Arrowood

A top-notch performance by Malk Williams makes Mick Finlay's debut novel as good as it gets. The setting is the London of Sherlock Holmes. A woman comes to ex-journalist turned private investigator Arrowood because she can't afford Holmes. Her brother has vanished, and she wants Arrowood to find him. The story is told by Arrowood's partner, Barnett, who soon makes it obvious that Arrowood is an anti-Holmes who is obsessed with his competition. Williams makes Arrowood's scorn palpable as he derides Holmes's deductive crime-solving techniques, declaring himself an "emotional agent" who relies on his gut to solve crimes. Dangerous criminals, gangs, murder, mayhem, and the arrival of Arrowood's sister, a missionary with salvation on her mind, make for entertaining (really!) listening. Here's hoping for more from Finlay and Williams. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

April 17, 2017
Finlay does a good job of creating a plausible alternative to Sherlock Holmes in his first novel and series debut. In London in 1895, photographer Caroline Cousture, a French woman, turns to Arrowood because she can’t afford Holmes’s fees. Her brother, Thierry, has vanished after being accused of stealing from the bakery where he worked. Though Arrowood suspects her of lying, he accepts the case, only to find that it reawakens some painful and dangerous memories. Arrowood was once a successful reporter before he lost his job to a relative of the new owner of his paper. His reputation for muckraking led to a career as a detective and an eventual partnership with former law clerk Norman Barnett. Their first joint inquiry, into a suspected bigamy, ended disastrously, with an innocent man losing his life. Arrowood took to the bottle, causing his wife to leave him. Finlay’s characterizations are better developed than in some similar series, such as Will Thomas’s Barker and Llewelyn mysteries (Hell Bay, etc.). Agent: Jo Unwin, Jo Unwin Literary Agency (U.K.).