David Pirie (1) (1946–)

I enjoyed this for several reasons, the most important of which is the POV narrative. In other words, while I've read stories with new characters that took place after the rise of Sherlock and spins on stories Doyle never wrote, this is the first where the POV storyteller is Doyle himself where he's playing the Dr. Watson role along side Dr. Bell, who is obviously the model for Sherlock.. Well done, plenty of surprises and could make a good film too.

Pirie has spun a magnificent tale with Arthur Conan Doyle as his hero. The story begins when Doyle is a medical school student and ends with him being apprenticed to a mentor, Dr. Bell, on whom, according to Pirie, he based his later Sherlock Holmes novels. From his mentor he became exposed to forensics, detective work and the importance of the preservation of the crime scene, as well as looking at every minute detail of a crime.
Doyle solves a bizarre crime (with the help of his mentor) show more involving a woman who insists she is being followed by a bicyclist who seems to disappear when she looks back at him. Her family says it's a case of nerves, but Doyle, who is falling in love with her, believes her and takes on the "case."

Fascinating read, and I hope the author comes out with more soon. I became interested in this book after PBS took it on as a series on Mystery. show less

I disliked the opening- felt a little too modern- but as it progressed the Wilkie Collins and Doyle tributes began to pleasantly pile up.
Good plot- liked the witches bits

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I, for one, hope Cream stays dead. Had enough of him already. Stand alone stories are best

liked it more than I expected to. It's been a while since I read my Holmes, so there were nagging bits that I was sure I was meant to recognize, as well as the blatantly obvious one. Ending was a bit disappointing, as I'd kind of anticipated it. Overall a fun read