The Italian Secretary

by Caleb Carr

Foul Whisperings...

Mycroft Holmes's encoded message to his brother, Sherlock, is unsubtle enough even for Dr. Watson to decipher: a matter concerning the safety of Queen Victoria herself calls them to Edinburgh's Holyrood House to investigate the confounding and gruesome deaths of two young men--horrific incidents that took place with her highness in residence. The victims were crushed in a manner surpassing human power. And while recent attempts on her majesty's life raise a number of possibilities, these intrigues also seem strangely connected to an act of evil that took place centuries earlier…


...Unnatural Deeds

For indeed, the slaying of David Rizzio, music master and friend to Mary Queen of Scots, was an extraordinarily brutal and treacherous act--even for a time when brutality and treachery were the order of the day. Now, the ghosts of Holyrood House are being reawakened by someone with a diabolical agenda of greed, madness, and terror as Holmes and Watson set out to trap a killer who is eager to rewrite history in blood...

(back cover)

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Crime, Historical Mystery, Historical, Thriller

338 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Caleb Carr was an American novelist and military historian. The son of Lucien Carr, a former UPI editor and a key Beat generation figure, he was born in Manhattan and lived for much of his life on the Lower East Side. He attended Kenyon College and New York University, earning a B.A. in military and diplomatic history. He was a contributing editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History and wrote frequently on military and political affairs.

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holmes and Watson live in an encore presentation!

An encrypted cable summons from his older brother, the brilliant yet un-celebrated Mycroft who works secretly behind the scenes at the highest levels of His Majesty's government, sends Sherlock and Watson dashing off to Scotland to investigate the brutal murder of architect Sir Alistair Sinclair and his foreman, Dennis McKay. The location and particularly gruesome resemblance of their murders to the slaying of David Rizzio, Queen Mary's erstwhile Italian secretary and confidante lead Mycroft to hypothesize a political connection to the German Kaiser and a potential assassination threat to Queen Victoria who occasionally vacations at Holyroodhouse. Enroute to Scotland on a specially chartered coach, Holmes and Watson narrowly escape death themselves at the hands of an enraged bomb-throwing Scots nationalist. The game is clearly afoot and it would seem that Mycroft's suspicions are well-founded. But when Holmes and Watson hear the cries of a weeping women, the supposed footsteps of the wraith of David Rizzio humming an operatic aria that while vaguely Italian somehow doesn't seem quite right and a pool of blood that never dries, the clues lead Holmes to a solution much more mundane than the one Mycroft had imagined but in fact much more down to earth and certainly more deadly!

Like so many other contemporary novels that receive mixed reviews (I am reminded of THE EGYPTOLOGIST, THE THIRD TRANSLATION or THE RULE OF FOUR), the "bad news" is based in readers' expectations. Those anticipating a triumphant return to the style with which Carr wowed his readers in THE ALIENIST or THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS are doomed to disappointment. There is very little, indeed next to nothing, by way of elegant prose or descriptive writing in THE ITALIAN SECRETARY that would place the reader in the misty, gothic atmosphere of Holyroodhouse and Victorian Scotland.

The "good news" is that like so many of Conan Doyle's original Holmes short stories, THE ITALIAN SECRETARY is driven almost exclusively by plot and character! And most of that, as opposed to arising through description of action or events, is revealed through dialogue that is an uncannily accurate reproduction of the type of genteel, Victorian male conversation that was the trademark of Doyle's stories. As it was with the titles I mentioned earlier, the enjoyment of a novel like this rests in allowing it to successfully be what it is instead of feeling that it has failed to be what many mistaken readers wanted it to be!

If I wanted to quibble at all, I would suggest that Carr should have included a few more examples of Holmes' logical chains of deduction for our edification and entertainment. Other than that exceedingly minor cavil, I'll offer the opinion that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate got a damn good bargain when they commissioned THE ITALIAN SECRETARY. This first-rate yarn ends magnificently with a subtle, philosophical discussion on the power of ghosts and the supernatural that, if I may say so, sounds like a more upbeat, modern version of Holmes and Watson. Well ... why not? It is Caleb Carr's novel, after all!

