Sherlock Holmes Untold

Sherlock Holmes Untold #1-8

by Jonathan Barnes

England, 1913. The horizon is darkening with the prospect of war when Dr John Watson confronts embattled Prime Minister Jasper Cranfield with evidence of a crime that has been spread over decades.
A sequence of interconnected mysteries, from the fate of a music hall murderer, to a man driven mad by a worm unknown to science, to a bizarre and sinister society which meets in a furniture warehouse - these untold cases hint at something larger. What is the purpose of the enigmatic organisation which calls itself "The Lighthouse"
How much does the Prime Minister know? Is Sherlock Holmes truly retired? And what final confrontation do they face?

Audiobook

First published November 19, 2025

About the author

Jonathan Barnes, FBA (born 26 December 1942 in Wenlock, Shropshire) is an English scholar of ancient philosophy.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

See also Jonathan Barnes or Jonathan Barnes

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this release from Big Finish rather divides me. While I really, really enjoyed the 30 minutes a week release format. Seriously, this was really fun. I loved getting a new adventure each week. The performances are wonderful. And the production values are of the same that one would expect from Big Finish. So far so good. But the problem is the narrative itself. Going in I wasn’t sure quite to expect. Were these going to be 8 (or rather 6 as two are told in 2-parts) separate adventures as they are seemingly being presented? Or is this all tied together in some way, making it all one big adventure? It’s actually a little bit of both. The problem is that actually calling these 8 (or rather 6) adventures is misleading. Most of these are not completely resolved adventures and, in fact, they are not seemingly fully resolved by the end of the whole affair. So after finishing the last part, I found myself more than a bit frustrated. I will go through them again, perhaps in a year or so, but right now, after my first time through, I’m disappointed with the whole thing. But having said that, I’d also fully enjoy to have Big Finish give this format another go with a different “range.” Perhaps a Doctor Who story, or something set with the group from Class, or one with River Song (maybe that Road Trip with River Song and Jackie Tyler I would love to have).

The full story version, all 8-chapters together, also includes over an hour of bonus interviews and a 10-part “after show” series that are not included with the weekly releases. And now I have to add that if I had listened to the “after show” segments between the actual chapters, I think I would have enjoyed this much more. In fact, I’m so certain of this, that I’m giving this particular release an extra star. Definitely listen to the “after shows” while you going through this, good stuff!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four stars is mostly due to the fact that I've been hoping for more Sherlock Holmes from Big Finish since "Fiends of New York." So I'm glad to see it back. And I like this format (half-hour episodes released weekly) even if I did wait until they were all released before listening.

However . . . if I have a gripe it's that it never really felt like Sherlock Holmes was solving cases. Rather, it seemed like others were just providing him with the information, and things always felt sort of anti-climactic at the end of each episode. Even in the two-part finale, it seemed like we knew everything already, and then it was just a matter of convincing the baddie(s) to stop being bad. Not sure that we really saw justice delivered. I should probably listen again now that I know where it's all leading and see if that makes a difference.

However #2 . . . the closing scenes certainly suggest there's a follow-up in the works.