Who Killed Sherlock Holmes?

Shadow Police #3

by Paul Cornell

The ghost of Sherlock Holmes is dead, but who will solve his murder?

The Great Detective's ghost has walked London's streets for an age, given shape by people's memories. Now someone's put a ceremonial dagger through his chest. But what's the motive? And who - or what - could kill a ghost?

When policing London's supernatural underworld, eliminating the impossible is not an option. DI James Quill and his detectives have learnt this the hard way. Gifted with the Sight, they'll pursue a criminal genius - who'll lure them into a Sherlockian maze of clues and evidence. The team also have their own demons to fight. They've been to Hell and back (literally) but now the unit is falling apart . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Horror, Audiobook

265 pages, ebook

First published May 19, 2016

About the author

Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.

via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A proper brilliant and imaginative take on Sherlock Holmes by the talented writer that is Paul Cornell. This is the first of the Shadow Police series that I have read and it meant that I had difficulties at the beginning tuning in and getting a handle on the story. However, that ceased to be a problem as I got into the book. There is a special sighted police team that is fractured and damaged from previous events. Quill has been to hell and returned a broken man fighting for his sanity, Lofthouse has a husband possessed by an evil character threatening and controlling her, Ross and Costain are struggling to get on and then we have Kevin, who is trying against the odds to keep the team united.

The team come across the horrific murder of the ghost of Sherlock Holmes with a ceremonial dagger. Here fictitious characters assume real like characteristics if enough people believe in them! The investigation leads the team on a grotesque, dark and harrowing trail where the body count is ever rising. They encounter conundrums, gods, Sherlock actors galore, powerful magical objects, and threats to the entire population of London. Ross searches for her lost happiness. Lofthouse, aided by a mysterious key, hunts for her lost memories whilst trying to protect her husband and her team. The range of twists and turns are mindblowing! The Shadow team are tested to their ultimate limits whilst at the same time fighting their personal demons. There is a brilliant and clever criminal mind behind the murders!

This is a uniquely intelliigent and upside down take on Sherlock Holmes and tests our perceptions of Sherlock. This is a novel where you are pleased to see Moriarty. Fantastic, multilayered and ingenious story from Paul Cornell. Cannot recommend it enough! Thanks to Pan MacMillan for an ARC via netgalley.

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was told this one was the best one so far and as much as I have loved all three books I'd have to agree. Lots of loose ends tied up, explanations of certain bits. I can't wait for the next one

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read, great world building and character expansion.

[بهزاد قدیمی · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first of the shadow police series that I read (and would be the last one too).

I liked the idea of London under the curse, also fictional characters becoming real if enough people believe in them (similarity to "small gods" of course!)

However, the downsides of the novel were really annoying:

Character development sucked so bad! Add to it that we have an unreasonable shift of narrators within a chapter to add so-called "cliffhanger excitement" which it did not. It just adds a lot of unnecessary confusion and delayed connection of the reader to the characters. The connection was not established for me by the very end third of the novel. This is a critical amateur mistake from the writer.

The structure of the novel seems to be spontaneous and without proper planning. Chapters were placed wherever authors were tired of continuing the ongoing act. Just like that! He would jump from one scene to another and used a flashback just once to inform you very boldly what is the worldbuilding idea. It was really annoying to be treated like this as a hardcore fan of dark fantasy reads.

The plot was not logically deciphered. Murders' mysteries were not fully explained and I could not accept the last-minute long paragraph of "the killer" self-expression of the whole incentive and murders plot.

Language also sucked. I am not a native English speaker, but I could understand that is more like talking comes to writing rather than spending some time on each word and placing them aesthetically. Poor job by the author! I would imagine though, that the language would have some fun for downtown Londoners.

What else do I have to say about it? I liked the genre motifs arrangement. That was a really good part of the novel. It shows to me that the author really knows his genre, which was also clear from clever references to the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Too much fun to see a proper "fan-fiction" work based on Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary work.

I have given it 3 stars. Mostly because I really appreciated the genre motifs in the novel. I could see the cursed mystical dagger, cults of superstitious members, dark detective stories and of course gloomy London and its citizen.

Last bitter word, what is this homosexuality-minority trend in all the recent novels? It does not buy an author any good if it is so superficial.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is the third book in the Shadow Police series who deal with supernatural crimes in London.

I love this series but you really need to concentrate to follow it! I would also recommend that you start at the beginning of the series else this will be extra hard to get your head round.

As an added bonus this one includes Sherlock Holmes - yay!

I struggled to get through this on kindle but only because I was in a reading slump - I switched to audio and plowed through it. The narrator is excellent so I highly recommend this version.

More of these please!

[M F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was... very odd. Considerably more mind-bending than the first two, in my opinion, although that might just be because Sherlock Holmes is a more familiar subject to me and therefore I've got more of a mental picture of the versions and ideas Cornell was not-quite-referencing throughout the book. That said, it was slightly less creepy than the second book, I think: more straightforward murder, even if it was being committed by something entirely un-straightforward.

I do love how intensely "London" these books are: how they rely upon stories and history of London to create their stories, and couldn't happen anywhere else. It gives them a strong sense of place and while I don't know all of the locations in the book, I knew enough of them to feel grounded in a mental picture of the world the story was existing within.

I also like that this series has some subtly queer characters -- that is to say, it's explicitly stated that they're gay or trans or whatever, but it's not a major aspect of their storyline, and while they do address some of the challenges they face, that doesn't become their entire plotline. Which is always refreshing, you know? Just the acknowledgement that hey, queer people exist, that's a thing.

Some dark moments in this, and some major challenges currently unresolved -- I'll be looking out for the next book when it comes out to see whether they've managed to fix any of them...

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Should have read the first two books in the series first, but still enjoyed it.

Bit of Rivers of London meets Neverwhere, plus Sherlock in his different film and TV versions.

I'll certainly read the other books in the series, but in order of publication. 😁

[Booniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is third in the Shadow Police books, a series in which a team of coppers gifted with the Sight use it to solve supernatural crimes. It’s been a long wait to the third book, but it’s well worth it.

Sherlock Holmes has been brought to ghostly life by the London’s consciousness. His ghost has been murdered, and in case you were wondering, murdered ghosts do not apparently come back as ghosts. As the team quips, the game is afoot.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes is a twisting and intricately crafted mystery worthy of the super sleuth himself, whichever incarnation you believe in. As ever, we switch perspectives between each member of the team, each of whom have their own personal quests to deal with on top of finding Holmes’s killer; Quill is battling the mental health demons which have tormented him since his return from Hell, Ross must retrieve her future happiness from an auction; Lofthouse is on a very personal mission to save her marriage in a very unconventional way, and former dodgy copper Costain is on his continuing mission for redemption. It’s great to see there is significant fallout following events from the previous two books being not only acknowledged but thoroughly explored, seeing as said events would be enough to mess up the most balanced of people, which our team never really were to start with. Of them all, Sefton seems to be dealing with things the best, but then he has the adorably steadfast Joe to support him while he continues to experiment with the Sight.

Once again, Cornell gives us a high concept brain teaser populated with a wonderfully diverse and oddly charming cast of characters who grapple with their personal demons as well as London’s dark supernatural underbelly. This is also probably the only urban fantasy to contain a smutty Cockfosters joke, for which I will always hold the series close to my heart. We also, finally, get some answers to questions posed way back at the end of London Falling.

Now for the long wait to book 4.

(Disclaimer: I am friends with Paul, and he always thinks I’m really kind about his books. I’m not though, if I didn’t love them I just wouldn’t read them ;) )

[Alex Sarll]

A series of murders mirror the London killings in the Holmes stories. Plus, in a London where ghosts speak more to the city's memory than the facts of history, Holmes' phantom has itself been found dead. And the small, fraying police team who deal with the metropolis' supernatural side need to solve the crimes despite not even being sure what it means to murder a ghost. It's a brilliant set-up for a procedural horror, but I didn't find this Shadow Police novel as satisfying as its two predecessors. Partly, that's deliberate - as the coppers note, many of the mainstays of Holmesian detection are bunkum: once you eliminate the impossible, there are still lots of possible answers, mostly incorrect. And in this haunted London, how can they even be sure what's impossible? But at times the degree to which the team's efforts feel futile starts to get a bit much, and one particular blind alley feels too reminiscent of a similar trick in the previous volume. Yes, they're dark books, in which evil is ascendant, partial victories come at terrible cost, and London has become one colossal trap. But in a detective story, I still need some sense that in some tiny way, the detective is achieving something.

