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The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Titan Books #19
Masters of Lies
When investigating what seems to be a suicide, Holmes and Watson uncover a murderous forgery ring with ties to the British government. As the web of blackmail, threats and violence draws around them, they are forced to consider who they can really trust…
257 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2022
About the author
Philip Purser-Hallard
44 books53 followersPhilip Purser-Hallard is a widely published and occasionally acclaimed author, editor and critic. He has written four Sherlock Holmes novels for Titan Books, all favourably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, and the Devices trilogy of urban fantasy thrillers for Snowbooks, as well as a plethora of shorter fiction. He is a founding editor of and frequent contributor to the Black Archive, a series of critical monographs about individual Doctor Who stories.
From his webpage:
"In my writing I like to reimagine and question established cultural icons, hence my four Sherlock Holmes novels for Titan Books. Writing dialogue between Holmes and Lady Bracknell, from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, may be the high point of my career. The Devices trilogy, published between 2013 and 2016, considers some of the icons of British mythology that I loved as a child, and how they relate to the political reality of Britain in the 21st century."
From his webpage:
"In my writing I like to reimagine and question established cultural icons, hence my four Sherlock Holmes novels for Titan Books. Writing dialogue between Holmes and Lady Bracknell, from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, may be the high point of my career. The Devices trilogy, published between 2013 and 2016, considers some of the icons of British mythology that I loved as a child, and how they relate to the political reality of Britain in the 21st century."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 18, 2022
Lier lier your pants are on fire! By end of this Holmes you smell the burning. Love Labour 's found, Chops with onions and so much porky pies. This fast packed murder mystery with twist ends
February 3, 2023
Incredible, that's what I've got upon finishing up this book. I have not read any other books in this line of books published by Titan, and I typically meticulously try to engage my reading in order of release and grow with a series of works. However, I have been burned many times with the likes of Holmes and I have never been truly satisfied like I have just felt today upon conclusion of this book. For example, I was quite excited to see films arise inspired by Holmes and the casting of Robert Downey Jr., I confess, had me quite excited, but these were not very well done. I did not even enjoy the re-imagined Holmes with Cumberbach. Both of these actors are quite excellent and I enjoy many films with them, but just not their rendition of Holmes. Another massive issue is that a lot of Holmes stories take on a supernatural flair. They fall to the level of mere Scooby-Doo mysteries, which are fine, but not even remotely what Doyle wrote. This is what the string of Marvel films seem to be to me. The closest Doyle ever touched the super natural is probably in "The Last Vampire" my least favorite story, but it is understandable given Doyle's friendship with Stoker of around the same time.
For me, the penultimate Holmes has been portrayed on screen by Jeremy Brett. That series is peerless in my eyes and one of the few areas where Mycroft is portrayed exactly as I have imagined him. Mycroft is oft a sticking point in my interest in Holmes, he is one of my favorite characters and strangely I personally identify with him more than Holmes, albeit I agree, Holmes is a more exciting character to read about. No, many takes on Mycroft are simply out of character and strange to me. Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Anna Waterhouse's books seemed most intriguing at first glance, but they are action books. And Mycroft, in my estimation, is the antithesis of "action". While I quite enjoyed the concept behind Enola Holmes, I was dismayed at the portrayal of Mycroft in these as well. He's far too emotional on screen and makes no sense for that character.
So, I was with some serious trepidation that I placed and order for this Philip Purser-Hallard novel, it's description seemed, hopefully on par with my expectations of a well written Holmes story. I do not want any modernizations, I don't want any supernatural nonsense, I want a good Holmes story inspired by Doyle, as much as that is possible. Purser-Hallard delivered that story in the most surprising way possible. The story he's managed to craft had such an ending that I never saw it coming. I truly hope this isn't a one time occurrence, because I will certainly be reading the rest of the novels in this series now... though the first author seems to have gone the supernatural route and I am sure I will rate those low until Philip swoops in to rescue me.
The overall format of the book is quite interesting and very well done. If the other books published by Titan are in a similar frame, I think they have truly hit on something special in the Holmes genre. In this book when a particular document is being viewed by Holmes or Watson, we are actually treated to a rendition of what the characters are reading. It is setup in a different font to look hand-written, and I really liked how it helped me feel more immersed in the mystery. Whenever they figured out to do this, they should keep this feature. I thought it was marvelous.
