A Study in Murder: A Doctor Watson Thriller

Dr John Watson #3

by Robert Ryan

The year is 1917 and Major John Watson is held in a notorious prisoner of war camp deep in Germany, there as Medical Officer for the British prisoners. With the Allied blockade of Germany, food is perilously short in the camp and when a new prisoner is murdered all assume the poor chap was killed for his Red Cross parcel. Watson, though, isn't so sure. Something isn't quite what it seems and a creeping feeling of unease tells Watson there is more to this than meets the eye. And when an escape plot is apparently uncovered in his hut and he is sent to solitary confinement, he knows he has touched a nerve. If Watson is to reveal the heinous crimes that have occurred at the camp, he must escape before he is silenced for good. All he needs is some long-distance help from Sherlock Holmes...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, 20th Century, Fiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

aka Tom Neale

Robert Ryan was born in Liverpool but moved to London when he was eighteen to attend university. He lectured in natural sciences for several years before moving into journalism in the mid-1980s, first with The Face and then the Dylan Jones-edited Arena. During this time, he also wrote for The Daily Telegraph, US GQ, US Conde Nast Traveler, Esquire and The Sunday Times.

Robert Ryan lives in North London with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Mary-Ellen Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-workings of the Holmes and Watson partnership have become a literary fashion. Robert Ryan’s latest work (the third in the series) offers a thrilling tale. It is set in 1917, during which time Watson is being held captive in a German POW camp. Following a suspicious death, the camp authorities call upon Watson to investigate; but when others die Watson suspects that the deaths are not of natural causes. As he channels what he has learned from Holmes, he begins to ruffle feathers through his investigations and it becomes clear that he needs to watch his back. Meanwhile, the game is afoot to rescue Watson, spelling certain danger for Holmes.

Ryan weaves his magic in exploring the famous relationship of the duo; working independently to each other, they are both moving towards the same end.

Full of suspense and intrigue, this book will delight fans of the Conan Doyle canon and newcomers alike, not only for its literary inter-textuality but also for its strong historicity.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watson is back, but stuck in a prisoner of war camp. The story opens with a seance, its relevance is not made clear to us at first, but suffice to say that it leads to Watson being involved in a rather unusual crime. The plot gets more complex, and forces outside the camp move towards stopping the investigation from continuing. This being the war, and Watson being behind enemy lines he finds his own life in almost continual danger. Holmes makes a reappearance,along with Churchill and Watson's stalwart companion Mrs Gregson. The denouement when it comes is full of surprises, and helps make this a thoroughly entertaining page-turner of a novel.

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Watson is a prisoner of war in 1916 Germany where he attempts to solve what may have been murder at a séance involving other prisoners. In the meantime, others, including Sherlock Holmes, attempt to have him freed.

This is an exciting adventure story - implausible, but not risible - and a lot of fun, although with a tragic twist at the end.

[RoseB612 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Třetí díl série a po slabším druhém dílu opět velmi dobrá knížka. Vrací se zde několik postav z prvního i druhého dílu, rozběhnuté děje do sebe začínají zapadat a také se poprvé (alespoň co jsem si vědoma) více pracuje s odkazy na původními Doylovy texty. Ostatně v originále se kniha jmenuje A Study in Murder, na Studii v šarlotové (A Study in Scarlet) se v ní odkazuje opakovaně a jeden z hlavních hybatelů děje je postava z Poslední poklony Sherlocka Holmese. Nejsem zase takový znalec Holmese, takže tohle mi v předchozích dílech chybělo (pokud tam tedy nějaké výraznější odkazy na holmesovský kánon byly).

Značná část děje se odehrává v německých zajateckých táborech a autorovi se podařilo jejich atmosféru vykreslit stejně skvěle jako frontové linie v prvním dílu. Samotná zápletka táborových úmrtí je hodně zajímavá a její finální rozuzlení je opravdu nečekané a šokující - za to u mě získává knížka body navíc. Boční linie s výměnou Watsona do Holandska, záchrannou misí atd. je už taková třešnička na dortu. A to že autor zabil jednu z hlavních a také nejsympatičtějších postav bylo opravdu nečekané. Ale i Holmes byl u Doyla mrtvý a nakonec se objevil - na což se ostatně v tomto díle opakovaně naráží, takže kdo ví, jak to vlastně bude pokračovat.

Nečekaná zápletka, zajímavé prostředí, pomrkávání na čtenáře předchozích dílů i Arthura Conana Doyla - prostě pohodová knížka, která potěšila, takže u mě zasloužené čtyři hvězdičky. A teď jen jestli si počkat na překlad čtvrtého dílu nebo si ho pořídit anglicky.

Kontext: Děti jsou na týden u babiček, tak je doma příšerný klid a víc času na čtení :-)

První věta: "Někdy mrtví mluvili příliš."

Poslední věta: " "Pošlete ho dál, prosím." "

[Rob Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but I was ready to put it down each time I picked it up. It didn't help that this is the 3rd book in the series and that I didn't know that when I started reading it. It felt like a conclusion of a story that I was uneducated about and I felt like I should have been far more invested in the characters than I was. The title was misleading, the mystery was in the backgrounds and it ultimately was an unsatisfying read. I am sure if I had read book 1 first, I would have been far more invested in the series by now but unfortunately I did not and now I have really no desire to go back to the beginning.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never felt fully engaged with this story - maybe because I discovered that it was the third in a series. However, the plotting didn't hold my attention and I kept on feeling that I was missing out on some important background information. In the end I did finish it - but then felt that I had wasted my time.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I still enjoy this series I do feel this was possibly a weaker book - more 3 1/2 stars. I loved the depiction of the camp and the mystery within the camp but felt overall there was just far too much going on and that tying everything together at the end was a bit forced.

[PETER SYMONDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent one

Really enjoyed this. I'm a big fan of the original Holmes stories and these have a similar feel while also being exciting and page turning. They'd adapt for TV pretty well too.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recreates the period and personas quite well... but a little too complicated and too full of gratuitous violence ...

[Agnesxnitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the previous novel - The Dead Can Wait - we left Dr/Major Watson badly burned and in a German Field hospital after cracking the case and confronting the antagonist in No Man's Land.
Since then, he has been transferred to a German POW camp where he has been tending the other prisoners and biding his time.
A prisoner exchange is being arranged, and as he is of the age and profession deemed appropriate to hand back, Watson prepares to leave. But an old case casts a long shadow, and the German Agent/Spy, Von Bork - from the last Holmes story, 'His Last Bow' - is on the prisoner exchange committee and gets Watson pulled out at the last minute in revenge for the Spy's humiliation at Holmes and Watson's hands.
Von Bork's revenge continues, as he gets Watson and his batman from the camp transferred to one of the worst camps further within Germany. On the way there, Watson is greeted by Von Bork who takes the opportunity to rub salt in the wound and then has Watson's batman shot in cold blood.
Watson arrives at the new camp, bleak, cold, where prisoners are charged twice the going rate for supplies and food outside of their budget is mostly sawdust and rat meat. Watson is greeted with suspicion and distrust, has his belonging stolen and then is thrown into solitary confinement for possession of an escape plan map he knew nothing about.
Released from the prison within the prison, the Camp Commandant, who learnt his trade of salesmanship in America before the war, tells Watson that he had been sent with a dossier of Watson's being a spy, an agent provocateur and generally someone who was not supporting the British effort in the conflict - a troublemaker and rabble rouser. The Camp Commandant, Mad Bill, now makes it known that is not true and sends Watson on his way back to his fellow prisoners.
His fellow inmates apologise to him, and Watson discovers an escape plan which makes him feel distinctly uneasy - and begins his investigation.
Meanwhile, back in London, Georgina Gregson is working for a POW Welfare Parcels Association, trying to find out where Watson is. Her tenacity knows no bounds and she sweet talks a senior Army officer into helping her - and ends up involving the deadly Miss Pillbody, aka Ilse Brandt, a Sie Wolfe/Sea Wolf - German Naval Intelligence Agent and trained killer.
The third strand is, of course, the Great Detective. While Watson investigates and does his best to survive a punishing German winter in his POW Camp, and Mrs Gregson seeks a way to free him, Holmes has been approached by Von Bork who offers a bargain, albeit a devilish one.
Von Bork will ensure Watson's freedom and return to Britain under one exchange deal - Holmes must take his place.....
A many convoluted turn of plot and location, this third novel in the Dr Watson thriller series had me race through it again.
Another library book so being returned this weekend, hoping I can find the 4th (and currently last in the series) novel....

[Josh Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Study in Murder is a disappointment, to say the least. The pacing continues to be spot-on perfect, the characters are rich and vivid, and the descriptions of the First World War, this time in a German POW camp, make you feel like you're really there. But that's all it has going for it.

The mystery this time around in this mystery novel is as thin and shallow as a Dan Brown yarn, with a major plot-hole getting brushed aside by none other than Mycroft Holmes as just a coincidence. It's solved too quickly and easily, yet is overly-elaborate and doesn't make much sense, and isn't even the core of the book. Instead, the heart of the book is about getting Watson out of a POW camp, with the mystery feeling like it was begrudgingly tacked on to appease Sherlock fans.

The biggest problem however is the ending. With it's rushed state and silly plot twist, and the fact that the entire story was leading up to this one moment, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Without spoiling too much, a major character in the last two books (and barely in this one) and a major character from the first book returning for this one both die. I have no problem with major characters dying, especially in a book about war. But - and I reiterate this - they're major characters, and their deaths should both serve a purpose beyond shocking the reader, and be given reverence. That is not the case with this ending. For one of the characters, we're not told they're killed until the second to last page. For the other, it too isn't acknowledged until the last few pages, and even then, nobody seems to care all that much. It's barely mentioned, and nobody seems all that upset about it. It makes what had been a fantastic character and makes them feel utterly meaningless and pointless.

The Dr. Watson at War series has been fantastic so far, and I've been a huge advocate for it. It's a shame to see Robert Ryan has so clearly run out of steam by just the third book. Hopefully the fourth (and so far final) book in the series, The Sign of Fear, will turn things back around, but without this major character, that seems unlikely.

[Chandrayan Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's tough to rate this book. I don't quite remember how I came across it - someone gifted or left me this, in all probability - and it sat on my TBR list for over a year. Now that I've finally read it, I must confess that I am both impressed and disappointed.
Apparently this book is part of a series, but not having read the earlier two entries, I am in no position to compare it to them. On its own, it stands as a nice but ultimately unfulfilling novel. I badly wanted to love it, because the concept seemed so very original, but the execution was a little off.
"Uneven" is what comes to mind when I think back on it. Some plot threads were too simple, some were overly complicated, some parts were poorly written and edited, while some were literary marvels.
The plot itself, without giving away any spoilers, was unique, and resolved itself in a satisfactory final third. However, while this is meant to be a John Watson novel, it ultimately felt as if he were just along for the ride, without having too much sway over events.
This book is the first that has left me so conflicted. It was good, and in some parts very good, but it was inconsistent and I cannot help but feel a little disappointed that such a promising premise did not have a more exciting execution.
In the end, when it comes to A Study in Murder, the good outweighs the bad, and it was well-written enough to make me want to read the earlier novels. In that regard, it was a success.
P.S. Goodreads does not have a .5 rating mechanism, or else I would've given it 3.5 stars.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been a little disappointed with the second in this series, I approached this one with a little trepidation. My fears were ungrounded. I felt it was closer in spirit to Ryan’s first Dr. Watson novel and a return to the gripping plotting of that book. This book has very little of Holmes in it, but that was not really a problem - in fact, it was nice spending time with Watson again without Ryan’s Holmes. The focus on Watson and Gregson, with little attention paid to Holmes was the main reason I liked this book as well as well as the first one. The way the book took elements of Doyle's "His Last Bow" also worked well in this context. The historical elements of WWI prisoners was also intriguing. did feel that Ryan’s bringing back the sniper from Book 1 of the series was a little unnecessary, and seemed to be a somewhat duplicate of the plan Mrs. Gregson dreams up to save Watson, using a captured German, in her case, the evil spy, Mrs. Pillbody. The book stayed with me for several days after I finished, although that was mainly because I found the ending not disappointing but disheartening. An expected deus ex machine and a surprising death saddened me and I did wish Ryan had gone a different way at the end.

[Julie Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really enjoyable read. Unfortunately for me, I hadn't realised that this was the third in the series and so read it first. It worked well as a standalone book which is a testament to how well written it was and how well the story appeared self-contained. However, having now read books 1 and 2, I can see how well this book closes the loop with bringing in aspects from the first two books which enhances the story even further. Therefore, my biggest tip is to make sure you read the first two books before this one to get the most out of it!

I felt the story was well constructed and in the spirit of Holmes and the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories but it wasn't an attempt to directly emulate those which was a wise choice. The voice of Holmes appears throughout the book and is well captured but this is very much the story of Dr Watson post the Baker Street days and the book does a good job of making nods to the past whilst not getting bogged down in nostalgia.

