The Italian Secretary

By: Caleb Carr

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of the Alienist series returns with a chilling elaboration on the Sherlock Holmes canon, as the famed detective investigates a pair of gruesome murders, which cast an otherworldly shadow as far as Queen Victoria herself.

It all begins familiarly enough: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are summoned to the aid of Queen Victoria in Scotland by an encrypted telegram from Holmes' brother, Mycroft, a royal advisor. Rushed northward on a royal train they soon learn of the brutal killings of two of the Queen's servants who had been working on the renovation of the famous and forbidding Royal Palace of Holyrood.

Mycroft has enlisted his brother to help solve the murders that may be key elements of a much more elaborate and pernicious plot on the Queen's life. But the circumstances of the two victims' deaths also call to Holmes' mind the terrible murder of "The Italian Secretary", David Rizzio. Only Rizzio was murdered three centuries ago.

Told with his unique feel for historical detail and the architecture of human evil, Caleb Carr's brilliant new offering takes the Conan Doyle tradition to remarkable new heights.

©2005 Caleb Carr (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The gloomy aura of Edinburgh, particularly the Gothic pile of Holyrood, is a perfect foil for a Victorian mystery." (Booklist)
"The novel captivates" (Publishers Weekly)

Excellent performance

Not the best of Caleb Carr but excellent narration by Simon Prebble. I really enjoyed the narration and characterization of subjects.

Very intriguing story which is excellently read

Narrator Simon Prebble pushes this very intriguing pastiche into the higher realms of post-ACD Sherlock Holmes stories. The unique setting, the haunted mansion atmosphere and Scotland as the main stage, all contribute to a book that is unlike many Sherlock Holmes novels. The writer departs somewhat from a Holmes that is cool and rational. Overall the author is succesful in creating a Holmes that is more philosophic and spiritual than most versions that have come before.

Written with great respect to Conan Doyle

Love this trip down memory lane, Baker Street!, in this case! Mr. Carr has captured the essence of the beloved characters of Holmes, Mycroft and Watson. The atmosphere of the novel is appropriate and the story enjoyable. Although the apparatus that Holmes fixes tea in sounds more like a flask than a beaker. The narrator does a fantastic job with all the characters.

Not my favorite pastiche, but I'm glad I listened.

Certain aspects of the story didn't work for me. Part of this is a question of personal taste; I prefer to see all of the secondary characters who orbit Sherlock's star in play, and to observe the unique chemistry that results from this mix. Although Mycroft Holmes receives delightful attention here, Mrs. Hudson receives little, and the Scotland Yarders none at all.

Part of this, however, is due to what appears to me to be a serious shortcoming in the novel. The author apparently intended a great deal of dramatic tension throughout the book to be based on an early concern on John Watson's part, a confusion and fear about Sherlock's seeming change of opinion about the believability of ghosts and supernatural hauntings, and what this might mean about Sherlock's state of mind. (A nod, perhaps, to Arthur Conan Doyle's own perceived gullibility later in life?) A climactic revelation at the end is meant to show where and how Watson -- and, I'm guessing, Carr's imagined reader -- misread Holmes from the beginning. Yet anyone who noted what Holmes said -- well, at least this reader, anyway -- understood from the very start that Sherlock was not professing a new-found faith in ghosts. His diction is quite clear and precise, as always. Thus Watson's constant worry and the final "reveal" become significant obstacles to the story and fall absolutely flat.

There are several aspects of the story I quite enjoyed, however. The sense of atmosphere in the descriptions of Edinburgh's Holyroodhouse (and its bloody history during the time of Mary, Queen of Scots) is quite well realized. The ways in which Holmes and Watson balance each other's talents and gifts comes through nicely. I especially enjoyed Watson's descriptions of the delicate dance between Sherlock and Mycroft, part rivalry, part respect, and part intellectual wrestling match. Mycroft certainly gets his due here. A favorite passage describes how Mycroft "enjoyed complete informality in the Queen's presence": "While he never took advantage of such when he was aware of the presence of others, I did once catch the sight of Mycroft sitting with Her Majesty in one of the castle gardens -- and had the pair been an elderly married couple in Hyde Park, they could scarcely have appeared more completely at their ease."

While this doesn't rank among my favorite pastiches, I'm glad I listened to it. The narration was quite good.

Excellent Sherlock Holmes and, especially, Dr. Watson

I've listened to this novel once before and enjoyed it as much the second time as the first. Carr gives more humanity to both Sherlock and his brother Mycroft than the traditional stories. Dr. Watson plays a more active role than mere sidekick with at least once Dr. Watson assertively taking the lead. Per the traditional Holmes stories, this had a satisfyingly neat ending of justice for all. Having Simon Prebble as narrator was a special treat. Few can match the ease with which he shifts from a Scottish accent to Holmes's acerbic British, from young bonny lass to outraged doctor.

Excellent!

Simon Prebble is a fantastic narrator and Caleb Carr really does justice to Conan Doyle's characters. An excellent listen!

Download if you run out of Holmes

This is a thoughtful Holmes story that's very like the orginals. Although some might argue that it is impossible to recreate the originals, it's very likely that you will enjoy this story. Even though the Holmes canon is fixed historically, the character is very worth revisiting. Many mystery writers still work from the Holmes model, perhaps without knowing it, so it doesn't make sense to be worried in a purist way that someone's not getting it just right. Even in the originals, writing about Holmes doesn't appear to be an exact science.

Rather disappointed

Any additional comments?

I’ve enjoyed Caleb Carr’s writing before, but in this book he seemed to stretch a bit too far. In his zeal to match the writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, Mr. Carr forgot to include a plot. This book is five hours of droning narrative with an hour and a half of simplistic mystery.

Simon Prebble remained consistent with his superb reading skill. The only reason that I listen to the entire book was because I was enjoying Mr. Prebble’s performance.

Lame

Good narrator, appropriate language, all spoiled by one of the sillest plots I've ever read. I've got a six year old child and the books I read to him at night have a more credible story line.

The Italian Secretary

I found this book extremely booring, it almost seems like a parody of Sherlock Holmes. Very dissapointing.