I cannot go into extreme details, but I will hide the main points with the spoiler function. If you intend to read this book, I highly recommend you do not read my spoilers. The basic setup of the story is that Holmes and Watson become embroiled in an espionage case, which they are called to investigate at the behest of Mycroft. Philip brings in the detective Hopkins from an earlier case of Sherlock Holmes, though the name of the story escapes me at the moment. I believe it was the case involving the two pistols. In any event, they stumble into another thread of a master forger, this is the "Masters of Lies" our title is built upon. It is an excellent mystery and very well thought out. Fans of Holmes and the mystery genre in general will likely be quite entertained by this novel.
For me, the penultimate Holmes has been portrayed on screen by Jeremy Brett. That series is peerless in my eyes and one of the few areas where Mycroft is portrayed exactly as I have imagined him. Mycroft is oft a sticking point in my interest in Holmes, he is one of my favorite characters and strangely I personally identify with him more than Holmes, albeit I agree, Holmes is a more exciting character to read about. No, many takes on Mycroft are simply out of character and strange to me. Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Anna Waterhouse's books seemed most intriguing at first glance, but they are action books. And Mycroft, in my estimation, is the antithesis of "action". While I quite enjoyed the concept behind Enola Holmes, I was dismayed at the portrayal of Mycroft in these as well. He's far too emotional on screen and makes no sense for that character.
So, I was with some serious trepidation that I placed and order for this Philip Purser-Hallard novel, it's description seemed, hopefully on par with my expectations of a well written Holmes story. I do not want any modernizations, I don't want any supernatural nonsense, I want a good Holmes story inspired by Doyle, as much as that is possible. Purser-Hallard delivered that story in the most surprising way possible. The story he's managed to craft had such an ending that I never saw it coming. I truly hope this isn't a one time occurrence, because I will certainly be reading the rest of the novels in this series now... though the first author seems to have gone the supernatural route and I am sure I will rate those low until Philip swoops in to rescue me.
The overall format of the book is quite interesting and very well done. If the other books published by Titan are in a similar frame, I think they have truly hit on something special in the Holmes genre. In this book when a particular document is being viewed by Holmes or Watson, we are actually treated to a rendition of what the characters are reading. It is setup in a different font to look hand-written, and I really liked how it helped me feel more immersed in the mystery. Whenever they figured out to do this, they should keep this feature. I thought it was marvelous.
I cannot go into extreme details, but I will hide the main points with the spoiler function. If you intend to read this book, I highly recommend you do not read my spoilers. The basic setup of the story is that Holmes and Watson become embroiled in an espionage case, which they are called to investigate at the behest of Mycroft. Philip brings in the detective Hopkins from an earlier case of Sherlock Holmes, though the name of the story escapes me at the moment. I believe it was the case involving the two pistols. In any event, they stumble into another thread of a master forger, this is the "Masters of Lies" our title is built upon. It is an excellent mystery and very well thought out. Fans of Holmes and the mystery genre in general will likely be quite entertained by this novel.
October 26, 2024
This one got me. I said it was crazy work but now I mean it as a compliment LOL. The first 75% of the book felt off enough for me to think that the author was unfamiliar with Doyle’s work and characters but I was gagged by the twist 😭 I might have to reread it sometime now that I know what I know
My only major complaint is that the author made a lot of—what I thought—were references to the BBC show, which might have been Easter eggs for the readers, but at times it kind of gave the story this fanfiction vibe in my opinion. I was initially suspicious because of the way he characterized Sherlock, but that suspicion ended up being pointless due to the twist. BUT Mrs. Hudson’s entrance and dialogue after the twist was revealed was a dead giveaway, at least in my opinion lol. Valid though, the author has good taste!
My only major complaint is that the author made a lot of—what I thought—were references to the BBC show, which might have been Easter eggs for the readers, but at times it kind of gave the story this fanfiction vibe in my opinion. I was initially suspicious because of the way he characterized Sherlock, but that suspicion ended up being pointless due to the twist. BUT Mrs. Hudson’s entrance and dialogue after the twist was revealed was a dead giveaway, at least in my opinion lol. Valid though, the author has good taste!
