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December 24, 2005

Review: The Italian Secretary: A Further Adventure Of Sherlock Holmes

I have devoured The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness so when I saw the new Caleb Carr book I bought it immediately in hardback. It has been out for awhile and I am only now finishing it after having it on my nightstand and in my travel bag for over three months. That should tell you something. It is very slow and hard reading. Not the page turners of his other work. Basically he has written a Sherlock Holmes and Watson story. Conjured it up out of whole cloth as if it were an original from Doyle. I have The New Sherlock Holmes annotated so I will have to get to that one to compare.

This may just be a case of crossed expectations. I was expecting the Alienist and was not prepared for the stiff upper lip of an English detective story. Sort of like the shock I had picking up Flush by Carl Hiaasen after reading his other thrilling works. A total let down. I didn't labor through Flush, but I did labor through The Italian Secretary much to my dismay and waste of time. I am not a fan of high brow english "literature" and the prentiousness of it all. The faux royalty and round about language is all too obtuse for my taste. The only interesting part of this book which I am sure there is some factual background to are the parts where Holmes and Watson use their study of the human body size, movement, and muscle structure to determine identity. There are many reveals in the plot where they go back and note something insightful about a previous encounter that I didn't notice while reading it. Makes me want to be more observant to mannerisms, facial expression, posture and body build during my conversations.

Overall, I wouldn't want anyone but a committed zealot of english detective fiction to bother with The Italian Secretary. Certainly not any fan of Caleb Carr's prior work. I rate it a 1 of 5.

Posted by Martin at December 24, 2005 3:53 PM

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