Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu

July 31, 2017
This uneven series kickoff from bestseller Gresh (Blood and Ice) combines the hyperrational world of Conan Doyle with Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. In 1890, after a killer strikes four times in London’s East End, Sherlock Holmes is consulted by sickly-looking Willie Jacobs, who operates an experimental tram in that part of the city. Holmes deduces that Jacobs discovered one of the bodies, that of his father. Like the other three, it was eviscerated and half-eaten and had its bones arranged in an odd configuration, inside of which was a spherical object, apparently made of bone and bearing strange symbols. Jacobs confirms that the body was that of his father, who invented the tram, and expresses his fear that he’ll be Scotland Yard’s prime suspect. Gresh adds depth to Dr. Watson, a devoted husband and father, by showing his struggle between his concern for his family and his desire to help Holmes—which makes it hard for the reader to take that struggle seriously when Watson decides to join his friend on yet another perilous investigation. Gresh offers few scares, and sections told from the perspectives of characters other than Watson dissipate the suspense.