I have never read a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator
of Sherlock Holmes. I openly admit this, and I honestly have never had much
desire to do so. (Robert Downey Jr. is enough for me!) For one of the book clubs I ran this month, we read Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye, which
was a Sherlock Holmes story, told from Watson’s point of view, about the
investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders. Unfortunately, I was not overly
fond of this book, and I don’t think I will read Doyle anytime soon.
The book begins with Sherlock closing a case before going
back to London. Once in London, the gruesome murders of women in the street
attract Holmes’ attention. After he begins investigating, Jack the Ripper begins
taunting Holmes with letters sent to him. The press also considers Holmes
himself a suspect, essentially crucifying him in the papers. As the investigation continues, Holmes and Watson become deeply involved in the case, and have a few close encounters with the killer himself. As is the norm for Sherlock Holmes, his deductive skills in the end solve the case.
In the book, the Ripper’s murders are somewhat explicitly
described, but accurate in their details, which are rather brutal, I must note.
Sherlock Holmes’ involvement in the investigation is interesting, and true to
character. He pays attention to details while shirking social norms, not always
following the rules. Without giving anything away, I can tell you that they do
catch Jack the Ripper in the book, but I was not pleased with their choice. Not
enough motive for me.
There is a lot of good to be said about this book. It was
meticulously researched, for one. Faye did her background work, bringing in
information about the characters created by Doyle over a hundred years ago. She
had minute details about their habits, backgrounds, and referrals to minor
characters who previously appeared in the original novels. The story also is
accurate about the Jack the Ripper murders. Having gone into this novel with
very little knowledge of Jack the Ripper, I was impressed when I compared the
real facts with the book.
Many times while reading this novel, I was frustrated with
the lofty language and the way dialogue was handled. I guess I assumed the book
would be more readable than the Doyle counterparts, since it was written so
recently. In staying true to Doyle fashion, however, it was difficult to get
through. I didn’t think the book picked up its pace until more than halfway
through, and it took me quite a while to become interested.
Nonetheless, if you are either a Sherlock fan, or a Jack the
Ripper aficionado, this book would be right up your alley.
~Cailey W.
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