The Vatican Cameos

A Sherlock Holmes Adventure

By: Richard T Ryan

Narrated by: Nigel Peever

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

When the papal apartments are burgled in 1901, Sherlock Holmes is summoned to Rome by Pope Leo XII. After learning from the pontiff that several priceless cameos that could prove compromising to the church, and perhaps determine the future of the newly unified Italy, have been stolen, Holmes is asked to recover them.

In a parallel story, Michelangelo, the toast of Rome in 1501 after the unveiling of his Pieta, is commissioned by Pope Alexander VI, the last of the Borgia pontiffs, with creating the cameos that will bedevil Holmes and the papacy four centuries later.

For fans of Conan Doyle's immortal detective, the game is always afoot. However, the great detective has never encountered an adversary quite like the one with whom he crosses swords in The Vatican Cameos.

©2016 Richard Ryan (P)2016 MX Publishing

Sherlock Holmes case delves into the past

In The Vatican Cameos by Richard T Ryan, Holmes investigates a blackmail scheme that has its beginnings hundreds of years in the past. Michelangelo created cameos depicting the 7 deadly sins for the then pope in 1501 and Sherlock Holmes must stop a blackmail scheme in 1901. The story is told in parallel and was very engaging. Some of the scenes around the inspiration for the cameos were not suitable for my young grandsons to hear. The narration and sound effects by Nigel Peever were fantastic. His performance enhanced the story and brought it to life.

Excellent entertainment

Honored to be the first to review! Magnificently written. Beautifully narrated.
Must add for your library!

Conan Doyle would appreciate this

Vatican Cameos.
Sherlock Holmes in Rome, who would have thought of this. But it works!
Entertaining and so engaging time passes so quickly.
This is the best Holmes story I've read in a long time. As good as Conan Doyle s writing.
Fine performance of all characters.
A five star entertainment experience.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review. .

ok story, weird/akward performance choices

Story's not bad, though bifurcated narrative feels odd for a Sherlock Holmes story.
Weirdest Holmes voice I've ever heard. Sounds bizarrely low and menacing. Personally I really disliked it.

Holmes and Watson in Rome

Could anything be more fun than Holmes and Watson solving a satisfying mystery set in the Vatican? I’m an artist and love to travel, so really enjoyed the skillfully introduced art history and travel adventures in both the 1901 and 1501 timelines. Ryan beautifully captures the voice and personalities of Holmes, Watson, Michelangelo, and popes Leo and Julius. The mystery was as compelling as the setting!

Good story. Worth a read. Audio is Odd, Distracting

I think I would have liked this better in writing than having listened to the audio version. It is bifurcated between the story of Holmes’ time and investigation and the past, historical underpinnings of the topic of the story. It is not unusual for a Holmes story to contain significant historical background. Doyle usually did it in large swaths that left Holmes and Watson out of the narrative for very long periods. I like the switching back and forth here better. This is more in the style of an Erik Larson book in that regard.

I enjoyed the story and the characters. Skip the scene of the ball if you are sensitive.

The audio is distracting, inconsistent and incongruous with the storyline.

The narrator decided many characters, including Holmes surprisingly, needed to sound like vaudeville vampires or Emperor Palpatines, especially when they laugh. Very odd. Many of the depictions of laughter were so over the top, you might expect a thunderclap to follow them even though, often, nothing menacing had prompted the laughter. This makes the occasions when something menacing was going on all the more confusing.

Most of the Italians speak English with distractingly thick, almost comical, Italian accents.

The audio also includes a few sound effects, seemingly at random: A bell sometimes, but not always; the chugged noise of a train engine, but only on one of the trips; birds chirping but only in one scene. They would have been well done had they been consistent. I might find them entertaining on a second listen, now that I know about them. But, as it was, had had to backtrack sometimes to listen again to try to figure out, “what is that noise?”

Finally, nearly all of the speaking echos as if it is being spoken in a cavernous, stone castle. This is confusing as well in that some of the scenes do actually take place in large, castle-like salons. It is so appropriate in some places, I was confused when I heard it again while characters were in more compact surroundings. I had to go back in the story to check the location. I thought I might have missed a scene change. But, the “hall” reverb is throughout the novel. The editors must just really like a little reverb….pretty much all the time.

So, the story is definitely worth a read for Sherlockians. The audio version is somewhat off putting, but if it is they only way you are likely to get to the story, you should give it a try.

Sherlock as Winston

If you can get over Nigel channeling Churchill and the over exaggerated Italian accents, you will enjoy a fairly interesting Holmesian panache.

Intriguing Concept, Overlong in its Telling

In The Vatican Cameos, Richard Ryan has written two parallel stories. The first, featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, takes place in 1901 when Pope Leo XII calls Homes and Watson to the Vatican to solve a recent burglary from the Papal apartments. The second is set in 1501’s Rome at a time when Michelangelo was commissioned by the last of the Borgia popes to design and create seven cameos that were later hidden from public view and, of course, where the objects stolen in the 1901 burglary.

Nigel Peever does a good job of narration. I do have one small quibble with the narration, though. Mr. Peever adroitly employs tonal inflections to distinguish characters in various situations. Because I tend to listen to audiobooks most often on buses and in subway cars, many of the words spoken in a lower volume were lost against the background noises of the transport. Occasionally the high pitched laughter that characterized Holmes was jarring in those same environments.

Overall, an enjoyable 8+ hours.

Excellent tale of "what if"

I Loved this story! Highly recommend it! The author does well with fictional History! Bravo!

A slight change of venue

Well normally we have all of England with Ireland and Scotland for a change of pace for SH to stalk his prey but not this time. Instead SH and JW travel all the way to Rome, Italy and the Pope has a job for them. The story weaves back and forth in time to give us a rich history that we normally don't hear about the church. Very, very interesting but----is it True??? Read it and make up your own mind.