Mycroft Holmes, charged with ensuring the personal safety of Queen Victoria, calls on his brother for help when a number of attempts have been made on her life and when two unexplained deaths occur amongst the staff at her Scottish residencies. Accompanied by Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes goes north by train, examining the few facts Mycroft has been able to cryptically supply. To Watson's bafflement he is sure there is a link between these deaths and the murder in the old royal apartments at Holyrood of the secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots: a killing which left a bloodstain that daily refreshes itself and in a room where voices can be heard in the darkest hours of the night. Can Holmes's extraordinary deductive powers solve the historical crime as well as the contemporary one? An original, beautifully crafted mystery story which is also a respectful homage to the master of the whodunnit.
The Italian Secretary
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Full marks to Caleb Carr for creating a new Holmes and Watson adventure (DAILY MIRROR )
Carr's is the real Holmes (Leslie Klinger, editor of THE NEW ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES )
Caleb Carr does not disappoint...A pacy and well-crafted mystery. (DAILY EXPRESS )
Carr's is the real Holmes (Leslie Klinger, editor of THE NEW ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES )
Caleb Carr does not disappoint...A pacy and well-crafted mystery. (DAILY EXPRESS )
Book Description
At the invitation of the Conan Doyle Estate, the best-selling historical thriller writer, Caleb Carr, has created a new adventure for Holmes and Watson, set in the grandeur of Holyrood Palace in the twilight of Queen Victoria's reign.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The portrayal of Holmes is spot-on to begin with, but slips a little as the book wears on. He's too much of a cypher, and some of his utterances, especially on the supernatural, seem out of character - as though Carr has superimposed the beliefs of Conan Doyle upon Holmes. There are also little details here and there that don't quite ring true. Would Watson really be so ignorant of foreign languages, or of the differences between highland and lowland Scots? The plot is a bit on the slight side (perhaps because this was originally intended to be a short story), and the tension slackens considerably after a nicely written scene on a train up to Scotland.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
So said Sherlock Holmes in The Yellow Face. Any indefinite doubt I had about Caleb Carr's ability to craft a credible and very enjoyable Sherlock Holmes adventure was dispelled in the first few pages.
I have read and enjoyed Carr's earlier fiction, The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness. One of the hallmarks of both books was Carr's ability to create a seemingly auhentic picture of life in 19th-century New York. He also created a wonderful pair of characters in Dr. Lazlo Kreizler and his trusted comrade John Schuyler Moore. However, Carr faced two hurdles in writing the Italian Secretary. He had to recreate the atmosphere of Victorian-era Scotland, a region he was probably not as intimately familiar with as New York City. Further, while Kreizler and Moore sprung solely from Carr's imagination, here Carr had to find authentic voices for the esteemed Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, whose characterization by Arthur Conan Doyle must be fixed firmly in the imagination of anyone who has ever read the original Holmes tales. That is no easy task.
I have read virtually all of Conan Doyle's work but admit that I cannot claim as much expertise as devoted Baker Street Irregulars or other followers of Holmes. However, this amateur thinks Carr has done a terrific job replicating their original voices. It sound like Holmes and Watson to me.
The plot line is set out in detail in the product description and I won't go on at length about the plot or discuss any of the many twists and turns along the way. I did like the way Carr threw Sherlock's brother Mycroft into the story. Carr does an excellent job describing the petty sibling rivalries that must affect even the most accomplished of brothers.
Carr does a very good job of revealing bits and pieces of the mystery every few pages. The story is fast-paced and the many twists and turns in the story left me continually wanting to read just one more chapter before I put the book down for the evening. For me, this is the mark of good adventure tale.
In an afterword. Jon Lellenberg, the U.S. representative of the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, suggests that Carr write a new story in which Holmes and Watson meet up with Carr's Kreizler and Moore. I do hope Carr takes a stab at this.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in "The Man With the Twisted Lip" that "a trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still more so." Carr has done a marvelous job in chronicling the further adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is a book that will be enjoyed by fans of both Carr and Conan-Doyle as well as by readers who simply like a fast-paced, well written yarn.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this because, 1: I love Caleb Carr's boks and 2: although not a big Holmes fan I would like to see how Carr deals with the prickly Holmes. Was I disappointed? Yes. Personally I found the plot full of holes and not throroughly thought out. The Italian secretary story really wasn't needed for the plot to be pushed along and there were times I actually forgot about it as being a huge motive.
In places it was too comical considering the history behind the murders and the royal history concerning the Italian secretary. I know Watson's a bumbling idiot and he is telling the story but the humour began to grate on me halfway through the book. The balance between the humour and the dark history behind the murders teetered towards to the comical on too many occasions and I think more emphasis should have been put on the Scottish nationalist side of the plot which would have been more intriguing to read.
I would have prefered if Carr would write the next book in his psychological thriller series, than waste time on books like this.
In places it was too comical considering the history behind the murders and the royal history concerning the Italian secretary. I know Watson's a bumbling idiot and he is telling the story but the humour began to grate on me halfway through the book. The balance between the humour and the dark history behind the murders teetered towards to the comical on too many occasions and I think more emphasis should have been put on the Scottish nationalist side of the plot which would have been more intriguing to read.
I would have prefered if Carr would write the next book in his psychological thriller series, than waste time on books like this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
All the right ingredients with none of the magic
I have always loved the original Holmes stories and have been interested in what other people are able to do with them, which is what led me to Carr's novel 'The Italian... Read more
Published on 20 April 2008 by Sarah Durston
1.0 out of 5 stars
Meandering and uninteresting
I'm sorry, but for me this book just didn't work. The style was not the same as that of earlier Sherlock Holmes stories. It lacked the pace and the intrigue. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2007 by Emanon
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable read.
I bought this book with no prior knowledge of the previous works of the author,so I had nothing to compare it with. Read more
Published on 10 April 2007 by Simon Hale
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not his best.
I bought this because I very much enjoyed The Alienist and,to a lesser extent,The Angel Of Darkness. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2007 by Johnnybluetime
5.0 out of 5 stars
Caleb Carr's Sherluck is worth your time!
Refreshing. Absorbing. And quite the clever one--Caleb Carr takes the old standby ("the game's afoot!") and out Sherlocks Sherlock in "The Italian Secretary. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2006 by Billy J. Hobbs
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