Sherlock Holmes at the Varities (Sherlock Holmes)

Rating:
Summary: slight, predictable... and fun
Review: Here's another slender Sherlock Holmes pastiche from the prolific British journalist, theatrical historian, Sherlockian and magician Val Andrews. And this one brings Andrews' interest in theatrical history back to center stage.

A somewhat mellower Holmes is freshly back from the Great Hiatus (post Reichenbach Falls), and takes Watson out for an evening at Watson's favorite Music Hall... but the Hall has undergone an evolution into a Variety Theater (somewhat like America's vaudeville). The Hall's owner brings a seemingly minor problem to the attention of Holmes and Watson, but the problem soon becomes serious as several murder attempts are aimed at comedian and singer George Robey (an actual historical character, as are some of the other performers we meet in the course of the adventure), and Robey simultaneously finds a priceless violin in his collection, in place of a copy he had built himself as a hobby!

The murder attempts, the violin, a mysterious ghost or ghosts haunting the Hall, and a number of other plot turns are all connected by Holmes at adventure's end, of course. But the real interest here is Andrews' recreation of a vanished Golden Age of British "vaudeville". I enjoyed it all.

Rating:
Summary: slight, predictable... and fun
Review: Here's another slender Sherlock Holmes pastiche from the prolific British journalist, theatrical historian, Sherlockian and magician Val Andrews. And this one brings Andrews' interest in theatrical history back to center stage.

A somewhat mellower Holmes is freshly back from the Great Hiatus (post Reichenbach Falls), and takes Watson out for an evening at Watson's favorite Music Hall... but the Hall has undergone an evolution into a Variety Theater (somewhat like America's vaudeville). The Hall's owner brings a seemingly minor problem to the attention of Holmes and Watson, but the problem soon becomes serious as several murder attempts are aimed at comedian and singer George Robey (an actual historical character, as are some of the other performers we meet in the course of the adventure), and Robey simultaneously finds a priceless violin in his collection, in place of a copy he had built himself as a hobby!

The murder attempts, the violin, a mysterious ghost or ghosts haunting the Hall, and a number of other plot turns are all connected by Holmes at adventure's end, of course. But the real interest here is Andrews' recreation of a vanished Golden Age of British "vaudeville". I enjoyed it all.

Rating:
Summary: Slight tale but engaging and energetic.
Review: I was singularly unenthusiastic about my only previous encounter with the Sherlock Holmes pastiche novels written by Val Andrews ."Sherlock Holmes at the Western Front "struck me as slipshod and written as a chore with little energy or style.This entry in the series is better and the music hall background is probably the reason ,given Andrew's skills as a professional magician and experienced stage performer.There is a sense of affection for the setting and characters that helps compensate for a slight and wispy storyline.
Homes is called in to investigate a series of near fatal mishaps in a London theatre ;at first attributed to a ghost purported to haunt the theatre it becomes clear they are the result of human agency and specifically aimed at George Robey (an actual character )who narrowly avoids death twice at the hands of his unknown would-be assasssin.
This is not the only puzzle however for Robey is a talented violin maker and a has made a replica of a priceless violin and finds that his copy has been switched with the genuine article in a museum.
The solution is a bit un Holmesian being achieved by eavesdropping rather than ratiocination but the book has pace and vigour and will (mildly )satisfy devotees of the character without ever approching the standards set by other pasticheurs like Estleman or Boyer.

Flip but fun .