Beyond the central plot, though, I was much more engaged. The three versions of Sherlock all being filmed at the same time, and their respective stars, are more disguised than eg Neil Gaiman in The Severed Streets, yet still recognisable enough for Cornell to make some salient points about the current appetite for reboots and familiar franchises. The ongoing story of the team's efforts to work out what became of their predecessors, and how occult London works, provides some satisfactory answers while still leaving sufficient mysteries for subsequent volumes. And the leads, their interactions and their separate crosses to bear are still emphatically characters I want to follow, even when their case sometimes feels as frustratingly unending and hydra-headed as real work.

[Trelawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. The books are never a quick read for me because Cornell's vision of his London is so vividly imagined and jam-packed full of detail that I sometimes have to take a minute to figure of what is happening and how it relates to what came before. This is neither a criticism nor a drawback. This London is real and to inhabit it is to experience a sensory overload. This installment sees Quill trying to keep a grasp on his sanity in the wake of his sojourn in Hell, Ross needs to find a way to win back her happiness, and Costain is wracked with guilt over decisions he made. Only Sefton seems on target which is just as well because he has just received a plea from Sherlock Holmes in a dream. Sefton rushes to 221B Baker Street to find the ghost of Sherlock sprawled on the floor of his study with an ornate knife in his chest. So who killed Sherlock? This is a cracking case for the Shadow Police and I can't wait for the next installment as, once again, Cornell has left us hanging.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. Brilliant story. I love the characters and find myself totally submerged in the city of London the Cornell has created. A brilliant series so far. Looking forward to hallowe'en!

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review can also be found here.

If you’re a fan of The Great Detective, you can’t get a much better title than “Who Killed Sherlock Holmes?” especially when the actual mystery itself does not concern the Great Detective but rather his Ghost, which raises more questions, namely how can a fictional person have a ghost, and who or what could kill a Ghost? Either way, it’s up to the Shadow Police, a small team of Detectives who have been given the Sight, an ability to explore the world of the supernatural in a fascinating mystery that of course comes from Paul Cornell, who’s written several awesome Doctor Who episodes in the past as well as an episode of my favourite current Sherlock Holmes TV show, Elementary, proving that he can pretty much tackle any medium at this point and succeed, especially when you take into account how good some of his comics work has been in the past.

The characters are all interesting ones and it’s great to return to Ross, Lofhouse, Quill, Costain and Sefton who all should be familiar with the audiences by now after the last two books London Falling and The Severed Streets. This book further explores London’s mythology by tackling Sherlock Holmes, something that seemed obvious for a series that has delved into the rich mythology of London in the past. Cornell’s world, now three books in, is fully realised and has plenty of interesting topics to explore that the writer handles really well, pulling the reader in and keeping them hooked from start to finish thanks to a fast paced plot that moves at a consistent rate.

The Detectives with the ability to see the sight are tested like never before as the team find themselves in different and dangerous situations, each dealing with their own newfound problems. It’s an effective balancing act between the cast that works really well and Cornell manages to make the most of their personalities as they’re pushed further to the limit, exploring them well and giving them plenty of depth. London is much of a character as the Shadow Police themselves, and the setting really adds that extra layer of awesomeness to the book.

If you’ve read the previous book you’ll be fully aware of the fact that Neil Gaiman has a cameo of it so there’s more of the same here featured with a particularly Sherlock Holmes-based nature. However, Cornell is a little more subtle with his approach this time around, and the decision to feature characters that look similar to real celebrities rather than using the celebrities themselves worked in the book’s favour.

