A Reflection of Evil

A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

By: William Todd

Narrated by: Ben Werling

Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

After months of inactivity, Holmes and Watson have two cases thrust in their lap in a single day. First, a mysterious woman from Swansea, Wales, seeks Holmes' help finding her husband who has disappeared in the middle of the night. As soon as she leaves, Holmes receives word that there has been a prison riot with several dead and a few inmates missing. Lestrade is asking for his services.

Holmes believes the two cases are not a coincidence, but he has no idea who is behind it and to what end. They go to Swansea in what could be either a wild goose chase or a setup. Will Holmes unravel the mystery before they get to Swansea? If not what will be in store for them when they step off the train?

©2017 William Robert Todd (P)2017 William Robert Todd

Another Sherlock Holmes Adventure

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous and best-loved fictional detectives and his companion, Dr. John Watson, is a most worthy sounding board for the great man. Actually, he's not so much a sounding board as a receptacle for Sherlock's musings and conclusions. Watson is, in fact, his ghostwriter and, to me, much the more accessible of the two.

A Reflection of Evil fits quite nicely into the Sherlock Holmes pastiche and Mr. Todd has a good eye for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's style and his characterizations. The woman who first engages Holmes and whom he sees through instantly is as negligible as Doyle's female characters usually are but you can't take umbrage when that's precisely the way females were nearly always depicted in his work. She's a raisond'etre, if you will, and a request for assistance from LeStrade when convicts escape a prison, serendipitously near the town in Wales where the woman asked him to go, gives Holmes and Watson good reason to board a train for Swansea. It soon becomes apparent that one of the escapees has it in for Holmes.

With a good balance of introspection and action, including a need for Watson to put his doctorly skills to work, Holmes soon knows the truth and a new criminal opponent has been discovered albeit in somewhat predictable fashion. We clearly will encounter this villain in future stories and of that I'm very glad.

Ben Werling is an almost ideal voice for this story and I say almost only because of one flaw. Mr. Werling's tone and pacing are ideal but he's not quite as good at differentiating all characters as I would like him to be. Still, I will happily listen to him again.

A little cliched but still entertaining

Crashing trains and prison breaks! Oh, my! While this story started off a little cliched (a woman needs Holmes’s help in finding her missing husband), the story definitely took off with some originality. Holmes and Watson are always a worthy duo and this story stays true to the original stories. I felt this was a very good addition to the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Several of my favorite scenes took place on the train. Watson and Holmes are still unwinding this mystery even as they travel. Then tragedy is about to strike the train and Holmes uses his own body to save a woman from a very serious injury. I could just imagine what was going through her mind as she initially had no idea what was to befall the train and the passengers. Then in the aftermath, Watson does what he can for the injured. He has to work quickly to save a man’s leg even if it causes him great pain.

The mystery itself was good though I did feel some of the clues were pretty obvious. Several of them were presented as non sequiturs so they really stood out. I really liked the chilling conversation Holmes has with the last standing culprit at the end. I can see that villain becoming a real thorn in Holmes’s side in future adventures.

As is almost universally so for Sherlock Holmes tales, the ladies are few and far between and have very limited roles. They are comforters, love interests, or providers of food. While this story did give the ladies names and lines, I still felt they didn’t add much to the plot. Despite this issue that plagues Holmes & Watson stories, I still really enjoyed this tale. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Ben Werling had great voices for Holmes and Watson. They were distinct but also sounded like the men I was expecting. Watson sounds like the more compassionate of the two yet can be decisive in an emergency. Holmes sounded a little bored or arrogant depending on the situation. Werling’s female voices could have used a touch more femininity. There were no issues with the sound recording. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by William Todd. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A great short story!

Another great short story! Close to Conan Doyle's style, and with a wink to well-known characters from previous cases, this is a great story, with a complex and well-developed plot.

I particularly liked that we get to see Doctor Watson in action... in a doctor-ly fashion =D And Lestrade! A nice moment there, too =D

Ben Werling does a great job narrating the story =D

I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Excellent

True to the style you'd expect from Sherlock Holmes mystery. Werling did an amazing job with the narration. Highly recommended.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this short story, featuring our beloved Sherlock Holmes. The story was well written and the mystery was keeping me interested. The author managed to catch some of the atmosphere which I found in the original Sherlock Holmes stories. The narrator was excellent.

I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A good read.

A Reflection of Evil.
As a Sherlock Holmes fan, it is not Conan Doyle.
(I knew that before I received the audiobook ) But it is a good imitation and a very pleasant read/listen. In fact one of the best I've read.
In my opinion give it a try I think you'll like it.

Ben Werlings narration is well suited and definitely adds to the enjoyment ..
I received a complimentary copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review.

Watson & Holmes

I am a longtime fan of the original Sherlock Holmes stories and I am always looking for books/stories about the Great Detective. This short read was a great addition to the mythos that has become Holmes.

I especially liked that the book focused on Watson's medical expertise. Too often, Watson doesn't do much in these latter stories. In this instance, he was a prominent figure throughout the book. The author does a good job in staying true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's style and plot lines. You have a beautiful young woman who comes to Baker Street looking for help, Holmes and Watson rushing off to track down the mystery, and Lestrade bumbling along behind to try to assist. Add in a couple of great villains from previous stories, an action packed train wreck and Holmes surviving numerous attempts on his life and you have a great book!

The narrator, Ben Werling, does a great job in his performance and added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. At first, the music was a little distracting, but as the book progressed, I enjoyed the musical interludes.

If you are a Holmes fan (but not a purist) or if you just enjoy a short whodunit, give this one a listen. You won't be disappointed.

I was given the chance to listen to this book through Audio Bookworm Promotions and chose to review it.

So much fun!!!

Very fun story with an extremely well matched narration. Perfect voice for this material with a subtle, yet distinct cast of characters. Really enjoyed reading/hearing a new Holmes and Watson mystery!

ok story, NOT Holmes.

the storyline itself isn't bad. but Watson calling their rooms "digs" (a slang term only since 1893?) I'm adding "literary flourish"? I'm not a Holmes expert, but the diction just didn't sound like Watson. The narration didn't sound like Watson either. the behavior was just "off enough" to be jarring. And spoiler alert -- can anyone really believe Holmes would be totally unaware of Moriarty's personal life? The story would have been better if it had been presented as two other detectives. I've read or listened to a number of "Holmes" stories not written by Doyle, and I've heard and read better.