Told mainly from Dr. Watson's point of view after Sherlock's death (his real one, years after the falls). Very touching in some areas. I enjoyed the retelling of part of the detectives life. ( )

That was the weirdest slash I ever read. Well, not including slash that have pregnant men in it. ( )

A mystery within a mystery, applied on a tightly woven historical background and written in a spookily authentic-sounding Conan Doyle tone, this is a delightful entertainment.

Unlike the author's truly astonishing Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer, however, this wasn't (to use Graham Greene's differentiation) a novel. Ahab's wife went through a remarkable transformation as a person, exploring universal themes from a specific and deliciously history- and literature-ridden space. Alas, Watson reports the case and his thoughts with authentic detail and introspection, yet never pauses to consider the idea that would have turned this otherwise highly amusing book into a truly moving piece of literature: Watson himself married more than once and had successful, healthy relationships with different people who wanted different things, but what does it mean when a slightly sociopathic (in the technical sense) solipsist falls in love? Is that love? Or merely the motive that, in Naslund's clever plot, explained how Holmes responded to certain opportunities?

Regardless, a fun read, far more so than that Laurie R. King stuff, which incidentally also fails to answer the question of what happens when solipsists fall in love, especially when one is so obviously caught up in a rationalizing, self-aggrandizing Mary Sue fantasy. Yes, Naslund's book is quite above that nonsense and is a real bibliophile's holiday.

(Especially fun if you're up on your 19th century Continental royal family history and a bit of late 19th century science, but that's not an entrance requirement - you just get more of Naslund's often partly-concealed references, which are part of the pleasure of reading her historical fiction.) ( )

Sherlock purist and persnickety readers will probably poo-poo this slim volume, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2010/08/201059-sherlock-in-love-sena-jeter.html ( )