If you are a fan of the Holmes stories and of historical murder/mystery/detective fiction more generally then I think you will enjoy this read. I certainly did.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is set during World War 1 and Watson is in a Prisoner of War camp. Due to his age he is due to be exchanged with a German prisoner but a malicious act by a villain, whom Holmes and Watson had thwarted several years earlier, means Watson's exchange is stopped and he is transferred to a much harsher camp. There is a mystery in this new camp which by the end of the book Watson solves. Meanwhile in England someone is trying to engineer another prisoner exchange for Watson by using unofficial methods. Then to complicate things further there is a plan to swap Watson for Holmes as this would be a great propaganda coup for Germany. Holmes is prepared to sacrifice himself even though the British establishment is determined to stop him.

So, an unbelievable story with a few inconsistencies in the telling but this is actually an exciting read. A lot of people die and there are some pretty awful villains. Holmes hardly appears at all. I enjoyed reading this and will look out for the other books in this series.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. I took off half a star because of the repeated references to St Barts. Nobody associated with St Bartholomew's hospital would call it anything other than it's full title or Barts.

For what it's worth I doubt that Mrs Gregson, even in her own head, would use the adjective menstrual. She was a Victorian woman, a VAD, whose limited nursing training would have been directed solely at helping men. She would most likely have used the colloquial vocabulary of the day. I was unclear whether this part of the story was essential to the plot or simply added for shock value.

Those points aside, I found it a disappointing read. The best parts were when Watson was writing an account of another case. That did have a real flavour of the original characters.

[Outlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I managed to get this at the library and it's the best yet in the series. I love the little "voice of Sherlock" in Watson's mind, and the last chapter was so well written. A great story of WW1 horrors, spies, POW camps, trickery and dastardly villains - perfect !

I will be buying the series, I have just ordered them but I was disappointed to find out that I cannot buy a paper copy of The Case of the 6 Watson's, and, as I don't want an ebook or kindle how can I add it to my collection ? Come on publishers oldies like me (69) will still buy real book.

[Jota Houses · Rating 2 out of 5]

La tercera aventura del Dr. Watson en la Gran Guerra no resulta tan interesante como las anteriores. A un caso interesante para Watson le añaden toda una serie de tramas dignas de los hermanos Marx para forzar la aparición de antiguos personajes. La suspensión de la credulidad se desmorona ante tal acumulación de despropósitos y resulta difícil mantener el interés. Como extra un relato clásico apócrifo de Sherlock Holmes que no está del todo mal.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weakest Book so far.I really enjoyed the first two in the series but in this one I'm having problems connecting to Watson. Its just so very slow. Also the supernatural aspect of it is a bit off putting. There is a decent plot and really good fleshed out characters but its just not grabbed me. On reading the blurb I thought that this would be the best one yet sadly not. Will continue on with the series though. Narration great..

[Jill Rebryna]

As indicated by the time it took me to read this book, it is not easy. Ryan has managed to submerse the reader in the story's setting, and as it is World War One and some of the action takes place in prison camps, it is not an easy place to be. However, there is also John Watson. Every bit of him. That was my difficulty, because when I first read the Sherlock Holmes stories, John was my favourite character. He still is. For those fans who read Doyle because of Watson, this book is for you.

[Lauren Tremble · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly this book didn’t intrigue me at all - every time I picked it up I wanted to put it down again, I found that I was forcing myself to read it so I could finish it. Didn’t feel a connection to the characters and therefore what happened at the end didn’t draw out any emotional response from me.

I do have to say I haven’t read the first two, and it’s possible I may have enjoyed more if I did.

[Andrea Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book immersed in World War One history. As a prisoner of war Watson is immersed in a murder whilst trying to survive himself against enemies new and old. He knows how Holmes worked but can he manage without his mentor. I liked the style and look forward to reading some more.

[Adéla Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Znovu výborný příběh s doktorem Watsonem, autor zredukoval tolik pobočných linek jako tomu bylo v díle předchozím a kniha se hned lépe četla. Přečetla jsem ji téměř najednou, kniha se v podstatě četla úplně sama. :-)

[RhiannaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant finale for this series.

[Blasr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy story about Dr Watson in a book which also tells me some historic facts in a non-patronising manner. Clever plotting meant I did not guess the endings (plural used deliberately).

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent series

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this as much as Dead man's land. But it was a decent mystery.

[Carys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but also too long

[Jan Madden · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good thriller but a bit heavy on the military descriptions. So upset that Mrs Grayson doesn’t make it 😢

[Nikee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5