Nicholas Meyer presents us with another 'newly discovered' Sherlock Holmes case from Dr. Watson's diaries in The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols. Mycroft Holmes summons his brother Sherlock Holmes to investigate a murder and a document being circulated that warns that a secret group is bent on taking over the world. The document appears to be part of a conspiracy to foment and spur trouble.
My husband and I both read The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer when it came out in 1974. He offered a new view of the perpetually popular Sherlock Holmes. Later my brother shared his copy of Meyer's third Holmes mystery, The West End Horror. I thought this would be a fun read.
Soon after I got into the book I discovered this story is more than entertainment. The story of a secret group is 'fake news' being used for political purposes.
Now, where have we heard that story before?
It is 1905 and Watson is married to a suffragette and has built a practice. Holmes notes that crimes are getting bigger. Electric lights are replacing gas. There is an uprising in Russia and Czar Nicholas is struggling to maintain control. The Jews are looking for a homeland, perhaps in Uganda.
Holmes, of course, needs Watson's assistance; they are not so sure about the help of a female radical socialist, Anna Strunsky. Her beauty alone is problematic for the married Watson. Watson's wife made him pledge to end to his risky adventures with Holmes. Will his marriage survive--or his practice? But this is no regular murder investigation; behind the murder is a plot that will set Europe careening into mass hysteria and death.
The three make a journey on the Orient Express to Odessa, Russia. Proving the document a fake is essential. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. Or is it already too late? Once fake news is in the world, it tends to stay there.
People love to place blame on something concrete, some 'other' as the source of their problems.
This is a fun read, filled with historical references and events, political intrigue, a kidnapping, and an expansion of the classic characters of Watson and Holmes. But the underlying message is serious, chilling, and sadly, timeless.
I was granted access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D.
by Nicholas Meyer
St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books
Pub Date 15 Oct 2019
ISBN 9781250228956
PRICE $25.99 (USD)
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