A Study in Brimstone

February 22, 2016
Douglas Adams meets Arthur Conan Doyle in this delightfully absurd collection of six cases narrated by a Dr. Watson who’s teamed with a very unusual partner: Warlock Holmes, a consulting magician. As in the original stories, the good doctor has returned from the Afghan War down on his luck, only to stumble into an opportunity to share quarters with an eccentric sleuth. Almost totally destitute, Watson leaps at the chance, despite Warlock’s warning of his unusual tendencies and the detective’s requirement that the doctor enter their Baker Street rooms by stepping over their threshold backward. Their first case together is a hilarious parody of A Study in Scarlet, wherein a “baked goods wrapper,” inserted in the mouth of a murder victim, proves a vital clue. Watson also gets to meet this universe’s versions of Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson, who are a vampire and an ogre, respectively. Sherlockians will be reminded of Robert L. Fish’s brilliant Schlock Holmes stories.

April 1, 2016
In a debut novel that cheerfully pokes fun at the Holmes-ian canon, Denning introduces readers to Warlock Holmes, a supernaturally gifted counterpart to the famous consulting detective of 221B Baker St. When an acquaintance introduced Dr. John Watson to a tall, thin, and very strange man with the surname of Holmes, an endless world of famous cases and archetypal details stretched out from their meeting. Spinoffs and pastiches are numerous, but Denning's take on these beloved characters is unusual and charming. This Holmes and Watson inhabit a gleefully weird Victorian London and work their way through six cases including a bizarre version of A Study in Scarlet called "A Study in Brimstone," in which the identification of a murderer hinges on an abandoned pastry wrapper and the reader is introduced to Inspector Vladislav Lestrade, a detective at Scotland Yard and a vampire. Though Warlock Holmes shares some of the trappings of his famous progenitor, he is a spectacularly incompetent detective. He relies on occult powers, exchanges with demons, and the cryptic speeches of the mysterious, disembodied Moriarty, who occasionally possesses him. Watson is the one who revels in skills of observation and deduction, discovering a passion for reason and a love of the chase. The characters are so likable that they can pause their absurd antics to contemplate prejudice and privilege without missing a beat or falling out of their outrageous world. Denning has a knack for smooth writing that carries the action along and a keen sense for how to set up a joke. He imagines his world with gusto, lavishing the reader with hilarious details like Holmes' accordion playing and a gang of Baker Street Irregulars made up of horrifying were-rats. A reimagining of Sherlock Holmes that is often very silly but consistently funny, clever, and entertaining.

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April 15, 2016
Debuting author Denning's ambitious mashup on Sherlock Holmes begins as a supernatural spoof of Doyle's A Study in Scarlet (1888), with the initial meeting of Holmes and Dr. John Watson. It doesn't take long for Watson to notice strange goings-on with the idiosyncratic Warlock Holmes. He soon learns that Holmes can channel mystical powers and control other-dimensional demons. Warlock's gleeful enthusiasm for the supernatural is often off-putting to those around him, so Watson begins coaching him in the art of deduction so that he may better guard his secrets. Telling the story mainly from Watson's point-of-view, Denning employs a host of Doyle's characters as the supporting cast, with twists. Scotland Yard inspectors Lestrade and Gregson are a vampire and an ogre, respectively; the Baker Street irregulars are were-rats; and Professor Moriarty is a mysterious and powerful evil spirit. While cast and settings are faithful to the original stories, Denning upends the narrative with a host of paranormal turns that range from the irreverent to the gruesome. Mashup fans will be eagerly awaiting more of this obvious match for fans of Seth Grahame-Smith.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)