Paul Weiss

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering my "feelings" about Surrender, New York I'm sure many of you figured Caleb Carr and I weren't on speaking terms. Alas, I reserved this book for my libraries mystery book club before that dark day when I was seized with an urge to hurl that giant cheetah themed doorstop into a wood chipper (would that I had acted on that urge).

Also in my defense historical fiction is Carr's comfort zone and I figured at the very least I'd get some pretty great descriptions of Victorian era England. If there's one thing Carr does well (besides providing detailed instructions for the care and raising of cheetahs) its set a scene and paint a picture.

Also working in his favor this time is that this book was actually sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate something, I'm under the impression, that is not especially easy to do.

So all things being equal this should have been a top drawer reading experience.

Really gross and violent murders that resulted in inexplicable injuries to the bodies that bear a very striking resemblance to the gastly murder of THE ITALIAN SECRETARY of Mary Queen of Scott's hundreds of years ago? Check.

Possible government conspiracy/assassination attempts putting Queen Victoria in imminent danger? Check

Greatest detective team EVER? Check.

Awesome time period? Check.

Spooking setting in a haunted Scottish castle where maybe, possibly, there's a chance of REAL GHOSTS? Check

Plenty of suspects including but not limited to; one eyed surly servants, rakish blacksmith's who
like to build medieval catapults when they're not deflowering innocent flame haired chamber maids, horribly evil nobility hiding behind their ancient pedigrees? Secret Scottish revolutionaries hiding in plain site? Check

All of those things combine to make a pretty great mystery written with a very distinct and well executed Sherlock Holmes "style."

Unfortunately they make up only about fifty percent of the book. The other fifty percent of what is (thanks be to the literature gods) a mercifully short read at 352 pages is given over to our narrator Dr. Watson going on and on and on and on and on and on about bloody everything. They have to take a train to Scotland? Watson spends twenty some pages talking about the train, the people on the train, what the train looks like, how Holmes can be annoying when they're on trains. They get to the Scottish Castle? Watson likes the castle and tells you why for about five years. They encounter a possibly supernatural something in the abandoned tower in the castle? Watson's interior monologue muses on the supernatural like fucking Hamlet trying to decide if he should follow his father's ghosts advice (and we all know how much Hamlet liked to think things over).

Any time other characters get involved the action immediately kicks into high gear and its as riveting as The Hound of the Baskervilles. But get Watson by himself for any length of time and you're left with a terrific cure for insomnia.

If there's one thing Caleb Carr likes its the sound of his own voice and that is never clearer than when he projects himself through the normally very interesting and often smarter (in certain areas) half of the infamous Baker Street duo.

My other issues, which I will be forced to be pretty vague about as its basically the key to the entire mystery, has to do with just how off track everyone is with what is really going on. This wouldn't be such an issue if the case wasn't being brought to Sherlock by his brother Mycroft who, devoted fans of the original books will recall, has used his own enormous brain to basically run England's empire from behind the throne for years (much is made over the fact that he's allowed to sit down in Queen Victoria's presence). Hell Mycroft has every branch of the England's military elite with him including people who are in charge of the Queen's security and investigating things like spies and attempts on her life and they are ALL so far off base with what's happening its almost comical.

I'm not sure if that's intentional but its all worked out so quickly with some really simple recon and observation. Like Watson (given enough time) could have done it on his own easy. I suspect Carr is in fact going for a whole Mycroft was just making things too complicated thing but as the story opens we're banged over the head with this being their most difficult, secret, and world shaking case ever!!!!! and it just totally isn't.

So neither great nor especially bad...just eh.

But I can assure you there are NO goddamn cheetahs.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Italian Secretary is a pretty sweet piece of Sherlock Holmes apocrypha. There have been a number of attempts to write Holmes by authors other than Doyle, and those attempts have achieved varying degrees of success -- some dreadful and some impressive. Caleb Carr's attempt falls between these extremes, although it is tilted more toward the impressive end of the teeter-totter.

Carr does a fine job of capturing Holmes' rhythms and personality, and one never feels like one's reading a false Sherlock, but the same can't be said for Dr. Watson, and therein lies the very slight and slippery problem that keeps The Italian Secretary from being impressively brilliant. Carr's Watson seems positively thick.

Doyle's Watson is often slow to pick up the meaning of threads that Holmes captures with ease, but he never seems stupid. Carr's Watson, however, seems incapable of managing the simplest deductions, and that makes him difficult for readers to fully embrace The Italian Secretary. Watson's emotion is right, but his intelligence is wrong, which strikes a false note in his characterization, and when the narrator of a story is off-putting the story can never fully work.

Still, Carr's use of the case of the Italian Secretary is inspired. It offers a plot that could easily be plagiarized (of course, it is not) from a hidden diary of Doyle's, and it has the further benefit of being an actual case in Scottish criminal history. The idea is compelling, the supporting cast, including Mycroft Holmes, is excellent, and Carr's Holmes is close to Doyle's own.

The Italian Secretary is a passable effort at literary expansion. Doyle purists will likely hate what Carr's done, and Carr purists will likely love what he has done. Passing fans of both, though, what will they think? Probably what I think. The Italian Secretary is a fun distraction, a pleasant summer read, a pleasurable way to pass the time, but not quite impressive enough.

[Oliver Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know there are many great additions to the canon of Sherlock Holmes. I think this one may rate as one of the better ones. If you are a fan of the historical depth Caleb Carr puts into the books he writes, then you are going to appreciate his Sherlock Holmes story. I would describe it as Sherlock Holmes investigates the legend of Bloody Mary. That may not be entirely accurate. It has more to do with the legend surrounding the ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots' secretary and murders that happen in Holyrood House. So glad that Carr set up the story in a way that had to involve Mycroft Holmes. The brothers discussing the case between themselves is rather well done and gives us more than just a cameo appearance by the more intelligent brother. Fans will also appreciate some references to other "paranormal" Holmes stories. I would also recommend reading the Afterword by Jon Lellenberg who apparently is responsible for planting the seed of the idea that became this book. He draws an intriguing comparison between Laszlo Kreizler and Sherlock Holmes as well as what might happen if they teamed up. Perhaps one day Caleb Carr will treat us to this meeting.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catching up…

I remember how excited I was when this came out a few years back, because I am a big fan of Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes. So, I was curious about how any other author would interpret him. Carr is another author who had been commissioned by the Conan Doyle estate to write a Holmes short story, which then grew to novel length.

Interestingly enough, it almost feels like there are more authors out there writing Sherlock Holmes stories than Conan Doyle actually wrote. (He managed 4 novels and 60 short stories.)

I won’t try and count the many authors at this point, but those of you who are Conan Doyle fans, know what I am talking about, right?

And, now that nobody needs permission from the estate (effective 2022), anybody can use the famous detective character in a story. So, who knows how many more authors will incorporate Sherlock Holmes into their storyline.

Back to this one. As a donation to my Little Free Library Shed, it was another opportunity for me to re-visit this long ago read, and write my review.

What Carr does is keep Holmes and Dr. Watson in London and Scotland during the time of Queen Victoria, same time period, more or less as Conan Doyle.

This story imagines an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria. With 9 failed attempts on her life, Mycroft, Holmes, brother, is quite concerned what the German and Scottish nationalists might be up to next. Are they attempting to maneuver a war against England?

There are some parts of this book that are hard to read, because the author chooses to write as people may speak – like – “…we’ll nae let ye muhrder more Scots patriots…”

I wanted this to be purely Holmes and Dr. Watson doing simple detecting work. But it didn’t feel that way. It just fell flat.

Have I been spoiled by the original Conan Doyle, and the many television actors who successfully played Sherlock and/or Dr. Watson, i.e., Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Dr. Watson)?

I was even charmed by actors Jeremy Brett (Sherlock) and Basil Rathbone (Sherlock). I know I am dating myself, but they really did know how to pull off a good Sherlock.

Getting back to the book, and my attempts to stay focused (here on my review and with my reading), I think Carr’s problem was trying too hard to keep in the spirit of the original, but still trying to find opportunities for invention. I am not sure, in my opinion, he was able to meet it. At least for me.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this novel. I had high hopes, as I remember being very taken by the dark & interesting debut of Carr's, The Alienist. In this work, Carr takes on the Sherlock Holmes genre, also a mark in it's favor, along with potential ghostly dealings in the Scottish castle of Mary Queen of Scots, and murder of course. Do I dare say by about halfway in, I was bored? I did like the recapping of the Mary, Queen of Scots story & the awful murder of her jester, David Rizzio, to set the stage. Obviously there was enough fairly interesting plot lines & characters to keep me reading ( and part of a TBR challenge) but over all: ho hum.

[Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me try this again and maybe this time I won't accidentally delete it:

Caleb Carr is not Dr. Conan Doyle. He doesn't present a carbon copy of Doyle's style and I didn't expect him to. Nor did I attempt to compare and contrast the two. Approach this book with that in mind and you might like it....I did.

I kept getting the feeling at times that something which I couldn't quite put my finger on was lacking. That may be in part because I thought The Alienist was brilliant and was hoping for something of the same caliber. That didn't happen.

I think I remembered everything I wrote the first time.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an artful emulation a Conan Doyle escapade with Holmes and Watson, but it felt a bit tedious to me. The murders of two people on the grounds of the Holyrood castle of Mary Queen of Scotts raises suspicions that they relate to domestic or international plots against Queen Victoria, but the multiple wounds of the bodies bears a spooky resemblance to murder of Mary�s Italian secretary believed to haunt the castle. Carr does an admirable job with the diction and sensibilities of our beloved detectives and with the building up of tension and intrigue. However, the major parts of the mystery are not solved by their brilliance, but by disclosure from characters encountered. Also, we get set up for a dangerous climax, but it seems contrived and it gets deflated without direct dealings with the villain. Was this on purpose, as if to emphasize the pair being heroes who are not action figures as in today�s thrillers? To me there also was an excessive focus on the status of ghosts, but perhaps this is Carr�s attempt to resolve of the contrast between the scientific approach of the detectives and Doyle�s personal beliefs in communicating with the dead and in fairies.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

'The Italian Secretary' is the latest big-name pastiche in the world of Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, it is not very good.

Carr's writing style is ponderous and his sentences and paragraphs are wordy. This tale originally started out as a short story for inclusion in 'Ghosts in Baker Street' and the author turned into a seperate novel.

It was a poor decision. There is barely enough substance to make a novella, and it certainly is thin for a novel. The plot is rather simple, with Holmes' belief in ghosts flying in the face of the original Doyle character. There is nothing about this book that makes it stand out from the glut of Holmes tales on the market.

There are much better pastiches out there, such as books by Richard Boyer, Larry Millett and Frank Thomas. I doubt I will ever take this one off the bookshelf again.

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Elementary

It must be very difficult and also intimidating to try to follow in the footsteps of a well-known author such as Arthur Conan Doyle, who has created the world’s most famous detective and sidekick and who has spun a microcosm of four novels and fifty-six stories. The reading public’s expectations will necessarily run high.

To give Caleb Carr and his Holmes adventure The Italian Secretary their due, I’d say that the language is redolent of the old-fashioned and well-paced style people used in 19th century literature and that Carr, unlike, for example Horowitz, really manages to revive the atmosphere of that era. Unfortunately, however, he overdoes it: Doyle’s Watson is not by half as rambling and droning a story teller as Carr’s Watson. The repetition of tiny, and often irrelevant details in The Italian Secretary is endless, and one could probably endure it if it were not so banal at times. Why is the reader not spared Mycroft’s lengthy references to the attempts made on Queen Victoria’s life and on the political tensions between England and the Kaiserreich as these aspects will eventually prove completely irrelevant for the rest of the story ? There is incessant talking about Mycroft being privileged by the Queen in that he is allowed to sit in her presence, and about similar things, and a third of the novel has been spent before we actually get to the place where the murders have been committed.

Then there is another deadly sin, as I think: We simply know too soon who the villains are and what motives they have, and, by the way, there are hardly enough suspects in the novel to have our suspicions run wild for a long time. Carr not only mars the detection bit of the story but he also impairs it with instances of improbability: The mangling of the victims' bodies has been achieved by hurling them against the wall of Holyroodhouse with the help of a trebuchet. Of course, no one would notice some people who build up such a huge siege machine in front of an ancient castle and who later hurl bodies against its walls. Why should the murderers run such a risk seeing that their victims not only were dead anyway but had already been killed in a very ghastly manner that would give rise to the corroboration of the ghost story the villains exploited financially? I was not too keen on stomaching this kind of nonsense.

All in all, I give the author credit for his style, for his frequent references to other, canonical Holmes adventures and for his wry humour. Nevertheless the development of the plot, the underlying crime, the element of detection (i.e. the exploitation of the whodunit-factor) were very faulty to my taste. Had Carr made a short story out of it all, it would not have mattered that much but for a novel, all this was very poor fare – made worse by the lengthy and pointless dialogues.

