Crack in the Lens (Holmes on the Range Mysteries) (Holmes on the Range Mystery) [Paperback]

Now that Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer has been published, he and his brother Gustav "Old Red" don't need to find a new job right away. As a result, Gus decides it is time to head back to San Marcos, Texas, and resolve some unfinished business.

Five years earlier, Old Red was in love with a lady of the night. Before they could save up enough money to buy her freedom and get married, she was brutally murdered. Now that he has some skill as a detective, it is time to go back and make sure the killer faces justice. Not that it will be easy. No one seems to want to help them. Even old friends are turning their backs on him. Can Old Red solve a murder where the trail has grown cold?

While these books have always been darker than my usual fair, this is the darkest one to date. One scene in particular was very gruesome. Even Big Red's funny asides in the narration are more subdued over most of the book.

But I still couldn't put the book down. The plot kept moving forward at a steady pace. And while we weren't always getting clues, we were constantly hitting obstacles. Our heroes are up against some pretty impressive odds, which added greatly to the tension.

I also liked the way that Old Red was fleshed out. For the first time in the series, I felt we got to see true weakness. I feel like I know him much better as a result. Watching Big Red react to the changes in his brother allowed us to get to know him a little better as well. While there were many characters I didn't like there were some sympathetic characters here I would love to see again.

With how this book ends, I can't wait to see how things are developed in future books.

Otto, "Big Red," Amlingmeyer and Gustav, "Old Red," Amlingmeyer make a much welcome, and excellent, return in this, the fourth in the series of Sherlock Holmes inspired mysteries set in the Old West, from Steve Hockensmith.

It is a slightly different ride for our heroes this time as, rather than finding themselves embroiled in the central mystery through fate and circumstance, as they have been in previous adventures (albeit usually on purpose, well, "Old Red's," purpose anyway, so they can hone their, "detectivin'," skills and, hopefully, further their nascent careers in that profession) this time the mystery is a much more personal one as, "Old Red," uses his new found confidence in his, "deducyfyin'," skills to attempt to solve the murder of his one, true love which occured five years previously.

However, as much as, "Old Red," would like to emulate his hero, Sherlock Holmes' skills when it comes to handling his emotions as much as deducing facts, it does not come as easily to him. As a result, he finds his skills wavering as he is unable to simply disengage his feelings like, "The Man," himself would do and the titular, "Crack in the Lens," appears, leaving, "Big Red," worry that his brother will break completely.

The result is a slightly darker tone than the previous three novels, which can only be expected when dealing with a subject much closer personally to the heroes than they have previously faced. Indeed, the brothers are put through the wringer somewhat, emotionally. "Old Red," by the difficulties he faces with the loss of the woman he loved, the fight to see justice done and the mystery solved, as well as a need for revenge that bubbles just beneath the surface, and which takes him to some very dark places. "Big Red," by the pain and frustrations he can see his brother going through, both through reliving the loss of his beloved and the seeming loss of his, "deducifyin'," skills just when he needs them, and when they matter to him, the most.

However, that is not to say that the brilliant humour of their previous adventures, as evidenced through, "Big Red's," laconic, self effacing and outright hilarious narration, is absent in any way, because it is here in droves. From causing their very own stampede (of should that be, "riot?") in the local house of ill repute, to offending or upsetting practically every citizen of San Marcos, to never seeming to be able to hold onto their guns (although at least in this tale, "Big Red," at least gets to keep ahold of his hat, unlike previous adventures), to the brothers wonderful attempts to come up with the best put down at the others expense, regardless of the dire straits they might be in (and a truly terrifying flirtation for one of them with the notion of goat farming), to probably the most outright hilarious use of the word, "fudge," as profanity ever, this book will not disappoint old fans of the Amlingmeyer Brothers, and will easily serve as an indication of just how good these books are for anyone new to the series.

The fact that Steve Hockensmith's writing of the Amlingmeyer Brothers is so good, having always been one of the elements of the novels that I enjoy the most, making their relationship (however sarcastic) seem so genuine and caring, just means that when they find themselves dealing with darker issues than in the past, you just find yourself even more emotionally involved than usual. So invested have we become in these characters that you find yourself feeling everything they do, willing them to pull through and succeed, and that added depth of a slightly darker, more emotional, undercurrent just adds to the experience.

As ever with Hockensmith's books, the mystery itself proves to be a wonderful convolution, offering red herrings (or should that be, "Big Red herrings?") and stunning deductions galore to go along with the witty asides. At once honouring the memory of Holmes and, at the same time, having a glorious amount of fun with it, and proving once more that Steve Hockensmith's writing is in a league of its own.