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John + Sherlock #2
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Paper Journal
A TALE OF MURDER, BLACKMAIL, BETRAYAL AND LOVE.
It is nearing the turn of the 22nd century, and Sherlock Holmes isn't having much luck trying to be a detective. Social networking has morphed into a single, centralised, government-linked platform called The Archive. Every citizen has a Personal Archive File, which records all the significant (and most of the insignificant) moments of their lives and is open to everyone else. Birth records, school records, medical and financial records (virtually everything anyone could want to know about a person) are readily accessible to anyone who takes the time to look someone up. In a world that is ostensibly without secrets, what use are the keen deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes when they rarely reveal anything about a person a quick Archive search wouldn't? Add to that the recent development of a new crime-solving computer program, and human detectives are on the cusp of extinction. Unable to make a living at his chosen profession, Sherlock often falls into despair and takes cocaine and morphine to quiet his mind.
Sherlock takes on a case involving a prolific blackmailer, and the lengths to which he goes to resolve the matter reveal a dark, incredibly manipulative side of him that leaves John doubting whether he ever knew his dear friend at all. The consequences of Sherlock’s actions unfold with catastrophic results that threaten to destroy his relationship with John, which both men are coming to realise is deeply felt romantic love.
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Paper Journal is a clever re-imagining of some of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories that expertly balances an action-packed adventure set in an eerily familiar dystopian future with a delicate love story.
It is nearing the turn of the 22nd century, and Sherlock Holmes isn't having much luck trying to be a detective. Social networking has morphed into a single, centralised, government-linked platform called The Archive. Every citizen has a Personal Archive File, which records all the significant (and most of the insignificant) moments of their lives and is open to everyone else. Birth records, school records, medical and financial records (virtually everything anyone could want to know about a person) are readily accessible to anyone who takes the time to look someone up. In a world that is ostensibly without secrets, what use are the keen deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes when they rarely reveal anything about a person a quick Archive search wouldn't? Add to that the recent development of a new crime-solving computer program, and human detectives are on the cusp of extinction. Unable to make a living at his chosen profession, Sherlock often falls into despair and takes cocaine and morphine to quiet his mind.
Sherlock takes on a case involving a prolific blackmailer, and the lengths to which he goes to resolve the matter reveal a dark, incredibly manipulative side of him that leaves John doubting whether he ever knew his dear friend at all. The consequences of Sherlock’s actions unfold with catastrophic results that threaten to destroy his relationship with John, which both men are coming to realise is deeply felt romantic love.
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Paper Journal is a clever re-imagining of some of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories that expertly balances an action-packed adventure set in an eerily familiar dystopian future with a delicate love story.
- GenresRomance
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2016
5 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Harrison Kitteridge
6 books8 followersWhen I was a child, I wanted to be a detective, and I learned to read upside down, track people using their reflections in shop windows and take fingerprints using talcum powder and sello (scotch) tape. (My parents were smart enough to keep me away from Plaster of Paris.) I even started a Young Detective’s Club (yes, I was that kid). We disbanded after a few weeks because of a dearth of cases. I've never lost my interest in crime-solving and there is always room in my life for another police procedural. So, I suppose it’s fitting that my first novel is my take on the world’s most famous fictional detective. I am both an old school Sherlockian and a Johnlock shipper.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 7, 2018
How does this gem of a book have so few ratings? Why aren't more people reading it? There must be at least a million Johnlock shippers out there! (I'm pretty sure I'm not even exaggerating, judging from the immense amounts of fanfiction the contemporary BBC adaptation alone has inspired.)
Utterly delightful and exceptionally well written, this clever futuristic take on the characters and cases of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson combines a nicely plotted and very "Sherlockesque"-feeling mystery with an exquisite romance that feels very much in character. An altogether wonderful read!
Utterly delightful and exceptionally well written, this clever futuristic take on the characters and cases of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson combines a nicely plotted and very "Sherlockesque"-feeling mystery with an exquisite romance that feels very much in character. An altogether wonderful read!
April 1, 2018
Though it is set in the future, this Sherlock Holmes story doesn't forget its origins, and it mentions the majority of the traditional canon stories, creating a nice sense of continuity; some of those references are very clever and with some funny spins on them. I love Kitteridge's prose: it flows smoothly and it has some very nice, very charming turns of phrase.
July 1, 2016
Sadly, I'm not very eloquent when it comes to reviews, which is the reason why I almost never write one. This time I will, however, because I've become very picky when it comes to books, and this one is a hidden gem that I loved to pieces - and would thus wish would get the attention it deserves.