[Tyas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Number one, the translation caused me a headache.

The translation aside, this book is disappointing: the case might be 'sensational' and 'sadistic', but the way the case is solved did not satisfy me. I think that there are still questions left unanswered. And seriously, those ghosts are unnecessary, something like disturbing Holmes' world of logic. The ghosts would fit a Professor Challenger story, but in Italian Secretary it only boiled down to raised eyebrows (of the reader, which was me, that is).

[Mark]

A Sherlock Holmes tale that starts of with a lot of promiss but end a bit weak. Once you find out that the actual book was originaly written as a short story but it turned out to bee too long and hence with mr Carr's reputation they chose to make it a novel. While the mystery is decent enough it is the length of the story that takes the wind out of the sails 2/3th of the way.

Mr. Carr did a far better job with his own creation Dr. Kreizler in two novels.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

An addition to the lore of Sherlock Holmes, sanctioned by the A.C. Doyle trust. An interesting story (not spectacular) with a Dr. Watson that is much more clever and perceptive than we have come to expect.

[Jennifer Petkus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr. My husband surprised me with it just after I had started to renew my addiction to Holmes and had read several mentions of it at the Sherlock Holmes Social Network.

Of course, those mentions were not generally favorable, but the setting of a murder at the Royal Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland sounded so inviting. Here’s the basic plot: After several assassination attempts on Queen Victoria, Holmes and Watson are brought to Holyrood Palace at the instigation of Holmes’ brother Mycroft (who as we know sometimes is the government). A recent assassination attempt, first dismissed as a simple desire for notoriety, now appears as though it might be related to the jockeying of power between England and Germany. At the same time, two men are killed very brutally during renovations at Holryood Palace, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland.

And during the train ride there, Holmes and Watson are attacked by a very inefficient bomber who looks and sounds too much like MacAdder, Edmund Blackadder’s mad Scottish cousin — “the maddest man to wear a skirt in Europe.” The bomber shouts, “We’ll nae let ye muhrder more Scots patriots.”

Add to this mix the story of David Rizzio, an Italian courtier who became the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, who was murdered when Mary’s husband Lord Darnley joined a conspiracy of nobles jealous of Rizzio’s relationship with Mary. The murder occurred in Holyrood Palace and supposedly there is a blood stain in a room of a ruined tower — the same tower being renovated — that never dries where Rizzio’s body lay. OK, good stuff, I have goosebumps just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, all these elements are just thrown against the wall to see what sticks, especially a very uncharacteristic Holmes who throughout the entire book seems preoccupied with the supernatural. Now, I enjoy reading books and watching TV and movies about the supernatural, even though I am very skeptical of the paranormal in the real world. But I really don’t like the idea of Holmes courting the supernatural. He is the embodiment of reason; ghosts need not apply. Of course, I have to give allowances because the author originally wrote this story as part of a collection of new supernatural-themed Holmes stories, The Ghosts of Baker Street. But the story grew too large to be included in the collection.

And it shows. There are too many red herrings and long expositions that really don’t advance the plot, especially the cryptic message that Holmes and Watson receive that start the case. It’s true that Conan Doyle often included legends and history that sometimes overwhelmed the main story, but his usual pattern was to deal with it succinctly or at length. In The Italian Secretary, the back stories are just long enough to feel like padding or the author getting carried away.

Despite these critiques, the relationship between Holmes and Watson seems solid. In fact, Watson fairly shines and shows he’s absorbed quite of lot of the master detective’s methods.

And I’m of two minds about the climactic ending, which seems a little too much like Assault on Precinct 13, where Holmes and Watson must defend the palace from an all out assault. At times the action seems gripping and at other times absurd when you realize a royal palace has been left largely unguarded. There is, however, a very logical reason it is unguarded, but it still seems absurd.

