Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure

By: Bonnie MacBird

Narrated by: Thomas Judd

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

London. A snowy December, 1888. Sherlock Holmes, 34, is languishing and back on cocaine after a disastrous Ripper investigation. Watson can neither comfort nor rouse his friend - until a strangely encoded letter arrives from Paris.

Mlle La Victoire, a beautiful French cabaret star, writes that her illegitimate son by an English lord has disappeared, and she has been attacked in the streets of Montmartre. Racing to Paris with Watson at his side, Holmes discovers the missing child is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. The most valuable statue since the Winged Victory has been violently stolen in Marseilles, and several children from a silk mill in Lancashire have been found murdered. The clues in all three cases point to a single untouchable man.

Will Holmes recover in time to find the missing boy and stop a rising tide of murders? To do so he must stay one step ahead of a dangerous French rival and the threatening interference of his own brother, Mycroft.

This latest adventure, in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sends the iconic duo from London to Paris and the icy wilds of Lancashire in a case which tests Watson's friendship and the fragility and gifts of Sherlock Holmes' own artistic nature to the limits.

©2016 Bonnie MacBird (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"In a world with more than its share of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, it is rare for one to soar above the rest, but Bonnie MacBird's Art in the Blood achieves this singular feat and deserves a tip of the deerstalker." (Otto Penzler, editor, The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories)
"A thoroughly entertaining Sherlock Holmes adventure worthy of Doyle himself...vivid period detail, a superb, labyrinthine plot, snappy pacing and, most importantly, a deep respect for the classic characters." (Bryan Cogman, producer/writer, HBO's Game of Thrones)
"Bonnie MacBird's Art in the Blood has the three key ingredients for a delicious pastiche: Meticulous research, plausibility, and grand fun!" (Leslie S. Klinger, editor, The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes)

Not a bad story, but too 21st century

I enjoyed the story, but I won't put the next jn the series at the of my list of Sherlockian books to purchase. The author has chosen to make Sherlock a wimp, apparently to make him more realistic. And has put in a number of American PC anachronisms; for example, having Holmes use "Mindfulness"--yes, she calls it mindfulness (based on current practices, tho she justifies it as an old religious practice)--to cure himself from his drug addictions. I'm just not a fan: when writing a story set in the 29th century, keep it there IF (as she claims in the owning) this is just another lost story written by Watson. Feel free to invent an alternate world for Holmes, but own it and don't pretend it is Doyle's world.

Liked it, with caveats

I can say first of all that I had no problem with the narration, like some people did. Yes, occasionally Holmes is slightly more nasally than I would prefer (most of the time he is fine). But there was nothing to truly detract from the story for me. I am an east coast American and while the accent for the Americans was clearly the result of a British person doing an American accent, it was totally fine and I can't fathom why anyone felt bothered enough to complain.

I am of two minds with the actual story. I am definitely a Sherlockian. I've read the stories countless times, watched many of the movies and shows and have long loved Doyle's original creation without being rigid about accuracy. Was this story the best pastiche I've ever encountered? No. Were the characters and situations close enough to Doyle's original to merit my enjoyment? Yes.

There were out of character moments, but more moments were in character. The story was interesting and I really didn't know what was going on for most of the book.

I will say....that the ending got a bit more dramatic than i think Doyle would have approved of. And I agree with another reviewer that having Sherlock have tears in his eyes was distracting from the story, though to be fair I could see Cumberbatch's version of the character possibly doing that. Perhaps that was the inspiration?

Over all I enjoyed it, I think if you don't need it to be right on the nose with Sherlock Canon, you probably will too. There were moments I would have handled differently, that is all.

NOT SHERIOCIAN AT ALL

DR. WATSON CONSTANTLY TELLING HOLMES TO BE QUIET AND WHAT TO DO. NARRATOR WAS TERRIBLE, WATSONS VOICE WAS FINE BUT HOLMES SOUNDED LIKE A SQUEAKY MOUSE OR A WOMAN. SAVE YOU $$$$, PASS ON THIS ONE. VERY SLOW AND BORING.

Interesting, but not in the class of Conan Doyle

If you are looking for a Sherlock pastiche that measures up to Conan Doyle, this is not it. It is a light listen, one appropriate as background if you are doing an activity. It lacks the complexity of a Conan Doyle story. The narration of the book is quite good.

Very clever story with lots of surprises

There are some anachronisms, but overall a very strong Holmes pastiche. Lots of humor and action.

First rate Holmes pastiche

Of all the Sherlock Holmes "lost" mysteries that have popped up over the past few decades, this work by Bonnie MacBird captures the original Sir A. C. Doyle flavor the best. In what must have been a tip of the hat to Anthony Horowitz' "House of Silk," MacBird fashions an excellent tale with only slight allusions to a subject not often dealt with during the Victorian era, but sadly more so in our present age.

I found the story masterfully written, the narrator engaging and the story compelling. I believe anyone who wishes for yet one more Sherlock Holmes story will agree that this book is worth the listen.

It’s complicated

I’m a pretty big Holmes fan and I’ll be the first to admit that Sherlock Holmes fiction is maybe one of the hardest kinds of fiction to engage in. This story wasn’t up to the standard of the genre and I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrator. Also, the subject matter was particularly serious for a Holmes story but there were attempts st humour also. These seemed to conflict and make it difficult for me to get comfortable with the overall story.

Fun with Sherlock and others ...

A creative story with a nice blend of historical characters and events wrapping up with 21st century ideas. I thought it was brilliant to include the French criminal Vidocq without mentioning that he went on to be one of the fathers of the French Surete. Just a fun read.

a true homes adventure!

all well done exspantion to the home's verse. a fun listen, about 2 start book 3

wonderful listen

I enjoyed the plot twists and narration. was a wonderful story filled with adventure and intrigue.

Anthony Horowitz its not...

After the write ups I was looking forward to a good listen...what a disappoint. The plot looked good on the promotional blurb but it never materialised in the narrative. The story line consists of Holmes brother having all the answers before hand while Holmes runs around like some ninney shiuting Im a fool and more data...it lacks substance and maybe even a little detection work because there is very little if any. I can only compare the two attempts to emulate Sir ACD between this and Anthony Horowitz and AH comes out miles in front....maybe there was a reason these "undiscovered papers" languished so long in the archives....maybe they should have stayed there....

The Games Afoot!

Excellent story, was compelled to listen to the whole thing in a few short hours. Holmes and Watson are authentic and familiar and the atmosphere is straight out of The Strand. Any Holmes fan will be hooked. The reader is excellent, versatile and the delivery is sharp. He does sound a little like CP3O at times and should be a shoe in for that role should Anthony Daniels ever vacate it! Thoroughly recommended.

Good old Sherlock!

Loved it. Couldn't put the damn thing down! Cannot wait to download another one and start another Sherlock adventure.

A fair effort but no cigar

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who is not familiar with the originals or who isn't very fussy

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The storyline was ok

Which character – as performed by Thomas Judd – was your favourite?

none

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

boredom

Any additional comments?

this author makes a fair effort but fails to appreciate the wit of the original. the Watson character has far too much whimsy, constantly padding out the story with descriptions of room clothes etc. And Holmes hardly gets a look in. I will be returning this one.

Good adaption of Sherlock stories

Took me a while to get used to the voice of Sherlock but I soon did and the stories and narration was very good.

I enjoyed the stories a lot

absorbing

didn't like the beginning.Once I got into the story could't turn it off. awesome listen

Very poor. I would not recommend

Not for any real fans of the originals. Or indeed for any real mystery and detective fans either.

Narration resembles Jeeves and Woostervrathervthan

The story is fine but the narration, for me, is not remotely authentic. Very disappointed

Makes Holmes a buffoon

Story is generally good but Sherlock is continually making mistakes and is not like the original

Not the best

I listened to the stories out of order and have to say that had I listened to this one first, I doubt very much I would have bothered with the next two, which would have been a real shame.

In this story far too much of the narrative is about Watson rather than Holmes and it lacks the tone, language and feel of the original works. What really grates though is that the narrator lacks the vocal range or gravitas to bring any kind of suspense to the story and it makes it extremely difficult to feel any kind of attachment to the story or anticipation of what is to come next.