyer

Reviewed by annieb123 on Oct 13, 2019

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