Do I recommend The Italian Secretary? Of course I do. Despite the bad taste in my mouth of a Holmes who seems far too gullible and the unnecessary intrusion of a “real” supernatural character in the story (I prefer the MacGyver episode where we hear a bone-chilling howl after our mulleted hero has defeated the large man pretending to be Bigfoot), it’s still a fun read with a great premise. Caleb Carr is a very good writer, this is just a minor but still entertaining effort.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

ITALIJANSKI SEKRETAR Kejleba Kara je verovatno opšte mesto za ljubitelje žanra ali eto ja sam ga tek sada pročitao. Kara sam čitao kao vojnog istoričara i stručnjaka za pitanja bezbednosti, znam naravno da je njegov holmsoliki roman ALIJENISTA bio veoma značajan početkom devedesetih ali ga nisam pročitao, mada ću možda ispraviti tu grešku, uprkos tome što sam u međuvremenu pogledao obe serije o Laslu Krajzleru koje me u tome nisu ohrabrile jer uprkos velikim imenima to nije neka senzacionalna ekranizacija.

Kar je erudita i iz romana ITALIJANSKI SEKRETAR jasno pokazuje da nije reč o nekom šalabajzeru već o temeljno pripremljenom čoveku koji se uspešno plasirao među pisce nekanonskih priča o Holmsu, oko kojih su se okušale razne ozbiljne face. Kar jako uspešno postavlja karakterizaciju Holmsa, ali zanimljivo je da Votson, kao njegov narator ostavlja prilično bled utisak, iako bi se sam Laslo Krajzler mogao smatrati votsonolikim likom. Isto tako zanimljivo je da su njegovi romani o Krajzleru strukturirani upravo po holmsovskom principu, narator je novinar i ilustrator Mur koji pomaže Krajzleru u rešavanju slučajeva a to je praktično ista dinamika kao kod Konana Dojla.

Čini se ipak da je Votsona malo ispustio iako mu daje protagonizam u priči, ali ne i kvalitetan doprinos radnji.

Sam rukopis je postavljen dinamično, roman vrlo lako izlaže radnju, misterija nije previše složena ali je efektna, i taj pripovedački zamajac koji je uspostavljen uspeva da pokrije određene nedostatke ili nedovoljno zanimljiva rešenja.

Kar želi da razradi Holmsov i Votsonov odnos prema onostranom, da razigra mogućnost da je Holms kao mnogi veliki umovi bio otovren za mogućnost postojanja nečeg neobjašnjivog, iako je postao simbol racionalnog, da ga zanima samo moguće čak i kad je neuverljivo. Nije ovo prvi put da se ova tema razrađuje jer Holms van kanona ima razne pustolovine, ali Kar to započne kao veliku temu, ali onda je ostavi kao jednu samo čačnutu i sporednu stvar.

ITALIJANSKI SEKRETAR je rečju sasvim solidno čitalačko iskustvo ali u suštini jedan prilično rudimentaran roman koji ne produbljuje Holmsa, i stoji samo kao pošteno urađen posao.

[Philip Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any author who dares to assume that his readers have an attention span that exceeds fifteen or twenty seconds has succeeded in capturing my attention no matter what the subject pursued. Caleb Carr treats English as if it is tool for the conveyance of precise information and not as if it were a bludgeon to be used to beat the reader into submission. His prose is elegant and precise, with slang terms used to emphasize characterization and to provide particular flavors and tones to conversation.

The narrator is Dr. Watson, not the familiar narrator of most of the Canonical tales, but rather this Dr. Watson is clearly the man who wrote those tales. This is not the hopeless naïf he depicted himself to be, this Watson is bright and thoughtful and a good foil for the genius of Holmes. Yet, under all, he remains the true Victorian gentleman in the best sense of that overworked phrase. He does not comprehend the hubris that constitutes true evil, the sense of self that will not recognize any will but its own. In this, he remains unable to understand Holmes who is well aware of that form of darkness of the soul.

This tale is one that Watson never meant to be published, rather it is a record of events that deserve preservation but are prejudicial to The Crown. It is also a tale of ghosts and murder, with a particularly Holmesian explanation for apparent supernatural events. Even Mycroft is unable to cope and has called Holmes and Watson to investigate murders at Holyrood House, the official residence of Her majesty in Edinburgh. High politics, historical mystery, human greed, departmental machinations and the character of Her Majesty are all combined to present a complex and satisfying new Sherlock Holmes mystery. This story revives the feeling of reading the Canon more than any pastiche I have read (3,000+ and counting), a truly remarkable feat.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; May, 2005.

Published in “The Pleasant Places of Florida Communication,” [07-08/2005].

