The Last Sherlock Holmes Story

by Michael Dibdin

An extraordinary document comes to light which for fifty years had been held on deposit by the bankers of the deceased John Herbert Watson MD - better known as Dr Watson. The document, written by Dr Watson himself, opens in the East End of London in 1888. Three women have been savagely murdered by Jack the Ripper. To calm the public outcry, Scotland Yard approaches London's most eminent detective, Sherlock Holmes, and asks him to investigate the killer. Can Holmes solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper? And why has this story been suppressed for so long? As cunningly plotted as anything by Conan Doyle, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story is a thrilling addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon from another of Britain's best-loved crime writers.

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

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1978

About the author

Michael Dibdin was born in 1947. He went to school in Northern Ireland, and later to Sussex University and the University of Alberta in Canada. He lived in Seattle. After completing his first novel, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, in 1978, he spent four years in Italy teaching English at the University of Perugia. His second novel, A Rich Full Death, was published in 1986. It was followed by Ratking in 1988, which won the Gold Dagger Award for the Best Crime Novel of the year and introduced us to his Italian detective - Inspector Aurelio Zen.

Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist K. K. Beck. His death in 2007 followed a short illness.

Series:
* Aurelio Zen

Reviews

[Amy H. Sturgis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand why this Sherlock Holmes-meets-Jack the Ripper novel is controversial among (even hated by) some Holmes fans who are wed to one interpretation of the detective, but I found it to be fascinating and very well rooted in the canonical Holmesian texts. Its sophisticated (and darkly Gothic) psychological look not only at Holmes (whom I found to be poignantly redeemed at the end, contrary to what I'd expected from other reviews) but also at the wonderful Dr. Watson kept me very interested. It's less successful as a thorough look at the Ripper phenomenon, but I suspect Dibdin always intended the Ripper murders to provide the backdrop for the tale rather than to carry it. I thought the "Holmes and Watson were real people, and Arthur Conan Doyle intentionally 'fictionalized' them" approach was well realized. Whether or not you accept Dibdin's interpretation of Holmes, I think it's clear this work is both carefully and lovingly crafted with sincere attention to canonical detail. It's not my absolute favorite pastiche to date, but it's a very important and compelling one, and I'm very glad I read it.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to take a few days to think about this one for a little bit -- and to decide exactly what my rating for it would be.

This was my second read in my "Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper" reading project, after Lyndsay Faye's seriously remarkable "Dust and Shadow." As I said in my "Dust and Shadow" review, Faye's book was so good that it really set the mark by which I knew I'd be measuring all other Holmes-vs.-Ripper stories that followed, and I don't expect any others to ever top her efforts. I was intrigued by this book, however, if only because a book entitled, "The _Last_ Sherlock Holmes Story" implied that there really would be an ending with as big of a twist as the book jacket summary promised.

One of the most obvious differentiations of the various Holmes-vs.-Ripper stories is who the different authors choose as the identity of Jack the Ripper. As I've been gradually amassing volumes in my Holmes-vs.-Ripper collection (I've only three so far, but there's lots of others out there waiting for me), I'd begun to wonder, somewhat idly, if any brave and innovative author might take a stab at the ultimate blasphemy and have the Ripper revealed to be either Watson, or Holmes himself. It would be both wildly out-of-character AND character-destroying at the same time, sure. But in terms of twist endings, it wouldn't get much twistier than that -- and, while that is a _terrible_ reason to insert a twist ending into a story if it's your _only_ reason, it still left me wondering if any author would ever try this particular twist.

"The Last Sherlock Holmes Story" operates on the premise that Arthur Conan Doyle (referred to as "ACD") was a medical friend of Dr. Watson's who received permission from Watson to novelize Watson's and Holmes's adventures for the reading public. This story, however, is supposedly the only one written by Watson himself -- meaning that Dibdin allows himself a loophole as to why his writing and tone may sound different from that of Conan Doyle's. (This is somewhat unnecessary, in my opinion, as Dibdin did a fair job at capturing the voice of Watson -- but it's an appropriate twist in other regards, so I still saw it as a nice touch.) It also explains why this manuscript, "discovered" for the first time decades after Watson's death, was never published in the original "ACD" series -- Watson hid it away for being so shocking and damning.

The first half of the book is great fun. Commentary from Holmes on both ACD's "adaptations," and on the general effectiveness of Scotland Yard, is entertaining and humorous -- serving as a nice relief from the terrible crimes of Jack the Ripper which Holmes and Watson are brought in to explore. As the story continues, Holmes finally names, to Watson, Holmes's suspect for the Ripper's real identity: Professor James Moriarty.

Making Moriarty into the Ripper was a neat idea, I thought, and one tact I hadn't considered a Holmes-vs-Ripper might take. Except, of course, it's not Moriarty who is behind the murders. Moriarty, it's revealed, is a product of Holmes's mind, as the Great Detective loses his grip on his sanity. There is no Professor Moriarty. Moriarty is only a figment of Holmes's imagination. The Ripper murderer is Holmes himself.

Man, how I _struggled_ with figuring out my reaction to this book! And it wasn't even so much that the book reveals that Holmes is the Ripper -- I was so sure the story could take any direction that nothing really _shocked_ me in terms of plot developments. Rather, it was _how_ we find out that Holmes is the Ripper. Watson discovers that Holmes is the Ripper when Watson discovers Holmes _in the act_ -- terribly mutilating the body of Mary Kelly in her own single room. (If you know anything about the Ripper killings, you know that Kelly suffered the worst carnage of any of the victims.) It was a sickening passage to read, and the only thing that kept me from tossing the book away after reading that passage was that it had taken me a month to get this far into it (I haven't had a lot of time to read lately) and I was determined to finish the thing off that close to the end. Lemme tell you, though, it was a near thing. But I keep reading till the end.

Am I glad I stuck it out?

Look: Sherlock Holmes is, I think, fairly-objectively speaking, pretty much the most famous, and most beloved, fictional character that we've got. Millions of fans love him. Billions of people at least know who he is. There's no other fictional character in second place. And I think one primary reason for that is, as one Holmesian put it, the fact that Sherlock Holmes is the original super hero. He often takes justice into his own hands when the law simply would not suffice. Having Holmes turn out to be Jack the Ripper is sort of like having Superman turn out to be the Unabomber. It just goes against everything the character stands for, everything the character IS -- everything the character _means_.

But I said I liked the book. Why?

Because of the last two pages. The premise of this book isn't just that Holmes is Jack the Ripper; it's that Holmes is slipping into insanity, manifesting itself as a sort of duel identity. He's not an evil criminal mastermind who has been evil all along and has set up his whole career as a front to allow him to avoid suspicion while he goes on his reign of terror. He's losing his mind; the crimes are not the fault of "our" Holmes. It's no more "our" Holmes's fault for Moriarty's Ripper crimes than it's Dr. Jekyll's fault for Mr. Hyde's rampages. (... I assume; I've actually never read "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.") Moriarty is the insane side of Holmes, but it's insanity only, and not who Holmes actually IS.

Or at least, I could read it that way -- since I did feel that one place where the author dropped the ball a bit was in not having Watson spend more time realizing that his friend had gone insane and was no longer himself. Watson is so horrified (understandably, true) that he doesn't spend any real time going, "... I've lost my friend to an unhealable insanity, this is terrible," but rather seems to be more of the mindset of, "... I can't believe I know a murderer; I've got to follow him to keep him from doing any more harm." There wasn't quite enough emotion there for me.

At least, not until the last two pages, when a deranged Holmes is standing on the cliffs of Reichenbach Falls, convinced that Dr. Watson, there beside him, is actually Moriarty in disguise. Holmes is about to kill Watson with a knife when Watson says, "Fine, kill me. But if you do, you'll be doing exactly what Moriarty wants you to do. You'll be killing your only friend. Moriarty will have won." And Holmes, instead of killing Watson, looks at him sadly before declaring, "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. I won't let him hurt you," before Holmes throws himself off the cliff and into the Reichenbach Falls.

And, man, I couldn't NOT love an ending like that. As someone for whom the Holmes and Watson friendship is the cornerstone of my love for all things Sherlockian, even a story that damages the essential goodness and compassion of Sherlock Holmes in order to provide a big twist ending is going to win me back when Holmes reclaims that goodness and compassion to save his dearest friend. Be it a flesh-and-blood Moriarty, or Holmes's own insanity, nothing can destroy the friendship between Holmes and Watson.

