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Rating: 
Summary: Thin Holmesian Adventures in WWI
Review: Guess what? German spies seem to know of Allied offensives before they get underway. Mycroft leans on Watson to importune Holmes away from his behives, and investigate. Soon Holmes and Watson are entertaining at an Army base near Stonehenge, with Holmes on violin and Watson on piano(!). Spies are quickly uncovered, and Holmes and Watson take their places, passing over to France, where eventually, flying over areas well behind the battlefronts (contrary to the title) Watson's sharp eyes and Holmes' powers of ratiocination soon reveal a dastardly scheme to win the war on behalf of the Kaiser!Like many of Andrews' Holmesian pastiches, this is told in a leisurely fashion, with virtually no action. In fact there are quite a few signs Andrews is tiring of the whole pastiche business, including Holmes mocking himself not once but several times. If you've read previous books from this author and publisher, you'll know pretty much what to expect.
Rating:
Summary: Thin Holmesian Adventures in WWI
Review: Guess what? German spies seem to know of Allied offensives before they get underway. Mycroft leans on Watson to importune Holmes away from his behives, and investigate. Soon Holmes and Watson are entertaining at an Army base near Stonehenge, with Holmes on violin and Watson on piano(!). Spies are quickly uncovered, and Holmes and Watson take their places, passing over to France, where eventually, flying over areas well behind the battlefronts (contrary to the title) Watson's sharp eyes and Holmes' powers of ratiocination soon reveal a dastardly scheme to win the war on behalf of the Kaiser! Like many of Andrews' Holmesian pastiches, this is told in a leisurely fashion, with virtually no action. In fact there are quite a few signs Andrews is tiring of the whole pastiche business, including Holmes mocking himself not once but several times. If you've read previous books from this author and publisher, you'll know pretty much what to expect.
Rating:
Summary: This simply will not do
Review: Val Andrews , the author os several Holmesian pastiches for the Breese Books imprint ,is also a noted magician. I hope for the sake of her livelihood that she displays more dexterity at performing feats of legerdemain than she does when writing this tired and tiresome farrago of nonsense.
Holmes and Watson are summoned from retirement by Mycroft Holmes to investigate the leaking of British troop movements to the Germans during World War one.Things are in a parlous state with rumours abounding that the French are about to seek a separate treaty with the Kaiser leaving Britain isolated and at real risk of losing the war.
Holmes and Watson-disguised as musicians entertaining the troops -first do battle with German spies near Salisbury,the location of Southern Command,before tracking down the ringleader and venturing -disguised now as themselves--into occupied France to thwart the Germans at the front line.
The book is less a novel than two novellas strung loosely together and even with a relatively brief page count seems padded .Holmes finds time to discourse on the origins of Stonehenge,the future of aviation and the shape of wars to come,but never to advance the plot as distinct from pad out a thin story
It seems a tired book and , cardinal sin ,makes Holmes pompous and boring.The title is also a misnomer as the dynamic duo do not actually tread foreign soil until the sorry saga is almost over Dull!and that is cannot be forgiven in any book.
Stick with the admirable King,Meyer ,Hall and Boyer if you want good modern Sherlockiana
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