[Teresa Rokas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carr imitates Conen Doyle's style very closely. The mystery is very typical of a Sherlock Holmes story. It does lack some of the tension though of those stories. Carr's book contains too many details that really do not move the plot forward. It's like he was told the book had to be a certain length so he added in a lot of unnecessary things to fill space. An editing of it would make it a far more satisfying read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating Clarification: 3.5 Stars

Pretty entertainly Holmes pastiche, although I have to admit that I found Carr's writing style somewhat convoluted and irritating. However, the story premise and plot development kept me reading on. Enjoyed the supernatural elements, and thought Carr did a good job of maintaining an authentic "voice" for Holmes, Watson and Mycroft (although Carr's Watson and Mycroft were a little too dense (aka stupid) from ACD's original portrayal of them, IMO).

All in all, a worthwhile read, but I enjoyed Laurie R. King and Anthony Horowitz's pastiche attempts more.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just arrived from Germany through Bookmooch.

A good start for a New Year reading. Having watching recently the movie with Katherine Hepburn on Mary of Scotland's life, I really appreciated the plot.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best non-ACD versions of Holmes and Watson that I've read. If you love Sherlock Holmes, read this book.

14+ for 'ghosts,' violence, and mentions of unmarried sexual relationship.

[Murphy C]

I read it years ago and barely remember anything about it. Since I can't remember reading it, I don't like to tare it.

[GG Stewart’s Bookhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started so slow; nothing happened until halfway through the book. Once it did, it was just ok. I still enjoyed reading it.

[Ken B · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was truly disappointed by this novel. I was looking forward to reading it on two fronts. First, as a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Second, as an introduction to Caleb Carr. The Sherlock Holmes story fell far short and left me not likely to read anything else by Carr.

To call the novel wordy would be an understatement. It was a full third of the way through the book before we arrive at the crime scene. While I understand that a novel with an historic base will require a fair amount of back-filling to get the reader up to snuff on the facts, the sometimes vicious banter between Holmes and his brother, Mycroft only added page upon page of useless wordiness that Carr seemed to feel necessary. Thirty pages in a hansom between the railroad station and Hollyroodhouse was a bit much, especially after fifty pages on a train.

Sadly, by the end of the novel Carr has managed to paint Mycroft as a bumbling fool, which is far from the character as presented by others.

Where Holmes typically will hold all theories on a crime to himself, often to the frustration of those closest to him, Carr's Holmes seems to take every player in the book into his confidence, leaving very little to the reader to figure out. In fact, the crime was pretty much solved and laid out with a full third of the novel left to go, leaving Carr a third of the novel to weave the most ridiculous, disconnected ending to any Holmes pastiche that I have ever read.

Without spoiling the story for anyone still inclined to bother reading it, I will share the most bizarre part of the chase scene at the climax of the story. After Watson has taken a potshot at one of the story's antagonists and has then been reassured by Holmes that he is still in pursuit, Watson rounds a corner to find Holmes sitting, tuning and playing a lute. WTF? Really? I thought I had missed something and turned back a couple of pages.

I don't know what else I can say about this travesty.

ONE STAR, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I COULDN'T GIVE IT ZERO.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the story of the book. It was quite entertaining.
Now, what first called my attention was the cover. I was going to buy the book even if it wasn't about Sherlock Holmes because I liked the contrast of color on the cover and I like mysteries.
I liked how, as in other new Holmes novels there is a small introduction, something as to why we're reading this now. I liked the constant references to the original stories, comparisons to the characters found there and things like that.
I thought Watson's voice was good sometimes, but other times he did or said something that made it ruined it. Holmes's voice was totally off for me. I understand what he said about the power ghosts had over people, the belief people had, but I found it contrary to what I've read on the short stories. He denies any possibility of supernatural activity.
I thought the usage of History was excessive. It is a detective story, but it became too much of a historical thriller to me, and the Sherlock Holmes stories mostly used History only as background, not as such a big part of the plot. Even the ones where the monarchy was somewhat involved, it was only because he lived at the Victorian Era, so that was the History that was going to be used. In this book, History was not part of the background, it was connect tightly to the plot. Without it, there would be no book.
I didn't like the excessive use of italics, in places there would be no need of such a tool, because there would be no need of emphasis: the reader could supply the voice of the character in their head and understand perfectly what was being said. However, something I liked, was that Carr, like in the original stories, sometimes told us how something would be important later, or how the importance of what was said or done would make more sense to Watson later.
In the end, I decided to give this story 3/5 stars.