The plot unfortunately does get a bit too convoluted in places but apart from that it is still immensely enjoyable and even when it does go a bit sideways you won’t find yourself caring that much because it’s still an absolute blast to read, providing about as much enjoyment you’d expect from a book that looks the death of Sherlock Holmes’ ghost. There’s plenty of things to love about Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? and it’s another really solid entry to the series as a result and is worth checking out if you’re familiar with the previous novels in the series. However, If you haven't yet had the chance to check them out though, perhaps drawn here by the concept of the book and you're a fan of Ben Aaronovitch, Benedict Jacka, Jim Butcher or Neil Gaiman, then you should move the Shadow Police series to the top of your watchlist.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Shadow Police' series is a sort of grittier, more working-class, darker version of 'Rivers of London'. Here, magic comes from the weight of London's history, not from river goddesses. The posh folks of The Folly are replaced by a team of London coppers used to bringing down drug dealers and human traffickers and the magic keeps trying to kill them

I found the second book "The Severed Streets" to be well-written but very depressing and soaked in sadness. The Shadow Police themselves are a major source of grief and depression. They deceive each other, distrust each other, despise themselves for the deceit and bemoan the distrust. They are reckless and desperate and well out of their depth.

I thought the third book might be more whimsical. After all, how serious can a book called 'Who Killed Sherlock Holmes' be?'.

There is a move from total despair towards hope in this book. The main characters are trying to find a way back from the damage that was done to them or that they did to themselves in the last book. I liked that Paul Cornell didn't just have everyone bounce back but recognised that actions have consequences and that dealing with evil always has a price. I also liked that he delivered on the story behind the senior police officer that the Shadow Police report in to. Her story humanised the big reveal and built her into a key character.

In 'The Severed Streets' we learned that something big had changed the way magic worked in Londo, letting loose bad things and tainting the magical community by allowing power to be paid for by money rather than personal sacrifice.

In 'Who Killed Sherlock Holmes' we learn that the change coincided with the destruction of the magical Establishment - the Continuous Projects Committee that imposes civilised control on magical forces. It's clear that, although The Establishment continued to use traditions that have kept London safe for centuries, they had forgotten why and how the protocols they use to do this operate. They'd become complacent and vulnerable to attack.

As a consequence of this::
'The real London was coming back, alongside poverty and tubercolosis and history. The civilised consensus was over.'
Suddenly, I was thinking of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, ripping apart all the shared assumptions and values that defined the England that the men and women who survived World War II had wanted to create.

I checked the original publication date for this book. May 2016, one month before the Brexit Referendum.

It makes you wonder, If something evil broke into our world in 2016, wiping away civilised constraint, what would the world look like in 2020?

Actually, I think I know the answer to that question.

I enjoyed the book for the puzzle it solved, for the development of the story arc and for the evolution of the characters. The ending wasn't a cliff-hanger but it contained a solid hook that made me want to read book four.

Then I was told there is no book four. How can this happen? Ask the publishers.
Here's what Paul Cornell had to say about it in 2017: 'The Future Of The Shadow Police'

I hope the series comes back. I think we need a darker view of London and the people running it.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is most assuredly one of the grittiest, non-cozy and painful reads that I have encountered in recent times. Put it in a niche full of pastiches— either consciously mimicking Doyle or trying to carve out its own territory— it strikes out as a very-very sore thumb.
In this dark and acrid novel, scarred characters come together, albeit in a most un-LOEG manner, to stop something terrible. Do they succeed? That question becomes immaterial as the author tries very hard to drag Holmesiana into 'Peaky Blinders' or 'Get Carter' zone.
He DEFINITELY succeeds.
Question: would you enjoy this read?
Answer: If you approach this book like all those pastiches where terrifying crimes have a strong element of humour and organised crime is dominated by a toff-like version of Moriarty— you would be crushingly disappointed.
On the other hand, if you wish to read a crime thriller full of pain where the ghosts (yes, they are multiple) of Holmes act as dark mirrors, you would definitely enjoy this book.
I belong to the former category. Consequently, my departure from this side may be looked as slinking away— with tail firmly between legs.
Your call.

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessarily weird. It also had a stretched out and boring ending. I think it's part of a trilogy but I have no desire to read the next one

[Mikhail · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, either the shine is starting to go off Paul Cornell's books for me, or this was a weaker installment. Possibly both, really. Alright, let's review...

The Good:
Paul Cornell is, above all else, a character writer. His strength is his portrayal of his complicated and diverse group of heroes, and this is a strength which continues in this book. The bulk of the focus is on Quill, Ross, and (new!) Lofthouse, with Sefton and Costain taking a rather backseat role. You really do get a sense of them as people, and it's always fun watching them twist and turn with events. The side characters are equally great, particularly the Trickster and Lofthouse's civil servant friend.

Cornell also has a gift for language, particularly when it comes to action sequences, and he's pretty good at developing the plots. I found the antagonist a little weak, but better than Severed Street's, so that was good.

Also, he's continuing to develop his metaplot in a very concrete way. You are getting a definite sense that events are moving, and each book expands your understanding of the setting and the Smiling Man arc in a definite way. This is satisfying.

The Bad:
Cornell has a couple of quirks which are really starting to wear on me. First, the man loves his expository flashbacks. They bothered me less in this book than before, maybe because they were less jarring, maybe because I'm just trained to expect them by now, but it still annoys. It's a very 'blunt object' approach to storytelling.

Likewise, and I feel like he spends too much time torturing the characters and giving them New and Exciting (Psychological) Issues each time. I confess I started skipping over some of Quill's scenes, though Ross's were better handled and interesting.

He still has a bad habit of throwing in versions of Real People into his story, though it's a little less jarring than in Severed Streets.

Finally, I think that the police procedural aspects here were a bit weak, primarily due to pacing. Essentially, a good police procedural relies on the steady drip-drip-drip of information. London Falling did that very well, with the characters' understanding increasing at a constant rate. Here, however, the investigation pretty much stalls for the first two-thirds of the book, as the villain is One Step Ahead at all times, and then when things burst through, it's more in a moment of pure revelation than through good detective work.

Conclusion:
Overall, I liked it, and I think the end of the book really brought things together (bumping this from a 3 to a 4), so I'll still be getting the next one.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Spoilers for previous books in the series]

After the events of The Severed Streets, Quill's team is in trouble. Ross has traded away her future happiness, Costain is feeling guilty and Quill is trying to cope with that fact that everyone in London goes to hell. Sefton just wants his team to pull together and he hopes a new case can do that. He discovers the ghost of Sherlock Holmes has been killed and it becomes apparent a series of seemingly non-supernatural murders also have a Sherlock Holmes connection.

There are many things I loved about this. After two books I've been sucked into Cornell's supernatural London. But actually what I loved about this one was the Sherlock Holmes stuff. Cornell manages to do a proper celebration of all things Holmes whilst still telling a proper story. There's a series of murders which mimic those in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes, Watson and Moriarty all appear in one way or another. There's even a great nod BBC Sherlock, Elementary and the Robert Downey Jr Sherlock films. It turns out Benedict Cumberbatch is a god, which frankly wasn't much of a surprise.

There's also more about spooky London stuff. Ross and Costain go to try and get back Ross' happiness and explore the sighted London community more as they do so. And Lofthouse finally becomes a proper character as we see her supernatural links and find out more about the mysterious Continuing Projects Team. Whilst I did like this aspect of the book I couldn't help but feel it distracted from the main plot somewhat. About three quarters of the way through the book the Sherlock Holmes plot is almost forgotten whilst this stuff goes on. It makes the book feel a little disjointed.

Cornell really delivers with the characters here. Few authors could really have four main characters and tell four character stories every book. But Cornell manages it. But not only that he adds a fifth in Lofthouse, who I assume will be more important in future books, and a great depiction of Sherlock Holmes which manages to fit Conan Doyle's character and Cornell's London universe. Genius.

As brilliant as the first two books in the series, with added Sherlock Holmes goodness. Very enjoyable!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Cornell had me reading past my bedtime again, yet I am definitely not complaining. Those sleepy early mornings waiting until the coffee kicks in to feel human are a worthy price to pay.

Bleak, creative, intense, depressing and yet hopeful... "Who Killed Sherlock Holmes?" expands the teams knowledge of the hidden underground community of London and the Sight, and brings burning revelations. Although the novel has a good end, it is not necessarily a happy one, because we all know where we will all go after we die in London. This, of course, sets us up for more novels in the series, and by the Gods I want more where this came from!

I enjoyed this novel quite a lot, even through the despair and suffering of the characters, they all demonstrate that they are more at home with their Sight born skill set.

That said, Quill has been going through an emotional wringer processing what he went through in the previous novel, and it was both painful and endearing to read about his ordeal.

I have to say that I absolutely love Quill. It is amusing to say, that I have physically visualized him very similar to Inspector Lestrade from the BBC show "Sherlock" since book one. Ironic as hell (no pun intended), taking into account the subject matter of the book.

Which brings me to another thing that made me quite enjoy this novel.

I read the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories in my teens, and quite enjoyed them. I am also most obviously a fan of the modern BBC Sherlock series. I also quite enjoyed the Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law films.

That said, this novel made me remember and relive details from the original stories much more than either the TV series or the movies. Paul Cornell's research and application of the Sherlock mythos is deep, and he truly excells in how smoothly he weaves it into the London of the Shadow Police (and I say London with the weight of the Sight on this one).

I found the novel quite brilliant, and I am now sad that we do not have a fourth book out yet to purchase and delve into.

I do have to add one last thing. Quill, man. By the Gods.

I feel you, Quill, I really do.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of of this series. I liked both London Falling and Severed Streets (my reviews).

This book is more of the same-- well written urban fantasy verging on horror. However in this book, the focus on the member(s) of the Shadow Police team changes. The DCI Lofthouse character plays a major part. (She's one of my faves.) While DI Quill, DS Costain and Lisa Ross take a backseat. They're all still emotionally damaged from the events of The Severed Streets. DS Sefton soldiers on. The Smiling Man figures larger in this story than the previous.

I'm lukewarm on the Sherlock Holmes overall book plot, but the ongoing sub-plots sustain me. Surprisingly, this book (the third) is the first time the squad gets referred to as The Shadow Police by a paranormal perp.

Note, it would be really hard to understand this story without having read the previous book. Cornell (mercifully) is sparse on providing backstory.

Cornell's approach to this Brit Urban Fantasy/Police Procedural crossover is darker than most. Unlike my other fave's in this sub-sub-genre ( Charlie Stross's 'Laundry Files' and Ben Aaronovitch's 'Rivers of London' ) its almost humorless. However, if you're a fan of British police procedurals and horror, I think you'll like this series.

[Rpaul Tho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still so thrown with these books. As I’m reading the first 80% I feel like it’s disjointed and trailing at times. But then the last 20% always brings me back in and everything gets tied together. This must be the author’s style and it mimics the old Sherlock Holmes stories which makes sense given the premise of this story. At about page 300 I was sure I was giving up on this series but I’m hoping he ties it all together in the next one and then that is it. They need to move the large story arc to a conclusion.

EDIT: seems like I wasn’t the only one as I found a blog post by the author right after writing this review and he indicated in 2017 that the publisher of this series has dropped it and the last two books are unlikely to get written. I can’t say I’m surprised but now I’m stuck with a series that has no end. How frustrating!!!

[Gökçe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etkileyici bir şehir fantastiği romanı. Özellikle karakterlerin yaşadıklarının etkisi ile değişimleri inanılmaz başarılı tasvir edilmiş. Önceki kitapta başlarına gelenlerin etkisi ile mücadele ediyorlar. Büyü bu romanlarda eğlenceli, kolay bir araç değil. Büyü ve büyülü nesneler Lovecraftvari olmasalar da tehlikeliler. O yüzden de büyü ile uğraşan kahramanlarımızın başına gelenler bir başka güzel. Kesinlikle şehir fantastiği sevenler ve Sherlock Holmes hayranları okumalı.

[Princessjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ghost/ memory of Sherlock Holmes is found murdered in his museum at 221 Bakers Street. In the midst of full-on Sherlockmania, this ghostly killing kicks off a massive, diabolical murder spree of real people all around London, seemingly by an invisible spider sitting in the center of its net, pulling all the strings.

So many revelations. Ross sleeps with a god of London, the Trickster, in his mortal incarnation of Flamstead, a famous actor playing Sherlock; bargains with a member of the Privileged and got her happiness back. Costain seems to fall apart before Ross's eyes, going crazy with seeming jealousy... but it was actually the murderer posing as Costain. Quill goes half crazy, trying to deal by himself the knowledge that everyone who's ever lived in London are destined for Hell. His PTSD creates the ghost of a cartoonish Moriarty, who follows him around, and also grants him the ability to summon Hell at the expense of his own mental health. Sefton tries to hold everyone together, and discovered the key to the murders is to summon Watson into being. Lofthouse has been under siege this entire time in her own home, the Smiling Man having taken over her husband and monitors her every move. She goes exploring a secret tunnel, falls into a pool that once initiated the members of the Continuing Project Council, gains the Sight. The Smiling Man followed her and despoils the pool, but lost his concentration, and all the memories of the CPC flow back into the world and into people's minds. They discover the murderer is actually Sherlock Holmes himself, having been made temporarily more real by the Sherlockmania, realizes he is fiction and tormented by being comprised of 100's of Holmes interpretation over the century, made a deal with the Smiling Man to become real. To do so, he's killing people who he considers to be criminals (from a Victorian standpoint), who have played Holmes in some small way, in the order and place of the stories written about him. I'm not sure why he's doing this. He had kidnapped Costain and taken his place (for the Great Detective was also a master of disguise). In the end, he kidnaps Flamstead to sacrifice the mortal incarnation of a God to London. Instead, Flamstead "sacrifices" himself, made both Sherlock and himself fall down from the top of the building. Later, the two of them send Ross's father back to Ross to deliver a message: they are in Hell and staying for a while; that the team now has friends in Hell.

It's an intense and fun ride. The world-building remains fantastic, and the ending is a lovely cliffhanger. Sadly, a cliffhanger that will never be addressed, because the publisher has dropped this series. We are unlikely to ever see the remaining two books of this series, what a shame.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the other books in the Shadow Police story, I found the pacing to be a bit uneven. Some parts dragged a bit too much, and others sort of flew by.

The actual murder investigation of who killed Sherlock Holmes actually seemed less of a focus than the fallout of other aspects of the overarching plotline - the whole thing with Hell, and Ross's happiness and the mystery of the previous organization.

That said, just when I was lamenting about the direction of the investigation, it took an interesting twist towards the end which made things rather interesting again.

I plan on continuing the series - but I'm also hoping for an end in site. I don't think this is a series that I could hold out for a billion more books, but I could do 1 or 2, if the story gets wrapped up.

Ultimately this is just one of those series that I wish I liked more than I did - and I think my block is just with the narration style. It seems kind of droning to me a lot of the time, which is sad, because the world and the characters and the story is interesting and cool. The writing just doesn't do it for me...


ETA: So, I just read that the series was dropped by the publisher, so we'll never get a resolution on the whole Hell issue. I sort of wish I'd known that before reading this one, tbh...

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right up front I have to admit that I found the third book in this series somewhat unsatisfactory compared to what has come before. Much of this has to do with an immediate story arc dealing with an escalating series of murders that mirror the "Sherlock Holmes" stories. This plot line seemed increasingly less-than-convincing, and the big suspect reveal left me underwhelmed. I can see why the series got dropped two books short of completion.

This is a shame, as Cornell revealed a lot more of his bigger game, and I would have liked to have seen those books; even if they turned out to be problematic.

Actual rating: 3.5.

[Annika Astradsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LIKE this series but don't LOVE it yet. It's a bit dark but not as dark as the second called "Severed streets". If the author continues to develop the story and doesn't give the dark side too many victories along the way I'm going to continue until the end. And if it isn't a happy one I'll regret it because the writing isn't excellent enough to keep me reading but the story is.

[Sue Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book. I don't think it was quite as good as the first. However that may be because I am not so keen on Sherlock Holmes.
The main characters where again fleshed out and we saw more of their boss.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, I couldn't put this book down. The plot has become more intricate and the characters more developed. Twists and ploys are put to good use to this end. And Sherlock Holmes ... sheer class! I look forward to the next instalment!

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this, unfortunately third in the series and for a while I hadn't really a clue as to what was going on! But that was due to a couple of factors and nothing to do with the author, I have been very busy recently and not having read the first two books made it difficult to understand the set-up. However, once I got into this I found the plot interesting and, being a big Sherlock Holmes fan, it was good to be back, to some degree, in the weird and wonderful world of the Great Detective. Make sure you read the first two books before you read this one.

[Sammy]

I remembered very little about the previous 2 books, despite it being less than a year since I read them (more than 300 books in between though!). It didn't hamper my understanding of this one though, and I enjoyed this one most of the trilogy.

[Ms_prue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing in its own right and also because it accidentally rebooted my Raffles fixation.