Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Darkness

by Tracy Revels, David Marcum (editor)

Sherlock Holmes is no stranger to humanity's most fiendish crimes. In fourteen classic stories, Holmes and Dr. Watson confront exceptionally challenging and notoriously vicious cases. Can guilt be used as a murder weapon? When does beauty become a deadly lure? Are even the most seemingly innocent members of society capable of killing in cold blood? Cloaked in terror and tragedy, dangerous and often bloody, these are adventures which plunge Holmes and Watson into the realm of nightmares.

244 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2024

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from MX Publishing to review.

This is the third in Tracy Revel's Tales trilogy. This time the stories are all steeped in delicious darkness. Thirteen excellent tales that show the dark, and often brutal, nature of Sherlock Holmes's cases. There isn't a dull story in the lot. I do have favourites.

The Adventure of the Folded Overcoat
The Adventure of the Old Explorer
The Adventure of the Haunted Portrait
The Adventure of the Silent Witness

These all stood out for me.

All in all, a fabulous book to end the trilogy. Though I do hope for more stories from Tracy soon.

Highly recommended.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buckle up! There are eight new tales featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson waiting for you. Within this book, you are going to be confronted by many different types of death, and there may be somewhere you feel slightly uncomfortable. Hang in there, and see where this book will go.

Each of these eight stories contains that little nugget that makes you think of the original Holmes stories. However, a few of the stories within this tome it is a bit of a stretch to find that nugget (other than the names). Those few stories were a little harder to read, as they didn't feel like true Holmseian stories. That is just my personal feel, but of course, each will read the book differently.

There is one story in particular, where a soon-to-be-bride is afraid for her life, based on some stories that she has heard about the place where she will be living. As she tries to figure it out, she asks Holmes to take a look. Now, the mystery that follows will be for you to read, but it was one of the best written stories in the book.

Overall, this was a decent read. With Sherlock Holmes, there are some strict lines to be followed, thinking through when these would have originally been penned. Several topics would have been taboo, as well as other topics not discussed in "polite" company. With a few of the stories here, there was that hop over the line, where the author stepped away from the more classic ideas. I think that for me took away some enjoyment from those few, but there was still plenty to enjoy in this book.

I encourage you to get and read this book! With eight stories to read, there is plenty of enjoyment to be found, as well as some different "vibes" from Holmes.