So -- this book is not as lovely or as well-crafted as Faye's "Dust and Shadows." (Speaking of craft: I should note that the narrative of "The Last Sherlock Holmes Story" definitely drags in parts, as whole sections are comprised of Watson's musings without anything actually, y'know, HAPPENING. But this is a fairly short read, so I could forgive it for dragging in some places.) Not as strong a story, either, because you have to damage the character in order for the premise to even exist.

However: damage the character, yes. But, with an ending this powerful, Dibdin is not destroying him. Sherlock Holmes is loyal to Dr. Watson till the end, meaning this "Fight-Club"-esque Holmes tale is another Holmes-vs.-Ripper story that is going to stick with me for some time to come.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Dibdin follows in the footsteps of other authors as he attempts to create a story featuring Sherlock Holmes on the trail of Jack the Ripper.
The novels opens extremely well & mixes real & fictional characters to create a gripping narrative. Despite the grim subject matter Dibdin even manages to insert some welcome moments of humour on occasion.
My first criticism of the novel is the author's endless attempts to replace comon words with complicated ones, which made this feel like it was a young writer constantly refering to his copy of Roget's thearsaurus to use more impressive words. I'm not the most literate person around, but there were so many words he used that I didnt understand at first that it became very annoying.
My other problem with the novel was the absurd reveal of the identity of Jack the Ripper, which I will not spoil here.
The best thing about this story was Robert Glenister's excellent narration, which kept me listening right to the end. Without him I would have given up long before the disappointing conclusion.

[Aldean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated, hated, hated this book.

To be perfectly fair, I was fourteen or fifteen when I found this on the shelf at the public library. I was a recently-minted Sherlock Holmes fan, and had been devouring The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, so I was eager to read anything that had "Sherlock Holmes" anywhere on the cover. So this depth-plumbing horror was my very first Holmes pastiche, and probably a bit "mature" for me at that particular stage in my reading life. I consider it possible that someday, maybe, I might give it a second read. But that day would have to be a long wasy still from now. Even fifteen years later I still feel indignant and wronged when I think of where Dibdin took my beloved Holmes.

[Don Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a well-written obscenity. If one were able to give a book a negative five star rating, this one would deserve it. If you love the character of Sherlock Holmes, with all his strengths and flaws, this book will leave you traumatized and enraged. Fair warning.

[Syaza Jamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love re-reading this and got more of it than I did previously when I thought it was an okay-issh pastiche with a terrible ending. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin pits Sherlock Holmes against Jack The Ripper and to see if Holmes has what it takes to solve, I and many other readers know remained unsolved to this day (2024)

In here Michael Dibdin wrote a more gritty Sherlock Holmes story which might annoyed some, I know it did for me during my first read of it but now I found that it certainly pushed Holmes and his particular brand of detective fiction into its absolute extreme. I found it to be so much more interesting, more haunting and really interrogate the readers.

Dibdin's Holmes and its world is as I said before, really gritty and a lot more grimy. It's part pastiche but also an homage. It's an examination of the Victorian society and parts of the aspect of the society that were never delved too deeply in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Watson here, is asking the question that readers such as myself and I believe many are asking, what in Sherlock Holmes that we are looking at, that readers are drawn to, that's so compelling. Sherlock is also used as a vessel to learn what's so fascinated about the Jack The Ripper murders in a subtle way. There's a subtle discussion of mental illness and addiction during the Victorian era and carried them into this Borgesian sideways perspective. A lot of this references to mental illness and addiction problem are there where Dibdin pointed to the original story from Doyle's era.

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story is a great love letter to the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with a complex look into Sherlock that was presented from the short stories and memoirs written by Doyle as well as the society during Holmes' time.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not consider myself a Sherlock Holmes purest, but I confess that a certain revelation in the story, when I came to it, did give me a few minutes of angst. I spent more than a few minutes thinking about whether I could accept the story line and keep reading. I admit, my first reaction was “No, this is not my Sherlock Holmes!” It has happened to me before.

I was enjoying the writing style. I thought Mr. Dibdin had caught the flavor Holmes and Watson very well. Everything Author Conan Doyle was there, including himself as a character. That was unexpected and, I thought, funny. Good one! Holmes and Watson helping Scotland Yard track down Jack the Ripper. Oh, and M is there too! Then, wham! I was so shocked at what I was being led to believe. I did not want to, but I had to find out. I kept reading.

I do not believe in spoiling a story for anyone else. I will not put the information into a spoiler. The reader must find out - on his/her own. I will not tell the reader “Do Not Read this book”.

Read it. Read it to the end. Appreciate the author, his imagination, and this pastiche into the Holmes and Watson story line. I did. I do.

June 11,2014. Edited to correct spelling of author's name...CLR

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

En 1972, tras 50 años de la muerte del doctor Watson, por fin se puede acceder a un documento inédito, con Sherlock Holmes como protagonista, cuyo contenido es altamente perturbador.

En el otoño de 1888, en Londres, se están cometiendo horribles crímenes de prostitutas. Esto no escapa a la inteligencia y perspicacia de Holmes, que cree ser el único en atrapar al culpable: Jack el Destripador.

‘La última aventura de Sherlock Holmes’ (The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, 1978), del británico Michael Dibdin, me ha gustado bastante. No era lo que me esperaba, pero me parece un buen pastiche holmesiano, eso sí, un tanto delirante. Está bien escrito (o traducido, por Carlos Gardini), y cabe destacar la atmósfera victoriana y esos barrios neblinosos de Whitechapel.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non spoiler review: Avoid. It broke my heart and felt really off.

Holmes as Jack the freaking Ripper? And then Watson was also addicted to cocaine? No thank you.

Recommended 12+ for Jack the Ripper-ness and Holmes' drug use.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book #: 34
Title: The Last Sherlock Holmes Story
Author: Michael Dibdin
Format: Paperback, 190 pages, library book sale
Pub Date: Published January 1996 (first published May 1st 1978)
Started: 8/31/2021 Ended: 8/31/2021
Awards: none
Categories:
A book set in multiple countries (PpSgr 29); A mystery or thriller (GrRds 42); A book related to "the end" (GrRds 52); Author with MORE Than FIVE books (BkHdr 19); Read In SUMMER (BkHdr 14);
No People On The Cover (BkHdr 22); FIRST-LAST-ETC-In The Title (BkHdr 29);
A-Z Title: L for Last
A-Z Author: D for Dibdin
Rating: * one out of five stars

I've always been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories written by authors other than A.C.D. So when I saw this in the recent library book sale, I grabbed it. That was a mistake. This is the WORST Sherlock Holmes 'tribute' I have ever read in my life! The only reason I'm rating it one star is because Goodreads doesn't allow zeros!

Inspector Lestrade has asked Sherlock for help tracking down a diabolical killer . . . Jack the Ripper! The author has done their homework. Events in the real world chronology fit between cases Sherlock and Watson worked on based on publication dates of the stories. The names of the victims are accurate. Of course, Moriarty is brought up as a possible suspect, but M is a behind the scenes mastermind while J is a hands on type of villian. Then about 25 pages or so from the end, the author reveals his 'plot twist' and I'm like YOU HAVE GOT TO BE F***ING KIDDING ME!!! The only reason I didn't throw the book against the wall is I was nearly through the book and I was hoping there was a plot twist to the plot twist. There wasn't. Don't bother reading this book if you like Sherlock Holmes!

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dibdin is a decent writer, and I found the writing itself rather enjoyable. That's the upside. But I absolutely detested this particular book because of the story and the premise. When I finished it, I wanted to throw it across the room, stomp on it, and then tear it into little pieces. I settled for fobbing it off to a used bookstore, where hopefully it languishes unread, instead of infecting the psyche of some other poor sod...

(This is a dup of my original review, which seems to have become associated with something else that isn't actually this book.)

[Rambling Raconteur · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/Q3azSzNkQ0s?si=ccVf6...

Much better on a reread. The characterizations of Victorian mental illness, including addiction, are strong and capture a brilliantly sidewise look at the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper is a long-standing pastiche, but this is one of the best and most terrifying, particularly Watson’s narration of nights in Whitechapel.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geez, that was upsetting, even though I could see the twist coming from a mile away. Very well-written, though.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love fanwork in part due to myriad of possibilities and interpretations one can find in them. However, as far as The Last Sherlock Holmes Story goes, I'm glad I got the paperback for $1 because I really didn't like it.