[Book Haunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caleb Carr does Arthur Conan Doyle The Italian Secretary is another tale written concerning Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson.    
 
Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes has sent a mysterious telegram to Sherlock.  Once it has been deciphered, it becomes clear to Sherlock that his brother is summoning him to the sometime home of Queen Victoria, Edinburgh's Holyrood House.  There have been two murders and the manner of death seems to suggest ghostly possibilities.  As Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft investigate, we are given a tale within a tale of the brutal murder of David Rizzio, music master and friend to Mary Queen of Scots.  Could the murders be David Rizzio's ghostly presence haunting the Holyrood House or are they part of a nefarious plot to assassinate Queen Victoria?
 
I can perfectly understand why Caleb Carr would be picked by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate to write another Sherlock tale.  Caleb Carr is a great author and his period mysteries are so well done.  But really, aren't there enough Sherlock books already?  This was a mediocre tale which fell flat at the end.  It was nowhere near the quality reads that both The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness were. 

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I have read any of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories--I know I read quite a few of them back in the the 70's. I thought Carr did a pretty decent job of portraying Holmes in the vein of Doyle and overall I did like this take on the great detective.

The story starts out when Holmes is cryptically summoned by his brother Mycroft to Scotland to look into the deaths of two men who were working on the restoration of Holyroodhouse, the ancient palace of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.


Mycroft feels that the killings may be linked to a possible assassination attempt on Queen Victoria by Scottish nationalists. But when Holmes and Watson get to Holyrood, another reason for the murders is soon disclosed which is tied to the murder of David Rizzio, the titular Italian Private Secretary of Mary who was murdered by her jealous husband Darnley in the 16th century. Was Rizzio's spirit haunting Holyrood or did other factors play into the deaths?

Overall, not a bad Holmes pastiche which I would mildly recommend.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read one Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story before, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Spotting The Italian Secretary in a secondhand bookshop, I picked it up because it was written by Caleb Carr, and I didn't really notice it was a Sherlock Holmes story until I got home.
Caleb Carr was a great choice to write a further adventure of Sherlock Holmes. His own novels The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness are about a Victorian detective too although this time in New York, and he certainly had the feel and atmosphere of the period.
I am now tempted to read more of the original stories, and also found a copy of The Lost World in a charity shop this morning.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in paperback at the thrift store recently (our thrift has a huge book selection and is dirt cheap). I enjoyed The Alienist a lot and I have become very interested in Caleb Carr's father recently due to his beat connections. This book is actually approved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate and it's easy to see why. The style is impeccable and a real tribute to the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Carr is a historian and it shows--lots and lots of great detail and all of the charm one expects from a Sherlock story. An interesting aspect of the book is the fact that Watson is really the main p.o.v.--Sherlock is very present but Watson does much of the lifting in terms of the story---I also loved that Mycroft was a big part of the story. It's easy to see that Carr is a fan and at the same time took pains to preserve the original effect. The climax of the book was very tense and interesting and the entire book was just classy. Definitely recommend to fans of both Sherlock and Carr.

[Snowfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicted thoughts here. Short version: Style is good, Watson's authorial voice is good, general overview of the plot is good. However, using Mycroft as a character still has problems, the spiritual / ghost angle ends up being lame IMHO, and - worst of all- the last quarter of the book has too many silly things and dumb yet irrelevant plot turns. Silly in a bad way. The final confrontation is also... bah.

So... rewrite the last quarter of the book to get the same point across but with less idiocy, and write Mycroft even more into the background than he was (he really shouldn't have been is the problem with the plot as it stands), and you'd have a 4 star book. As it is, I still enjoyed it, though, so I can't complain too much.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that had poor reviews on Goodreads. I was given this as a gift by my friend Jo who knows I love Sherlock and Watson. Well I have to say I don't know what they read but I really enjoyed this. Sherlock and Watson are called to Edinburgh by Mycroft to investigate 2 murders that happened in Holyroodhouse, and now the ghosts of Holyrood are being awakened by someone with a diabolical agenda of greed.