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Rendezvous at the Populaire - A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes has retired. After a cruel accident during a fruitless chase for Moriarty, Holmes is maimed badly enough that he declares he will no longer solve the crimes of the London streets. But then a letter comes. A letter imploring him to investigate the Opera Populaire's ghost. The spectre everyone has heard rumours of, but only one has seen.
- GenresMystery
210 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 11, 2025
The crossover I didn’t know I needed
July 29, 2020
I spent years looking for this book and it was not worth the wait. Holmes is the phantom's groupie who hates Roul on principle and makes judgements about characters as if he knows how they will act in the future, Christine is just there with no true role as is Watson... basically it's just Eric and Holmes having an intellectual hard on for each other. It devaluates both the canon and the musical. Oh, and apparently the permanent expression on everyone's face is a mix between fear and fascination.
I give 1 star very rarely, only when I can't find anything good about a book. Which goes to show exactly what I think.
In addition, I found this book in audio and the narrator was just terrible. He mumbled over words to the point where they were completely incomprehensible, mispronounced character's names (Christine Day), and he didn't go back and fix the words which he misread.
I give 1 star very rarely, only when I can't find anything good about a book. Which goes to show exactly what I think.
In addition, I found this book in audio and the narrator was just terrible. He mumbled over words to the point where they were completely incomprehensible, mispronounced character's names (Christine Day), and he didn't go back and fix the words which he misread.
June 24, 2024
Sherlock Homes recovering from a gun shot wound to the leg, accepts a consulting inquiry for a ghost at an Opera House. He discovers new challenges and new insults to his work.
July 20, 2024
This was a different take on Sherlock Holmes – one I resisted until about half way through and then I decided why not accept the changed Holmes and see how he fares...
December 22, 2020
This review is listed under Project Sherlock. For more information on this, click here.
Review posted on my blog The Writer's Library.
"My dear friend, you cannot best me. You may kill me, but my spirit will not be taken down by a mere mortal. And that is precisely what you are."
Sometimes, even a machine like Sherlock Holmes may break down. Sometimes, life is unfair to those who live it. And sometimes you just have to overcome it. This take on the renowned detective was surprisingly refreshing and I enjoyed it immensely.
It was a little difficult to follow at times due to my being used to Watson always narrating, so Holmes' narration took a little getting used to. In this story, a terrible accident disables Holmes so that he walks with a cane throughout the story. Seeing his perspective on how people treat him due to his disability absolutely broke my heart, given my experience with my own disability. A disability can wound you in more ways than one...
The story was fantastic. Despite Holmes not being at his best (which I blame on the accident), the phantom was an amazing antagonist to engage both Holmes and Dr. Watson. Being threatening, wounded, and as a result a man whose mental prowess matches that of Holmes makes his character as amazing as the infamous Moriarty. And how both Holmes and the Phantom were able to fully understand one another's deformities and the emotional impact such deformities could cause was extremely well done.
However, this novel did have some shortcomings, which I will outline.
First of all, the scenario surrounding Holmes' accident doesn't hold out entirely to me. If they were being chased by Moriarty or his men, what happened to the scenario at the Reichenbach Falls? At what point in time was this, before or after the incident? What happened to Moriarty?
Also, although I understand that his identity wasn't the main issue of the story, I would have preferred the Phantom's identity remain a mystery for a little while instead of most people knowing who he was right off the bat. Maybe I missed something, since I've never seen The Phantom of the Opera.
Overall, it was one of the better Holmes pastiches I've read and one that I am not likely to forget anytime soon.
Project: Sherlock is complete. To see the rankings, click here
Review posted on my blog The Writer's Library.
"My dear friend, you cannot best me. You may kill me, but my spirit will not be taken down by a mere mortal. And that is precisely what you are."
Sometimes, even a machine like Sherlock Holmes may break down. Sometimes, life is unfair to those who live it. And sometimes you just have to overcome it. This take on the renowned detective was surprisingly refreshing and I enjoyed it immensely.
It was a little difficult to follow at times due to my being used to Watson always narrating, so Holmes' narration took a little getting used to. In this story, a terrible accident disables Holmes so that he walks with a cane throughout the story. Seeing his perspective on how people treat him due to his disability absolutely broke my heart, given my experience with my own disability. A disability can wound you in more ways than one...