*spoilers for this 43 year old book*


This story is basically Sherlock Holmes as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the Jack the Ripper murders as the only suitably horrible crime that someone got away with to attribute to him. A lot of other reviews take issue with the interpretation of Holmes as a criminal in general, but that is not what I mind. I take issue with the nonsensical and pretty much immediate degradation of the character as a violent psychopath somehow barely functional with paranoia and violent impulses, yet still criminal mastermind enough to fool the entirety of the every law enforcement agency in multiple countries even as he destroyed the reputation and health of the only one who saw through the charade. Just in case the problem isn't clear: these two extremes are usually mutually exclusive, as the kind of planning and restraint required of the latter cannot be mustered for any length of time by an individual who is so paranoid that they haven't slept for more than a hour in two weeks. I could believe a story that made Holmes into Moriarty - an alter ego available so he could play the black or white "pieces" on the chessboard of society at will - but not this mostly inarticulate mass of tropes about the supposed violence of the mentally ill superimposed onto the character of Holmes.

That's not to say that The Last Sherlock Holmes Story doesn't have some really cool and interesting aspects to it. I like the play on the Reichenbach Falls scene at the end, where Watson is in the role of Holmes and a severely mentally ill and violent Holmes is in the role of Moriarty. The writing style throughout the book has a nice cadence and some interesting reflections on the characters and other philosophical topics related to them.

However, the book on a whole was...not enjoyable. I don't even say that in the 'it wasn't my cup of tea, but it might be yours' sense, either. I spent from chapter four onward wondering when the author was going to make up his damn mind about whether Holmes had a psychotic break at some point or was just fiendishly manipulative, because trying to do both at once was not working, and was unpleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. The last fifty pages or so was a snoozefest that I finished purely because I was almost done and if I finished the book it would count toward my reading challenge and I could - in good conscience, as a very rarely review books that I don't finish - leave this review. As it stands, The Last Sherlock Holmes is true to its title in one way and one way only: it is the very last piece of Holmesian fanwork that I would ever recommend to someone, and it is far more likely that I would give someone an anti-recommendation for it (basically, a 'don't read this book'). A good place to start for someone interested in Holmesian fanwork would be The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Ted Ricardi, which I found highly enjoyable both for its mimicry of ACD's Watsonian writing style and the similarity of the cases to that in the Holmesian canon (in that there are cases of petty crimes and others involving state secrets, but all are approached with intelligence and solved through application of logic).

[Trudy Nye · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a problem rating and reviewing this book, because there are certainly pros and cons. On the plus side, it is very well-written, captures ACD's voice quite well, and is a compelling story. On the minus side, it seems to be more of a mash-up of Sherlock Holmes and The Strange Case of Doctor Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Dibdin assassinates the character of Sherlock Holmes which will not sit well with true Holmes fans. It doesn't seem right to alter essential characteristics when you "borrow" a popular character for your own enrichment. As you can see by my one-star rating, I think the negatives far outweigh the positives.

[Greg Giordano · Rating 1 out of 5]

I prefer Holmes pastiches to be true to the spirit of ACD's creation. Having Holmes, the fighter of crime, turn out to be the arch-fiend Jack the Ripper, is too outrageous for words. In this book Professor Moriarity turns out to be nothing more than another extension of Holmes' depraved mind. Even to believe the good Dr. Watson could become a drug addict takes this book beyond the realm of belief.

I give the author credit for his creativity, but nothing more. There are few books I close and say "I wish I had not read that." This is one of those few books.

[S.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can well understand why some people hate this book. Personally I thought it was a great idea, and I'm 100% open to it if it's done well, but the spates of totally out-of-character moments (Watson speaking ill of women??) and the general execution overall resisted that effort. I will say I appreciated the unflinchingly brutal descriptions. If the author had concentrated more on character than being academically correct/respected (complete with borderline pompous footnotes), it may have fared better. As it stands, it's a bit hard to believe.

[Suica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review should contain only one word, that is -

BULLSHIT.

A boy whose name starts with Q spoiled this book's ending to me when I was at high school. So I did not check it out until now. What can I say? The ending, when I first heard it, was already bullshit enough. But now, after reading this and experiencing the writing (which was actually good) and the plot, I still think it is bullshit.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing idea to combine the most notorious unsolved crimes of Jack the Ripper with the most notorious crime solver, Sherlock Holmes. Made me want to research both more after finishing this book.

[Ade Couper · Rating 2 out of 5]

As those of you who have followed me on here will know, I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes, & have generally been well-disposed to authors who have followed on from Doyle. This book, however, is not a good one.

There are, to my mind, two big issues with this book. Firstly, it isn't really a Sherlock Holmes story. Very rarely is there anything of the "classic" Holmes story on display here, this story being more like one of Sax Rohmer's "Fu Manchu" stories. I can understand the author wanting to do a Sherlock vs Jack the Ripper story, but this would have been much better, given the way the story flows, with completely new characters as the investigating team.

Secondly, there is something quite unpleasant about using real murder victims in a fictional story. No matter that the victims were sex workers, they were still human beings, and to have them used in this way is, to me, quite distasteful.

I cannot recommend this I'm afraid.

[Susan Liston · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm currently reading a Holmes pastiche and it made me think of this book, which annoyed me because I've been trying for years to forget it. I see it got a fair number of positive reviews, but I would smack those people for finding something good about it, this was awful and gross and disgusting and SACRILEGE. There is a scene in this book I really resent being forced to picture as it's never gone away. Don't steal other people's characters and besmirch them in such a way. Make up your own, mister. Yuck, ick, NO NO NO!

[Lorena Suárez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Este es un libro corto, que se lee rápido, pero no me gustó para nada. La forma en que se llevó a cabo la investigación deja mucho que desear, desdibujó totalmente a los personajes originales y ese final aunque ingenioso, destrozó completamente la esencia de este tipo de historias y de la amistad de Sherlock y Watson. Esta versión alternativa de las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes fue horrible y es un insulto a la historia original y las víctimas de Jack El Destripador.

[Donne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was really not for me, the worst imagining of a Sherlock Holmes story I have ever read.

Sorry Mr Dibdin , but this fan just did not appreciate your story.

What a disappointment - don’t bother if you are a Holmes fan!!!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't even finish this one and I usually push through. Took me three nights to read almost 100 pages. I don't like the writing style.

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to explain why I didn’t like this book. It just kind of fell flat. I had no interest in seeing what would happen. At best a lame pastiche.

[Abi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why would you do this

[Mystery Theater · Rating 1 out of 5]

A vile attempt to be clever at the expense of a beloved character and his fan base.
Holmes fans should absolutely avoid this trash.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very special, almost unique book that's equally respected and hated by Sherlockians and Ripperlogists.
I had come to know about this book in an article published by respected historian Gautam Bhadra in the special 'Bookfair' edition of the Bengali periodical "Desh". Famous for his work in subaltern history and application of methods of literary deconstruction, Bhadra had sought to convey his personal idea of 'things falling apart' in that essay, without uttering a single spoiler or even divulging what this pastiche is all about.
The Ripper killings— that's what this book is about.
This book had been written almost fifty years ago. It had meticulously utilised various information and theories that were being discussed and relied upon at that time, to understand what exactly had happended in those cobbled streets and back-alleys of Whitechappel ninety years back.
Somehow, in a very frightening manner, Dibdin captured the authentic voice of Watson and utilised it to do something so terrible that no Sherlockian can ever, EVER write.
And yet, this narrative voice was incredibly close to Watson's voice that rather than refuting this book as utter rubbish, generations of Sherlockians have taken turns to attack and negate it. That is the biggest proof of the enduring appeal and strength of this work that straddles the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes and the very real, red & black world of Saucy Jack.
After reading it for the first time, I had buried myself in the classic penned by Philip Sugden. It had allowed me to get rid of this perverse, monstrous idea that Dibdin had placed in my mind.
But what an idea it is!
What an incredible, uncomparable book this one is!
Highly recommended. But if you are a Sherlockian, please take your blood-pressure related medication before you dive into this.
You've been warned. Now, enjoy.

[Matt Kuhns · Rating 2 out of 5]

I place this one in the category of books that were more than satisfactory to read, but that fell off sharply in satisfaction after the last page.

This one proved quite the page-turner. After finishing it, however, I was disappointed that the entire finale seemed ultimately anticlimactic. It seemed that some sort of final plot twist had to be on its way, and it never arrived.

Perhaps I simply had difficulty imagining that the whole conceit of the book would truly be one that, in all honesty, seems kind of silly.

(Honestly, pastiche authors: if you're going to hang your novel on the premise that The Final Problem and The Empty House add up to an unpersuasive whole, your replacement version ought to be substantially more convincing.)

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and astounding performance. I shall follow Dibdin's career with interest.