The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls

Firstly I want to thank Ruth for hosting this fantabulous challenge and for letting me post my thoughts on Holmes and Holmes related books. I've long had a love affair with the great detective. Come now, I even named my dog after him.


I just finished reading John R. King's The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls. I was intrigued by the premise of the book. What ensued in the aftermath of Holmes dire confrontation with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls? Not but a few pages into the book, the reader is introduced to young Thomas Carnacki. Yes, William Hope Hodgson's Thomas Carnacki. He is instrumental in saving the now amnesiac Holmes from his plunge off the falls. The cast of characters is rounded out by Moriarty and his daughter Anna. King does a good job of presenting multi-faceted and sympathetic characters and I admire his ambition in providing a background for such monumental men as Moriarty and Carnacki. However I was disappointed in the back stories he presented here and the subsequent esoteric plot line. No matter how well paced the adventure, I just couldn't get past the pairing of Holmes and the young ghost finder. I like paranormal detecting, just leave Holmes out of it. This novel wasn't for me but it did encourage me to reread Hodgson's work.

Has anyone else read it? I would love to know what you think.

Off to start my next Sherlock adventure.

Laurie R. King Guest Post at Bookish Ruth

I'd like to invite everyone to check out Laurie R. King's guest post on my blog, Bookish Ruth. Ms. King has just launched The Fifteen Weeks of Bees, which celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the publication of The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the 150th birthday of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the release of the ninth Mary Russell book, The Language of Bees (April 28, 2009).

Click here for a fascinating look at the genesis of Mary Russell.