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Summary
Summary
Best-selling author Caleb Carr is an expert at early 20th-century murder mysteries, so it's no surprise he was commissioned by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to continue Sherlock Holmes' adventures. Sherlock and his unflagging sidekick Dr. Watson travel to Holyroodhouse in Edinburg at the request of his brother, Mycroft Holmes, to solve the grotesque murders of a famous architect and his assistant. To Watson's surprise, Holmes hints that the ghost of David Rizzio, a confidante to Mary Queen of Scotts, and murdered three centuries prior, may be to blame.
Author Notes
Caleb Carr, a lifetime resident of New York, was born in 1955 and grew up on the Lower East Side. His father was an editor and close friend to famous Beat Generation writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Although Carr was personally exposed to their style of writing and Bohemian lifestyles, he chose to take his own work in a different direction. Where the Beat writers wrote purely from expression and feelings, Caleb Carr's works are diligently researched and known for their historical accuracy.
Caleb Carr developed a love of history at a young age, acquiring a keen interest in military history while attending a Quaker high school. This interest led him to major in history at Kenyon College and NYU. Notable works by Caleb Carr are The Alienist, which was on the New York Times' bestseller list for 24 weeks; The Devil Soldier; and Angel of Darkness. In addition to writing fiction, Carr is a contributing editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Writing a Sherlock Holmes tale is, for popular writers, equivalent to playing Hamlet for male actors: a challenge that few refuse and many regret. Bestselling author Carr (The Angel of Darkness, etc.) acquits himself with honor, though not high honors, in this short novel that pits Holmes, Watson and Mycroft Holmes against conspirators at Queen Victoria's Royal Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland. When the men are killed at Holyrood in a fashion similar to the slaying centuries before of David Rizzio, an Italian confidant of Mary, Queen of Scots, Mycroft, who is Victoria's head of intelligence, calls upon his brother and Watson to help solve the mystery. Are the killings the work of Scottish nationalists? Or perhaps the sign of a restless ghost? From the latter question, and the novel's primary setting of the dank castle, emanates a well-drawn atmosphere of gloom that makes this story a nice companion to The Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes fans and scholars should be pleased with this novel, which generally hews to "the Canon" (unlike, say, Nicholas Meyer's Seven-Per-Cent Solution) and reflects a deep knowledge and understanding of Holmesiana, but the primary base for this novel will be, of course, Carr fans, who won't be quite as thrilled-for while the novel captivates, it matches neither of Carr's previous megasellers in plot invention or depth of character. Still, this should hit bestsellers lists, though not in a major way. (May 10). FYI: The afterword by Lellenberg explains that this novel grew from a story that Carr was writing for a forthcoming Carroll & Graf anthology of original Holmes stories dealing with the supernatural, Ghosts of Baker Street. Lellenberg goes on to plead to Carr that he write a novel featuring both Holmes and Laszlo Kreizler, protagonist of The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Will Holmes and Watson foil a regicide plot that seems the work of German spies colluding with Scots Nationalists? Is the queen Victoria? Carr returns to the period thriller genre (The Alienist, 1994, and The Angel of Darkness, 1997) with this sinuous caper, which begins when the Great Detective receives a coded message from his equally brilliant older brother Mycroft, a "solitary intelligencer" and government operative whose duties give him unprecedented access to the royal person. Before you can say, "Kindly serve the tea, Mrs. Hudson," Holmes and Watson are aboard a train heading to Scotland (briefly distracted by bombs tossed into their compartment), where Mycroft discloses the facts about two mysterious deaths. An architect and a workman involved in restoration work at the Queen's Edinburgh retreat Holyroodhouse have perished in frightful ways that suggest the possible presence of a vengeful spirit--that of eponymous royal servant "David Rizzio, private secretary, music instructor, and confidant to Mary, Queen of Scots"--who (Rizzio, that is) was murdered in 1566 by surly Protestants who declared him a papal agent. While never discounting the possibility of supernatural doings (to Watson's intense annoyance), Holmes interrogates Holyroodie's affable caretaker Lord Hamilton, a dangerous-looking butler, and his brood, along with the chaps at the Fife and Drum Tavern, then pieces together scattered clues to uncover a conspiracy rather different from the one Mycroft had suspected. It's fun for about a hundred pages, because Carr apes Conan Doyle's plummy storyteller's voice quite ably, making Watson (who narrates) agreeably bluff and direct. But the successive disclosures become increasingly preposterous, as a very protracted climax incorporates flaming bodies, a (really rather tiresome) maiden in distress, "a medieval siege weapon" --and Holmes's rather lame affirmation of all the things we cannot ever fully explain. We needed this, from Sherlock Holmes? No thanks. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When Conan Doyle had Sherlock Holmes take the plunge into Reichenbach Falls, little did he know that eventually he would be compelled to resurrect Holmes--or, more amazingly, that countless other writers would also revive the Baker Street sleuth. Carr, author of The Alienist (1994), is the latest to try his hand at constructing a new Holmes adventure. Where contemporary authors go wrong is in trying to replicate Conan Doyle's style and in trying to duplicate the verbal sparring between Holmes and Watson. Carr fails on both those scores, but aside from that (and that's a big aside), the novel has a number of appealing features for readers who enjoy Carr and don't mind secondhand Holmes. Chief among these is its setting, Holyrood House, the royal palace in Edinburgh. The gloomy aura of Edinburgh, particularly the Gothic pile of Holyrood, is a perfect foil for a Victorian mystery. The plot centers on two deaths during the reconstruction of parts of the palace: the suspicious accident that befell the chief architect of the refurbishing and the murder of his foreman, both near the site where Mary Queen of Scots' trusted advisor, David Rizzio, was stabbed to death three centuries before. Very improbably, the scientific-minded Holmes suggests that Rizzio himself may be avenging his death through the new murders. Great setting, intriguing history, but clumsy evocation of the inimitable Holmes. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2005 Booklist
Library Journal Review
When two men are killed during the renovation of the royal palace at Holyrood in Scotland, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are summoned. Mycroft Holmes, the famous detective's brother, is a trusted advisor to Queen Victoria and wants to prevent a possible assassination attempt. Clues point to the involvement of David Rizzio, but the Italian secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered at Holyrood 300 years earlier. Carr seems a natural to try his hand at a Holmes adventure since the psychologist hero of The Alienist, his best-known novel, uses methods similar to those of the consulting detective. As with The Alienist, this book offers plenty of period detail and is written in a slightly stiff style, approximating that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Carr's Sherlock seems a bit vague, with Watson and Mycroft being much more specific and interesting. Simon Prebble, one of the best readers of mysteries, employs a variety of voices and accents to heighten the Victorian verisimilitude. Recommended for all popular collections.-Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