August 9, 2023
Holmes and Watson are not themselves in this engaging tale of their pursuit of the truth behind the death of a well respected government official. Counterfeiters, Shakespeare, Mycroft and more await as Holmes loses his cool and Watson has his doubts.
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May 20, 2022Purser-Hallard's previous Sherlock Holmes books crossed the character with other currents of late Victorian literature: a scenario recalling HG Wells in The Vanishing Man, and the characters of Oscar Wilde in The Spider's Web. The approach this time is slightly different, using the depredations of a master forger to depict an analogue version of current concerns about deepfakes and the post-truth world more generally. And once literary fakes enter into the equation, the metafictional level of the game becomes clearer, because of course this story is itself a counterfeit too one which like those within itself can't help betray its author's own concerns or the fact that he hails from a later era - as witness Holmes' lovely line early on that a gentleman would no more be wearing a tweed jacket around London than a deerstalker. But unlike those two previous forays, here I wasn't quite sure the idea sustained the duration of the novel, and wondered whether it might have worked better in the shorter span the original Holmes tales favoured, rather than these 250+ pages. A big part of the problem is that, as we are told several times so we know that it's deliberate, Holmes is acting uncharacteristically. And while that fits the theme, and has a solid explanation, it's still a lot expecting a reader (or at any rate, this reader) to remain gripped by a tribute novel in which for large stretches you can't hear every line as uttered by Jeremy Brett.
May 16, 2026
This one was unique and had an interesting twist. (I was able to guess where it was going towards the end, but that was because of the clues throughout.) Enjoyable reading and memorable for a Sherlock pastiche.
December 6, 2025
Very very clever and unexpected. Can't say much more without spoiling!
June 12, 2022
A little lacking in action but a fine twist to the tale saves it nicely :)
August 20, 2022
CAWPILE- 5.86
December 14, 2022
Really good, full of shocks and action, loved the descriptions of the characters’ quirks, and the subtle humour. Really gripping case and we’ll laid out to us; my only complaint was that I got confused remembering who was who, as there are a lot of characters…
Nevertheless, I am already onto Hallard’s next!
Nevertheless, I am already onto Hallard’s next!
August 19, 2023
Really good, full of shocks and action, loved the descriptions of the characters' quirks, and the subtle humour. Really gripping case and we'll laid out to us; my only complaint was that I got confused remembering who was who, as there are a lot of characters...
July 4, 2023
As I've mentioned in numerous reviews, I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes - both the original Arthur Conan Doyle canon and the numerous pastiches that have been written by other authors over the years. That includes the Titan Books series, of which this is one.
The reality is that some of the pastiches I read are so good they easily could pass as one of Conan Doyle's creations. Others, however, just don't capture the voice, feel, plot, setting, etc. of the original canon works.
Like his "The Vanishing Man" and "The Spider's Web," this effort by Philip Purser-Hallard falls somewhere in between...albeit closer to being canon worthy than most pastiches.
As was the case with his previous two efforts, the author did a terrific job of capturing the voice, feel, and setting of Conan Doyle's original canon. For me, how a pastiche presents Holmes' and Watson's dialogue goes a long way in determining how good it is. And that dialogue was spot on throughout this pastiche.
But as was also the case with his previous two efforts, the one area that DIDN'T ring true was the plot. As you know, I never go into plot details in these reviews to avoid spoilers. However, I will say that the novel's plot was once again exceptionally complicated - well beyond anything Conan Doyle wrote. It wasn't AS complicated and hard to follow as that of "The Vanishing Man" or "The Spider's Web," but I still struggled at times to keep track of the myriad characters and their contributions to the overall plot.
Despite this flaw, the book was an entertaining read. I enjoyed it immensely, and I hope that Mr Purser-Hallard continues to write other pastiches. If he does, I definitely will read them.
The reality is that some of the pastiches I read are so good they easily could pass as one of Conan Doyle's creations. Others, however, just don't capture the voice, feel, plot, setting, etc. of the original canon works.
Like his "The Vanishing Man" and "The Spider's Web," this effort by Philip Purser-Hallard falls somewhere in between...albeit closer to being canon worthy than most pastiches.
As was the case with his previous two efforts, the author did a terrific job of capturing the voice, feel, and setting of Conan Doyle's original canon. For me, how a pastiche presents Holmes' and Watson's dialogue goes a long way in determining how good it is. And that dialogue was spot on throughout this pastiche.
But as was also the case with his previous two efforts, the one area that DIDN'T ring true was the plot. As you know, I never go into plot details in these reviews to avoid spoilers. However, I will say that the novel's plot was once again exceptionally complicated - well beyond anything Conan Doyle wrote. It wasn't AS complicated and hard to follow as that of "The Vanishing Man" or "The Spider's Web," but I still struggled at times to keep track of the myriad characters and their contributions to the overall plot.
Despite this flaw, the book was an entertaining read. I enjoyed it immensely, and I hope that Mr Purser-Hallard continues to write other pastiches. If he does, I definitely will read them.
February 22, 2023
I gave much thought to how I would present this review. Originally, it was going to have 3/5 rating, but in the end, I had to give it the 5/5 it deserved.
A majority of the book was presented in a strange way. The plot lagged and twisted. The characters were shallow. It was dark and gloomy, and left the reader disheartened as to where the story was going. That is until you come to the final fifth of the book when you discover the front pages were actually a clue that served as a distraction to the reader.
Admittedly, because of my reading style, I found the book difficult to read as the beginning of the book seem to be all one chapter, interspersed with letters and newspaper articles. When looking for a place to put the book down, I eventually came to appreciate these “documents” even though at times they seemed out of place from the events prior and post publication.
With all this going on, why did I give it 5/5? Eventually, the true story “written” by Dr. Watson was revealed and it most definitely lived up to the expectations of a publication by Titan Books. The author truly took this reader on a most intriguing ride.
A majority of the book was presented in a strange way. The plot lagged and twisted. The characters were shallow. It was dark and gloomy, and left the reader disheartened as to where the story was going. That is until you come to the final fifth of the book when you discover the front pages were actually a clue that served as a distraction to the reader.
Admittedly, because of my reading style, I found the book difficult to read as the beginning of the book seem to be all one chapter, interspersed with letters and newspaper articles. When looking for a place to put the book down, I eventually came to appreciate these “documents” even though at times they seemed out of place from the events prior and post publication.
With all this going on, why did I give it 5/5? Eventually, the true story “written” by Dr. Watson was revealed and it most definitely lived up to the expectations of a publication by Titan Books. The author truly took this reader on a most intriguing ride.
February 20, 2024
A very fun and unique read with a clever and well-executed gimmick and twist. Unfortunately the story itself suffers from some of the same issues that the author's other Holmes novels do, mainly pacing issues.
The story is too slow and meandering at parts, spending a lot of time on slow conversations that don't progress the story much. It gives the story a lack of urgency in parts. Even when things should be picking up, they revert back to slow and steady right after. That is, until the very end, when everything unravels at once and breakneck speed.
While I really liked the main mystery and the explanation behind it in concept, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. The attempt to wrap everything up in one fell swoop makes everything seem quite a bit contrived and stretches incredulity.
Another thing that peeved that isn't the fault of the book is that it's not in continuity with Titan's other Holmes novels, only the ones written by the same author.
Overall a great read and probably my favorite of this author's Holmes novels.
The story is too slow and meandering at parts, spending a lot of time on slow conversations that don't progress the story much. It gives the story a lack of urgency in parts. Even when things should be picking up, they revert back to slow and steady right after. That is, until the very end, when everything unravels at once and breakneck speed.
While I really liked the main mystery and the explanation behind it in concept, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. The attempt to wrap everything up in one fell swoop makes everything seem quite a bit contrived and stretches incredulity.
Another thing that peeved that isn't the fault of the book is that it's not in continuity with Titan's other Holmes novels, only the ones written by the same author.
Overall a great read and probably my favorite of this author's Holmes novels.
September 17, 2024
My second book by this author and probably the last. This could have been a great Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but the convolutions made it extremely frustrating to read. It's written in such a way that the last chapter is about all that makes sense, sorry but this one's a thumbs down from me.
July 24, 2022
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
February 7, 2024
Quite enjoyable. Had the tone and feel I was hoping for.
September 19, 2022
I love Sherlock Holmes and I live reading books like this own which is where someone else takes the character and makes a story of their own. And out of all the ones I’ve read none of them has made the character I love worse. A great story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews