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The Watches of the Night
Night falls, and London comes alive.
Sherlock Holmes has dedicated his life to uncovering the things that happen in the night, but he has his own secrets hiding in the shadows, too.
As Dr John Watson begins to understand the shape of Holmes' secrets, he starts to understand his own, and together Holmes and Watson must navigate the dangers of the nights they spend together - and the ones they don't.
Sherlock Holmes has dedicated his life to uncovering the things that happen in the night, but he has his own secrets hiding in the shadows, too.
As Dr John Watson begins to understand the shape of Holmes' secrets, he starts to understand his own, and together Holmes and Watson must navigate the dangers of the nights they spend together - and the ones they don't.
130 pages, Paperback
Published September 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 30, 2020
The Watches of the Night is a lovely novella told within the shadows of Doyle’s Holmes stories. The cases are there, but rather than being the driving force behind the tale, they are footholds, moments that take us from one moment in time to another. They remind us of where we are in the timeline of Watson and Holmes’s time together at Baker Street. And goodness, what a time that is!
Lindbergh takes us from the night after Watson meets Holmes right through to their retirement in the Sussex Downs, weaving a story of friendship, partnership, secrets, loss, and, most of all, love in its many forms. We see the friendship with Holmes that started it all, the partnerships Watson has with both Holmes and Mary, the secrets he keeps from the both of them, the loss he endures from Holmes’s “death” at the Reichenbach Falls and from Mary’s death, and the love he had for them.
Ultimately, this is a Holmes and Watson love story, and a wonderful one at that. It’s full of the love Watson develops for his friend, complete with pining, and the danger that comes with a man loving another man in the late 1800s. That love story is at its centre, and is the driving force as Watson and Holmes figure out how they feel about each other, and eventually, give in to those feelings. But, Watson’s marriage to Mary does not go amiss, and is both an anchor and a source of conflict for Watson. She is a refuge for Watson to return to when he’s unsure of his feelings about Holmes (and afraid of the society may bring upon them), as well as a barrier between him and his feelings about Holmes.
Lindbergh treats Mary with kindness and as an important part of Watson’s story, and this is a huge plus for me. Mary is an important part of Watson’s life; she is his wife, and as we know from the tales, she is no simpleton. However, unlike in Doyle’s tales, she does not disappear and she is not forgotten about. She is there, she cares for and nurses Watson back to health at one point. Something else I like a lot is, Lindbergh gives an answer for Mary’s death within the Doyle stories, and treats it, and Mary, with kindness and dignity. All of this gets a HUGE thumbs up from me!
The only negative thing (and my reason for the 4 stars—if I could give half-stars, I’d give it 4.5/5) is, there were times when jumps in time weren’t immediately clear (i.e., a scene break), which took me out of the story momentarily. (It’s possible that my Kindle app didn’t format it properly.) However, I did eventually get used to it, and was able to create a scene break in my mind and read on with no trouble.
All in all, this is a tale that ought to find its way onto the bookshelves of many a Sherlockian.
Lindbergh takes us from the night after Watson meets Holmes right through to their retirement in the Sussex Downs, weaving a story of friendship, partnership, secrets, loss, and, most of all, love in its many forms. We see the friendship with Holmes that started it all, the partnerships Watson has with both Holmes and Mary, the secrets he keeps from the both of them, the loss he endures from Holmes’s “death” at the Reichenbach Falls and from Mary’s death, and the love he had for them.
Ultimately, this is a Holmes and Watson love story, and a wonderful one at that. It’s full of the love Watson develops for his friend, complete with pining, and the danger that comes with a man loving another man in the late 1800s. That love story is at its centre, and is the driving force as Watson and Holmes figure out how they feel about each other, and eventually, give in to those feelings. But, Watson’s marriage to Mary does not go amiss, and is both an anchor and a source of conflict for Watson. She is a refuge for Watson to return to when he’s unsure of his feelings about Holmes (and afraid of the society may bring upon them), as well as a barrier between him and his feelings about Holmes.
Lindbergh treats Mary with kindness and as an important part of Watson’s story, and this is a huge plus for me. Mary is an important part of Watson’s life; she is his wife, and as we know from the tales, she is no simpleton. However, unlike in Doyle’s tales, she does not disappear and she is not forgotten about. She is there, she cares for and nurses Watson back to health at one point. Something else I like a lot is, Lindbergh gives an answer for Mary’s death within the Doyle stories, and treats it, and Mary, with kindness and dignity. All of this gets a HUGE thumbs up from me!
The only negative thing (and my reason for the 4 stars—if I could give half-stars, I’d give it 4.5/5) is, there were times when jumps in time weren’t immediately clear (i.e., a scene break), which took me out of the story momentarily. (It’s possible that my Kindle app didn’t format it properly.) However, I did eventually get used to it, and was able to create a scene break in my mind and read on with no trouble.
All in all, this is a tale that ought to find its way onto the bookshelves of many a Sherlockian.
March 12, 2021
Such a lovely story... This is the story of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, but not the one about their adventures in Victorian London. It's the story of those interstitial spaces that fall-pff from the narrative. The story of how they go from acquaintances sharing a flat, to friends, to lovers.
It's a story about consequences and difficult choices in impossible situations, a story about the price of secrets and lies. But it's also a story about friendship and about love, every kind of love.
Darcy Lindbergh's prose is, by moments, almost lyrical. Her Watson's voice is perfect in its almost desperate honesty, transmitting Watson's confusion and raw emotions without resorting to hyperboles or excess.
This is a beautiful novella and I certainly will be reading more by this author.
Book provided by Improbable Press in exchange for an honest review.
It's a story about consequences and difficult choices in impossible situations, a story about the price of secrets and lies. But it's also a story about friendship and about love, every kind of love.
Darcy Lindbergh's prose is, by moments, almost lyrical. Her Watson's voice is perfect in its almost desperate honesty, transmitting Watson's confusion and raw emotions without resorting to hyperboles or excess.
This is a beautiful novella and I certainly will be reading more by this author.
Book provided by Improbable Press in exchange for an honest review.
March 13, 2024
Holmes and Watson’s dance around each other is brilliantly described, and when the pining sets in, it’s both excruciating and exquisite. My heart has bled and cracked, been mended before being broken yet again. I’ve woken in the middle of the night wondering how they’ll get through this in one piece.
Reading about them in the victorian era is always sorrowful, knowing that they aren’t allowed to love each other the way they long to do. Nevertheless, their affection and devotion for each other is a thing to behold.
Now, I need to fight my way back to 2024, no less! A feat I’m resentful of forcing upon myself.
My humble thanks to the remarkable author and Improbable Press for publishing this wonderful story.
Reading about them in the victorian era is always sorrowful, knowing that they aren’t allowed to love each other the way they long to do. Nevertheless, their affection and devotion for each other is a thing to behold.
Now, I need to fight my way back to 2024, no less! A feat I’m resentful of forcing upon myself.
My humble thanks to the remarkable author and Improbable Press for publishing this wonderful story.
January 9, 2021
As with all stories by Darcy, this was delightful. I normally am not a huge fan of 221bs but the way they are written here, sometimes breaking off into a different thought and sometimes continuing the previous scene, made them feel more connected in a way that I enjoyed. It was also great to see her Holmes and Watson in their original habitat - she did just as great as she usually does with modern Sherlock and John.
May 24, 2020
I’ve read all the Conan Doyle and this book could easily have been mistaken for a long lost original! The characters are very true to the originals. Lots of cases and ups and downs in their lives but ultimately very satisfying in the end! A must read for the modern Holmes/Watson fan.
October 11, 2020
Well, I read that in one sitting, and it was wonderful :)
October 21, 2020
i cried like only a good darcy story can make me cry, couldn't put it down!
October 14, 2023
i cried like only a good darcy story can make me cry, couldn't put it down!
January 27, 2022
So immersive you may not notice the clever formal structure until a note at the end has you paging back through the whole thing in utter amazement. This was a totally delightful way to spend a day, I feel like I lived a whole other lifetime reading it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews