The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows

By: James Lovegrove

Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

It is the autumn of 1880, and Dr. John Watson has just returned from Afghanistan. Badly injured and desperate to forget a nightmarish expedition that left him doubting his sanity, Watson is close to destitution when he meets the extraordinary Sherlock Holmes, who is investigating a series of deaths in the Shadwell district of London. Several bodies have been found, the victims appearing to have starved to death over the course of several weeks, and yet they were reported alive and well mere days before. Moreover, there are disturbing reports of creeping shadows that inspire dread in any who stray too close. 

Holmes deduces a connection between the deaths and a sinister drug lord who is seeking to expand his criminal empire. Yet both he and Watson are soon forced to accept that there are forces at work far more powerful than they could ever have imagined. Forces that can be summoned, if one is brave - or mad - enough to dare …

©2016 James Lovegrove (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Bad fanfiction.

This is nothing but a bad attemt at imitatating the style of the original Sherlock Holmes storys, and mixing them badly with Lovecraftian lore.

Watson is made to look like a dimwitted brute in this and Sherlock is significantly dumber and slower than in the original stories.
The auothor of this tries to write in Doyls style but fails.

The story is rushed, Sherlock and Watson have just met yet they act like they are old friends, this storty would have benefited from not twisting the original stories and throwing them aside, instead a independent story should have been written, taking place in the gaps of the original stories, perhaps related to the happenings in them or after, playing of small details of the otiginal stories - perhaps there was a real demon hound in the baskerville case? perhaps it wans't the KKK but instead the Cthulhu cult?

As it stands I think better things could come from a Sherlock/Lovecraft mix.

The narrator isn't that good either, hit and miss when it comes to capturing the characters mood and personality.

4 people found this helpful

Wow. What an awful book.

The beauty of Sherlock Holmes novels is that Sherlock takes the easily observed phenomena we see every day and makes accurate inferences and deductions. This book kills that image of Holmes. Basically, after going on an acid trip, Holmes’ eyes are opened to the real nature of the universe. His previous seductive techniques are useless. The rest of the novel he is just applying alchemy to bullets, etc, to defeat monsters. Not a Sherlock book. Big waste of time.

7 people found this helpful

Great Read

I very much enjoyed this book. It was Imaginative , Tightly written, A worthwhile read.

1 person found this helpful

Sherlock and Space Gods

James Lovegrove is a fantastic writer after reading his Godpunk series I had to jump on this bandwagon Dennis Kleinman is a great narrator the story does start off a bit slow bringing you up to speed in the Sherlock history but once it gets into the Eldritch you can't help but wonder what will happen next if you like Sherlock Holmes dealing with the being from HP Lovecraft mind you are in for a treat

1 person found this helpful

It’s not Kim Newman or Neil Gaiman...but it is undeniably fun.

Anyone who’s ever read my reviews in the past knows that when it comes to crossover fiction I think Kim Newman is the gold standard. It’s because of him that I even know what “crossover fiction” or “character mash-ups” are. It’s because of this admiration for Newman’s work that I have an insatiable appetite for any stories even remotely like it. Theodora Goss’s Athena Club Series (good), Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald (better), and Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula Series and Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D’urbervilles (best) still remain the holy trinity of the genre in my humble opinion. And while neither of the previously mentioned books are in any danger of being replaced by Lovegrove’s Holmes/Cthulhu monster-mash, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun. As a Holmes pastiche it’s pretty good. He’s nailed the tropes, characters, and literary style. Non-canon Holmes stories often seem like they can only be dry, tedious and dull or silly, non-sensical, and absurd (Looking at you Sherlock Holmes and the Servents Of Hell. The Sherlock Holmes/Hellraiser crossover.). Lovegrove strikes a good balance. It’s a good mix between cold clinical detective work and supernatural horror and he articulates Lovecraft’s existential dread rather well. It’s also a rather fast-paced book, it weaves familiar characters and nods to both the Holmes canon and the Cthulhu Mythos as well as can be expected without seeming clunky or inauthentic. While I wouldn’t put Lovegrove on the Mount Rushmore of crossover fiction authors I can honestly say that this was a fun pastiche and I look forward to the sequels.

8 people found this helpful

Excellent Story

A good reimagining of Sherlock Holmes confronted with the Lovecraftian mythos. Fun and well paced.

Loved it

This is s fantastic combination of both worlds. The narrator is spot on and does John Watson great justice! I absolutely loved it.

Excellent story and narrator

This novel was wonderful. That being said, there is an implied ‘a priori’ knowledge of the works of H.P. Lovecraft to enjoy it to its utmost and at least a passing familiarity with the character of Sherlock Holmes. This is NOT intended for Sherlock purists (of which there are numerous such individuals noted just by reading the reviews here), but the author beautifully captures the ‘voice’ of Dr. Watson in his narrative and vocabulary lending it a surprisingly authentic feel. The narrator was splendid - which is high praise from myself as I often find the great malfeasance of audiobooks is poor performances. Bravo!

A new type of adventure

Classic Sherlock with Eldritch terror! A grand alternative telling to the world’s greatest detective. Enjoy

"THE GAME IS A FOOT!"

As a big fan of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes I can say without a doubt that Sir A.C.D. would be very pleased to know that Mr Holmes & Watson were still on the case and now protecting us from terrors from beyond the void.
And let's not forget H.P Lovecraft.
I'm sure that he can rest quietly knowing that his nightmares from beyond are being battled by humanity's very best.
GREAT STORY!
READ BRILLIANTLY!!
Thank you.
Now!
I'm off to the next adventure!

An enjoyable book

It was a nice and enjoyable mash up of two memorable story lines, just don't take it too seriously and its fun! Plus the narrator was a rather strong point, didn't feel bored listening through it and each character was easily distinct.

2 people found this helpful

Promising start, then down hill.

Really had to force myself to listen through the silly bits. I'm afraid that kind of fiction is not for me and was a huge turn off for a big Holmes fan.

A Decent Start

I would say that, overall, it was a rather decent attempt at combining two much beloved works of literature. If you're a big fan of Sherlock and the Cthulu mythos then I'd say it's worth a listen, but be a bit open minded, characters won't act entirely like you'd expect or might even come away as a bad adaption. That said, the writing style is a good mimicry of Conan Doyle's and the integration of Lovecraft's cosmic horror doesn't feel heavy handed, although it does lack that inherent sense of dread you get with the original works.
So in summation, a decent start. Interesting and not quite what I'd expected but made me want to get started on the next installment.