Joseph R. G. DeMarco (1947–2026)

With all the slash fanfic the various iterations of Sherlock Holmes inspire, I'm surprised it took so long for a collection of them to be properly published. But I just read a friend's copy of A Study in Lavender and found it delightful. Nothing explicit in any of the stories, they're all mostly variations on "Holmes is brought a case by someone who turns out to be gay/lesbian and the case relates to a relationship of theirs." Sometimes Holmes, Watson, and/or Lestrade etc. are themselves show more gay, other times they're just sympathetic/open-minded, which doesn't feel out of character for an eccentric like Holmes or a doctor like Watson, whom ACD himself would presumably give his own views on homosexuality as a psycho-medical condition, not a criminal offense. While offensive today, it was the more progressive stance to take in the 19th century. Everyone clearly did their research on late-Victorian gay culture (or at least, has found all the research I have on the subject, so it meshes with what I know!) so none of them felt anachronistic. It really made me wish ACD had tried his hand at one or two stories involving gay clients just to be able to compare, but this collection is a fine substitute.

Purely as a short story collection, it's probably one of the best I've ever read in that I enjoyed all of the stories, none of them fell flat for me. Not to say they're all perfect, but they all kept me turning the pages and not skipping ahead to the next one. show less

The Protectorate is dissolving into factions as Cynnea stages a coup. But who is the power behind her? And how does the prophecy of The One Who Will Happen fit in?

A disappointment compared to the first book. Quite apart from the typos getting even more frequent, the book felt rather slow with a lot of padding as if the author was determined to make a trilogy when he only really had enough material for a duology. Will I read the next one when it comes out? Probably, if it is the final volume, show more but not if the story is going to be stretched out even more. OTOH I would read more single volume stories set in the same universe. show less

PI Marco Fontana is asked to investigate the death of a writer who was gunned down in Philadelphia, but was it a mugging that went wrong as the police claim or was a hit put out on him by a spurned lover or by people who did not want the research in his latest Work In Progress to surface?

Enjoyable, twisty, puzzle. Marco is lots of fun and both his PI business and his side business bring him into contact with a intriguing mix of characters both professionally and personally.

Somebody is making children into vampires (a change their minds and bodies cannot handle). Is it random cruelty or is it part of an attempt to destabilise vampire society and create a war between humans and vampires? Dru, the Prime Inquisitor of the Protectorate investigates.

A great story that kept me turning the pages and set in a world I want to know more about. Half a star deducted for some annoying typos.