The story was fantastic. Despite Holmes not being at his best (which I blame on the accident), the phantom was an amazing antagonist to engage both Holmes and Dr. Watson. Being threatening, wounded, and as a result a man whose mental prowess matches that of Holmes makes his character as amazing as the infamous Moriarty. And how both Holmes and the Phantom were able to fully understand one another's deformities and the emotional impact such deformities could cause was extremely well done.
However, this novel did have some shortcomings, which I will outline.
First of all, the scenario surrounding Holmes' accident doesn't hold out entirely to me. If they were being chased by Moriarty or his men, what happened to the scenario at the Reichenbach Falls? At what point in time was this, before or after the incident? What happened to Moriarty?
Also, although I understand that his identity wasn't the main issue of the story, I would have preferred the Phantom's identity remain a mystery for a little while instead of most people knowing who he was right off the bat. Maybe I missed something, since I've never seen The Phantom of the Opera.
Overall, it was one of the better Holmes pastiches I've read and one that I am not likely to forget anytime soon.
Project: Sherlock is complete. To see the rankings, click here
April 14, 2019
Novel covers ground previously, and far better explored in Nicholas Meyer's The Canary Trainer: Sherlock Holmes meets the Phantom of the Opera.
Holmes is permanently disabled in an attempt to catch Moriarty, whose designation for this plot device is utterly wasted. Canonical errors come fast and furious. The action is said to take place in 1883, yet Watson is referred to as married. He would not wed Mary Morstan according to accepted Sherlockian chronology, until 1889 after the events of The Sign of Four... Unless of course the author subscribed to the fringe theory that Watson was married five times, and this unnamed wife is one of that ill-fated number.
As is generally the case when overly ambitious authors attempt to "cross over" two literary "universes", one generally suffers whilst the other is elevated to grandiose heights. The Holmes presented here ends up as little more than a Phantom groupie, who is ultimately able, (in pseudo "Mary Sue" fashion )to make the Phantom forget about the feckless Christine Daae and run away to London with him to live happily ever after.
The only character who suffers more in translation is poor Dr. Watson who, having no real purpose in the plot, faded in and out of the actions, variously taking to his bed with a head cold, falling asleep in the Phantom's underground lair, hiding in a boat underground lake-side while an out of character Holmes interacts with the Phantom.
I would recommend The Canary Trainer to anyone interested in a Holmes/Phantom of the Opera cross-over. It has the advantage of a believable set up, a cracking plot, and a far better handling of the fact that Watson is extraneous to this particular plot (Meyer places his novel during the Great Hiatus when Holmes was presumed dead, even by Watson himself).
Holmes is permanently disabled in an attempt to catch Moriarty, whose designation for this plot device is utterly wasted. Canonical errors come fast and furious. The action is said to take place in 1883, yet Watson is referred to as married. He would not wed Mary Morstan according to accepted Sherlockian chronology, until 1889 after the events of The Sign of Four... Unless of course the author subscribed to the fringe theory that Watson was married five times, and this unnamed wife is one of that ill-fated number.
As is generally the case when overly ambitious authors attempt to "cross over" two literary "universes", one generally suffers whilst the other is elevated to grandiose heights. The Holmes presented here ends up as little more than a Phantom groupie, who is ultimately able, (in pseudo "Mary Sue" fashion )to make the Phantom forget about the feckless Christine Daae and run away to London with him to live happily ever after.
The only character who suffers more in translation is poor Dr. Watson who, having no real purpose in the plot, faded in and out of the actions, variously taking to his bed with a head cold, falling asleep in the Phantom's underground lair, hiding in a boat underground lake-side while an out of character Holmes interacts with the Phantom.
I would recommend The Canary Trainer to anyone interested in a Holmes/Phantom of the Opera cross-over. It has the advantage of a believable set up, a cracking plot, and a far better handling of the fact that Watson is extraneous to this particular plot (Meyer places his novel during the Great Hiatus when Holmes was presumed dead, even by Watson himself).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2013
I enjoyed this book about the story of the famous opera house and Sherlock Holmes. I love Sherlock stories, and this one did not let me down..a great book for Sherlock fans, who just cannot stand to have his stories end...
January 6, 2013
Enjoyed it, great interaction between Holmes & the Phantom. Inventive and engaging.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews