Dust and Shadow

An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson

By: Lyndsay Faye

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Breathless and painstakingly researched, this is a stunning debut mystery in which Sherlock Holmes unmasks Jack the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye perfectly captures all the color and syntax of Conan Doyle’s distinctive 19th-century London.

In Dust and Shadow, Sherlock Holmes hunts down Jack the Ripper—the world’s first serial killer—with impeccably accurate historical detail and without the advantage of modern forensics or profiling. Sherlock’s desire to stop the killer who is terrifying the East End of London is unwavering from the start, and in an effort to do so he hires an “unfortunate” known as Mary Ann Monk, the friend of a fellow streetwalker who was one of the Ripper’s earliest victims. However, when Holmes himself is wounded in Whitechapel attempting to catch the villain and a series of articles in the popular press question his role in the crimes, he must use all his resources in a desperate race to find the man known as “The Knife” before it is too late.

Penned as a pastiche by the loyal and courageous Dr. Watson, this debut signals the arrival of a tremendous talent in the mystery and historical fiction genres.

©2009 Lyndsay Faye (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Impressive…Sherlockians will hope to see further pastiches of this quality from Faye.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“An exciting and grimly vivid tale that confronts the murderous Jack the Ripper with A. Conan Doyle’s immortal detective better than ever before.” (Conan Doyle Estate)

“At long last, an author of rare talent combines a thorough, enthusiastic knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon with truly rigorous research into, and respect for, the Jack the Ripper killings.” (Caleb Carr, New York Times best-selling author)

dust and shadow

interesting but not as good as the actual doyle holmes books; will go back to doyles books

Sherlock Holmes lives!

What made the experience of listening to Dust and Shadow the most enjoyable?

This book was very accurate on the history of Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes on the case made it fun.

What did you like best about this story?

It was very true to the original character of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. That is good, but the outcome of who the Ripper is was kind of a letdown. That being said, a Holmes story is always going to be about Holmes and not the villain he is after.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He has an excellent voice for Holmes and Watson. Pitch Perfect!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed when Watson, Miss Monk and Mr. Dunleavy broke into the newspaper office to do a little sleuthing of their own. Also after the explosion, when Holmes rushed into the burning building to save Miss Monk, I was particularly anxious!

Any additional comments?

Good book, I hope Ms. Faye does more Sherlock Holmes books. I grew up on them.

Great thriller

The dialogue between Holmes and Watson was enough of a thrill but the story, with its unpredictable twist and turns was gripping.

Absolutely brilliant Holmes pastiche.

Lindsay Faye, an extraordinary writer, has written Holmes pastiches that are as wonderful as Mary R. King’s Mary Russell series and Nicholas Meyer’s long-ago Seven Percent Solution. Faye’s Holmes books, however feel like an extension of the Canon, rather than brilliant books written with a twist on the original. She is adept, incisive, and creative.

May she write many, many more! Thank you, Ms. Faye. We’re grateful.

Wasted opportunity

The Ripper versus Sherlock Holmes sounds like a title fight that's not to be missed. And it has the ingredients you would expect -- or most of them.
What's missing is a sense of menace. Maybe we readers of serial killer novels in the 21st century are too jaded for the Sherlock Holmes style, which Faye does capture rather well. Dust and Shadow is flat and disappointing. If there was a 2.5 stars that's what I would have rated it.

Excellent blend of fact &fiction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! An unsolved mystery solved by one of fictions greatest detectives

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dust and Shadow?

The attack in the alley

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Dr Watson

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several

Any additional comments?

It's an interesting concept and one I enjoyed. The writing and narration were well paired. I hated for the book to end

I loved it!

The story is good and the narrator is excellent. I'm not a big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories (unless it's Benedict Cumberbatch) but I do love history-related stories. This one moves at a good pace and I couldn't wait to find out the identity of the killer. A great listen.

SHERLOCK HOLMES VS JACK THE RIPPER

What's not to like? The story was clever and managed to weave in most of the facts about Jack the Ripper as dealt with by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The narrator reminded me of the old Basil Rathbone movie version of Holmes. He managed the different British dialects convincingly and even sounded pretty good as a woman. Audiobooks live and die with the narrator no matter how good the story would be if read from the book, so it's nice to have this one read properly.

Blown Away

Would you listen to Dust and Shadow again? Why?

Every aspect of this book is a classic. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Why, Mr.Sherlock Holmes of course. The narration is spot on with all of the characters. Mr. Vance is a marvelous story teller. I felt privileged just to listen to the story as it was written.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes. The scene at the house, just before it erupts into flames and Holmes puts his revolver down on the kitchen table. It makes no mention of him returning the weapon to his coat pocket so when he is confronted outside by the Ripper he is defenseless. Gripping...

Great listen. Great Holmes and Watson

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Simon Vance is the quintessential Doctor John Watson in his warm and agreeable voice and then in his sharper, more insistent voice a phenomenal Sherlock Holmes. In fact this is how I discovered this audiobook, searching through the library for books read by Simon Vance. Eventually I will listen to every book he has read.

Any additional comments?

All of us Holmes fans quickly burn through every Holmes/Watson adventure ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then from time to time we fans still pine for Sherlock again and the choices left to us are to either listen to the Doyle collections again for the 10th time or, find a brand new adventure. Several of these new adventures written by various authors, left me sorely disappointed. Then I found Lindsay Faye. To sum it up in a single sentence, Lindsay has written Holmes and Watson as well as Doyle would have. This is a great read and read by a great voice. This one is near the top of my Holmes collection beating out some of the adventures written by Doyle himself.
Only one problem I can foresee. Lindsay has only written this one Holmes adventure.