It's a beautiful love story between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson that made me think of the first season of BBC's "Sherlock" (the best out of all three, imho), while set against the background of a set-in-the-future Alternate Universe where The Archive (think Facebook & Co.) have entered into an unholy matrimony with the government, with mandatory regular posts about every little detail of a person's life (including health & finances), to the point that our current fears about "den gläsernen Menschen" (transparent citizen) seem like a mere joke.
And yes, even something like the Archive does not make a brilliant consulting detective obsolete, so there are crimes to be solved, but they are inextricably linked with the evolving relationship between Sherlock and John.
The writing was great and had me in a reading flow the whole time, - at least after I had gotten used to the authors excessive (?) use of "10 Dollar words" that seemed a little too old fashioned and at odds with the setting (as if the story and characters were BBC "Sherlock" but the linguistic usage more classic Arthur Conan Doyle at times, if that makes sense), at least to me, but YMMV.
The romance was very believable, 'in-character' and developed at an unhurried, just right pace that made me feel the love between the two - opposed to simple sexual attraction where characters need to 'ravish' each other every chapter as if that were mandatory to make the reader believe that those two characters are really in love with each other.
I wish I could write a better review, but in short: I loved the book, devoured it in record time and I will definitely buy the sequel, that - thank God! - is already in the works.
It's a beautiful love story between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson that made me think of the first season of BBC's "Sherlock" (the best out of all three, imho), while set against the background of a set-in-the-future Alternate Universe where The Archive (think Facebook & Co.) have entered into an unholy matrimony with the government, with mandatory regular posts about every little detail of a person's life (including health & finances), to the point that our current fears about "den gläsernen Menschen" (transparent citizen) seem like a mere joke.
And yes, even something like the Archive does not make a brilliant consulting detective obsolete, so there are crimes to be solved, but they are inextricably linked with the evolving relationship between Sherlock and John.
The writing was great and had me in a reading flow the whole time, - at least after I had gotten used to the authors excessive (?) use of "10 Dollar words" that seemed a little too old fashioned and at odds with the setting (as if the story and characters were BBC "Sherlock" but the linguistic usage more classic Arthur Conan Doyle at times, if that makes sense), at least to me, but YMMV.
The romance was very believable, 'in-character' and developed at an unhurried, just right pace that made me feel the love between the two - opposed to simple sexual attraction where characters need to 'ravish' each other every chapter as if that were mandatory to make the reader believe that those two characters are really in love with each other.
I wish I could write a better review, but in short: I loved the book, devoured it in record time and I will definitely buy the sequel, that - thank God! - is already in the works.
January 14, 2022
Warning potential spoilers
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*This is a marvel of a book, an original and enjoyable take on the Sherlock holmes story that was exceedingly well written and throughly enhoyable. It keeps to the tradition of the original stories, twisting the tales slightly and adding a futurestic and utterly believble slant on things.
The charachters were amazingly portrayed in their new futurestic setting the persoanalities amended quite nicely to fit into the new setting while retaining all the old familiar traits from the source material.
The prose is wonderful. engaging and challenging with a quirky nod to the origianl.
one flaw would be the rotren treatment of mary and frankly the protrayal of women in general in the story but that is all part of the plot so okay.
The other flaw is that it porports to take an LGBTQI slant on the relationship between the two Mc's and to be honest i didn't feel the story did this aspect justice. There were more 'romantic' interactions between sherlock and mary than there was Sherlock and Watson.
that said i hope there will be a third novel as i would love to see the two together properly. working and living together as a couple. i want to know how watson copes with Sherlock's personality given the new dynamic between them. i just want more.
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*This is a marvel of a book, an original and enjoyable take on the Sherlock holmes story that was exceedingly well written and throughly enhoyable. It keeps to the tradition of the original stories, twisting the tales slightly and adding a futurestic and utterly believble slant on things.
The charachters were amazingly portrayed in their new futurestic setting the persoanalities amended quite nicely to fit into the new setting while retaining all the old familiar traits from the source material.
The prose is wonderful. engaging and challenging with a quirky nod to the origianl.
one flaw would be the rotren treatment of mary and frankly the protrayal of women in general in the story but that is all part of the plot so okay.
The other flaw is that it porports to take an LGBTQI slant on the relationship between the two Mc's and to be honest i didn't feel the story did this aspect justice. There were more 'romantic' interactions between sherlock and mary than there was Sherlock and Watson.
that said i hope there will be a third novel as i would love to see the two together properly. working and living together as a couple. i want to know how watson copes with Sherlock's personality given the new dynamic between them. i just want more.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews