Sherlock Holmes. Le ombre di San Pietroburgo

by Daniel D. Victor

"A psychological account of a crime" - that's how Fyodor Dostoyevsky described his novel Crime and Punishment, which tells of two horrific axe murders in St. Petersburg. It becomes much more than a mere "account," however, when a pair of dead bodies turn up in London's East End, their heads split open by an axe-blade. To Scotland Yard, the crimes are murders to solve. To Sherlock Holmes, they present an intriguing puzzle. But to the literary man, Dr. John H. Watson, they seem a deliberate re-staging of the brutal murders depicted in Dostoyevsky's narrative. If Watson is right, what can be the purpose behind an actual recreation of the fictional killings? Blocking the answer to that question is a mysterious assortment of English and Russian eccentrics, and one can only wonder if the startling revelation at the end will be dramatic enough to set matters straight.

Genres: Mystery

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2020

About the author

Daniel D. Victor is a retired high school teacher who lives with his wife and two sons in his native Los Angeles, California. A graduate of Fairfax High School, he earned his BA at UC Berkeley, his MA at California State University, Los Angeles, and his Ph.D. in American Literature at the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, CA. His doctoral dissertation, THE MUCKRAKER AND THE DANDY: THE CONFLICTING PERSONAE OF DAVID GRAHAM PHILLIPS, led to the creation of the Sherlock Holmes pastiche THE SEVENTH BULLET. Originally published as a Thomas Dunne Book by St. Martin's Press in 1992, it was reprinted in paperback by Titan Books, UK, in 2010 as part of its series, "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," and translated into Russian in 2012. The novel's first two chapters also appeared in Cold Mountain Review, Appalachian State University. In addition to his writing, Victor has won numerous teaching awards including an independent study grant offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as admission to two NEH summer seminars, one at UC Berkeley, the other at Oxford University in Oxford, England. Victor's second novel, A STUDY IN SYNCHRONICITY, is a murder mystery with a two-stranded plot, one of which features a Sherlock Holmes-like private detective. Victor's second Holmes novel, THE FINAL PAGE OF BAKER STREET, in which Holmes finds the young Raymond Chandler working for him as a pageboy, was published in 2014. It is the first volume of his series, "Sherlock Holmes and the American Literati," produced by MX Publishing. The second, THE BARON OF BREDE PLACE (2015), introduces Holmes to novelist Stephen Crane; the third, SEVENTEEN MINUTES TO BAKER STREET (2016), presents Mark Twain; and the fourth, THE OUTRAGE AT THE DIOGENES CLUB (2016), involves Jack London. Victor has also contributed short stories about Holme to the anthologies, THE MX BOOK OF NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES, BEYOND WATSON, and HOLMES AWAY FROM HOME.

Reviews

[Nastaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

میذارمش توی دسته‌ی داستان‌های کوتاه جنایی جالب برای قبل از خواب🤫😂مخصوصا توی شب‌های سرد زمستون.

[امیرمحمد حیدری · Rating 1 out of 5]

کاش به‌هرالاغی اجازه ندهند که از شخصیت‌ها و فضای یک داستان اقتباس کند و گند بزند به‌همه‌چیز. طفلک داستایوفسکی(ره) (ع) (ص) که بازیچه دست این بی‌شعور شد.

[Barry Smolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his latest Sherlock Holmes excursion, Daniel D. Victor, easily one of the best practitioners at work in the Holmes pastiche genre, diverges from his "American Literati" series, offering instead his postmodern take on Dostoyevsky, specifically "Crime & Punishment," though in it Victor retains all of his signature meta-tropes and blurrings of fact/fiction. In "The Shadows of St. Petersburg," Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes get caught up in a murder case that turns out to be a copycat of the crime in Dostoyevsky's novel (which is itself, in Victor's Holmesian universe, thinly veiled reportage of an actual homicide). One classic Victor moment occurs when Watson objects to the idea that "Crime & Punishment" is a factual account, declaring, "You can't be serious, Holmes. Dostoyevsky is a novelist, not a reporter. Unlike myself who described actual murders in 'A Study in Scarlet,' he had to conjure his crimes from within his own imagination." Fact and fiction are so double-twisted up on themselves that one has no choice but to play along with the author's (or, wait, excuse me, ahem, EDITOR'S) own hyper-conscious carnival of ideas.

Victor's novel is as delightful as Dostoyevsky's is dour.

Near the end of "St. Petersburg," Holmes scoffs at Watson's suggestion that Edgar Allan Poe's work might be fodder for future investigations, scolding, "First, a Russian writer, now Poe, an American--why not try someone home-grown, old fellow? I hear Charles Dickens left an unsolved murder or two worthy of investigation." Chuckles aside, do we perhaps hear Victor's next pastiche intimated? Hmmm?

And on a Dickensian note, "The Shadows of St. Petersburg" does also have many serious and poignant moments that lend excellent shading to the unfolding tale. Victor/Watson's evocation of London's East End is especially poetic:

"Located downwind from the city and originally established beyond the city's limits, the area presented the foulest-smelling occupations imaginable. Tanneries and fulling mills poisoned the air; thick fog clogged the atmosphere; dampness from the river extended throughout the backstreets and warrens. Inconsistency reigned. Industries rose and fell; docks opened and closed; workers lost their jobs; beggars roamed the streets; prostitution, thievery, and murder thrived."

Balancing the profound nature of the source material with the inevitable knowing ironies that inform his 21st Century re-working, Daniel Victor has birthed yet another exceptional contribution to Holmesiana.

A thoroughly satisfying read. Looking forward to the next one.

Na Zdrovya!

[Thomas Turley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this novel, Daniel D. Victor branches out from his excellent American Literati series and proves himself equally at home with Russian literature. The murder of two pawnbrokers in London’s East End appears to replicate the one in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, which Watson (while awaiting publication of his own first literary effort) happens to be reading at the time. With Holmes seeming skeptical of the connection, the Doctor, in his mentor’s absence, joins Lestrade’s investigation and interrogates a likely suspect. Naturally, the great detective is a step ahead of them, off to St. Petersburg to investigate the historical origins of Dostoevsky’s novel and consult a Russian colleague. As readers of his books expect, Victor skillfully weaves these threads into a satisfying outcome, with spot-on depictions of Doyle’s characters, impressive knowledge of the neighborhoods of London, and literary erudition that educates his readers as well as entertains them. More, please!

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes incontra i personaggi di Delitto e castigo in seguito a una indagine su un crimine fotocopia di quello del romanzo.
Che non ho letto.
Grazie degli spoiler, Mr. Victor.

Comunque un romanzo abbastanza scorrevole, nel complesso buona l'idea e buono lo svolgimento e la realizzazione. Specialmente le scene finali sono un grande omaggio a Fyodor Dostoyevsky e ai suoi personaggi.

direi che siamo sulle 3 stelle e mezza.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this story, the book-inside-a-book feel to it.

A very good Sherlock Holmes' story, that manages to gets perfectly the characters' voices and the ambience of Victorian London.

Recommended.

[Dru · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A quick, enjoyable read.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of crimes are committed that reminds Doctor Watson of the recent translation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”.

[Majid Hidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ملغمه ای شلم شوربا