Dead Man's Land

The Great War is raging, and an aging Major John Watson has been recommissioned to train medical personnel on the front lines in the new technique of blood transfusion. After the death of a patient who had just received a blood transfusion, Watson sets out first to prove that the blood transfusion didn't cause the death, and then to identify the cause. Is it possible that someone has taken advantage of the chaos of war to commit a murder? Dr. Watson tries to imagine how his old friend and partner Sherlock Holmes might tackle the problem. Watson's pursuit of the truth brings him into great danger, and also endangers the lives of his two young VAD nursing assistants.

Dr. Watson and the Great War are an inspired pairing. Ryan hit the right show more tone both with the aging Dr. Watson and with the glimpses he gives of Watson's former partner and friend. I looked forward to picking up the book whenever I had a chance to read. One of the things I enjoy about mysteries is trying to piece together clues to solve the mystery before the fictional detective does. I'm always a little disappointed with books like this one where the characters acquire knowledge that isn't shared with the reader. I was also disappointed with some aspects of the ending. The setting and characters made it worthwhile, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this author will do with them next. show less

Dead Man’s Land by Robert Ryan was a very good thriller set among the muddy trenches of World War I. The author chose Dr. John Watson to anchor this story, and, I think, did a very good job with this iconic character. Ryan includes enough references to Sherlock Holmes and the relationship between the two men to remind the reader of their past detective efforts yet this would be just as easily read if one wasn’t familiar with this duo.

Although rather elderly to be serving at the front, Dr. Watson arrives with the intent to oversee and record the new medical technique of blood transfusions. He stumbles into a murder mystery and along with the intrepid VAD, Georgina Gregson is soon working to uncover a killer.

Along with the main show more story, the author includes a side story about a German sniper that I really enjoyed. The excursions out into No Man’s Land were vivid and terrifying. A well-known celebrity also appears as Winston Churchill makes an appearance in the story as well. Details about the conditions that the medical staff worked under, and indeed, the shortcomings of medical knowledge of that time period was appalling. Overall the realistic descriptions of the war, the actual murder mystery and the strong characterization of Dr. Watson made Dead Man’s Land a satisfying page turner. show less

I ended up finding this book excellent, though I wasn't all that sure at first, because I felt having John (Dr) Watson as a protagonist was a bit of a stretch, especially here when we encounter him as an old man who has decided to join the First World War effort to bring his skills as a doctor to good use, by introducing the new science of blood transfusion. This was my first Robert Ryan book, and I had seen he had written quite a few war books, and must say his descriptions of this particular war and what soldiers experience at the front and while behind the front lines seemed very realistic. He's also made Watson a very well-rounded character and had him interacting with an interesting cast of characters, not least of which Mrs show more Georgina Gregson, a VAD (part of the voluntary aid detachment), who denigrated by the nurses and sisters in charge as being a workhorse lacking skills, is chosen by Dr Watson as his assistant. It doesn't come as a great surprised that Mrs Gregson had been involved with the suffragette movement and her murky past comes to the surface as the story unfolds, adding another layer to this wartime murder mystery. The mystery Watson is attempting to solve involves the use of a horrible poison which leaves the victims looking like gargoyles in death, grinning horribly with expressions of dreadful fear and pain in their eyes. It seems someone is not content with the death toll this war of attrition is taking on the troops and has decided to hasten the death of some individuals, ensuring they experience as much suffering as possible. The mystery is solved without the aid of the great Sherlock Holmes, though he does make the occasional appearance in the course of things, as does Winston Churchill, and while all this might have seemed like a mere sideshow, it all ends up making for a convincing story and quite a page turner. It seems the next book might continue exploring what took place in this first instalment, since Watson is not satisfied that the murderer has explained his motives sufficiently. Looking forward to part two in this series. show less

Dead Man’s Land - Robert Ryan
Audio performance by Richard Burnip
4 stars

I just can’t resist books from the ever expanding Sherlock Holmes universe. In this book, Dr. John Watson (yes, That Dr. Watson) steps away from his aging partner and into the trenches during WW1. Defying his own age limitations (and requiring the reader to suspend disbelief) the good doctor takes a new blood transfusion method straight to the front lines. His method and his expertise come into question with the strange and horrible death of a soldier following an emergency transfusion.

The plot was very convoluted with a high body count of willfully murdered soldiers in addition to the carnage of war. Watson is forever underselling himself for his lack of show more Holmesian detective abilities, but he gets there in the end (with some very minor support from his old mentor.) Despite the incongruous presence of Dr. Watson actually in the trenches, I was impressed with the historical detail of this book. The descriptions of field hospitals and the carnage are graphically realistic. There’s a bit of subplot involving Winston Churchill that sent me to google to check the facts. There’s professional competition between the qualified nursing staff and the VAD’s (volunteers). Watson struggles with his Victorian moral standards while depending on female support in surgery and detection. The VAD’s, especially ‘Mrs’ Georgina Gregson have a suffragette backstory, and the murder victims all seem to come from mill towns with histories of union violence. Clearly, all’s not quiet on the home front.

The book seemed a bit long with unnecessary detail as I was reading it. But, I find that I’m appreciating all of those atmospheric, historical details more as I think about it now. I’m definitely interested in continuing with this series. show less

"He half expected to hear a nagging voice in his ear, telling how he was looking but not observing."

John Watson feels called to serve humanity as best he can - in the support effort to the trenches in Flanders, employing once more his medical knowledge in the field. In between the criminal understaffing, the treacherous mud and the deadly attacks by the other side, there seems to be a murderer about with intent - but who would bother going to all that trouble when the men are falling about them anyway?

Plot wise this was top-notch; it took a little while to get going and there were plenty of red herrings, but solid ones. For a few awful pages I thought Mrs Gregson was the killer! Couldn't have that. Ryan steers us inexorably through a show more succession of treacherous half-clues and crazy motorcycle chases, gas attacks and sniper attacks from church towers towards the front line to have the drama play out in no man's land.

Ryan writes Watson very well*; he's getting on a bit, a little old-fashioned, concerned with chaperones and propriety and stuff, but also willing to throw all that to the wind to solve a murder. Mrs Gregson is a great character and I loved the development as the plot went on, mixing the politics of the suffragettes and a touch of 1910s English life into the desperation of the trenches. Oh yes and Sherlock makes an appearance - but he's old now and has a bad back.

I found the setting overly graphic (silly me - it's set in a hospital, in a war), but also surprising in that behind the front lines, often it was quiet. Watson and Mrs Gregson don't have too much trouble travelling around to Bailleul and the Big House, which surprised me, so I suppose I learnt something about World War I!

Niggles? I ended the book not quite understanding the motive of the killer. A lot of time was spent on the German side of the trenches with little effect, I felt, and the German soldiers were given no humanity at all; it's this sort of attitude towards Germany, still commonly encountered in Britain, that really bugs me. Also nearly everyone seemed to be dead by the end; a little overcooked.

In summary, a clever whodunnit set in tragedy and gore.

*my only acquaintance with Watson to date has been in the form of Martin Freeman to Benedict Cumberbatch's Holmes, and to a lesser extent, in the form of Jude Law to Robert Downey Jr's Holmes. show less

This is a spin off novel featuring Sherlock's Holmes companion Doctor Watson, in later life serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War. While there, he solves a bizarre series of murders taking place against a backdrop of mass death and destruction. As a well written novel describing the horrors of the trenches this works well - while reading it, I thought the author really wanted to write a novel about the trenches and that the inclusion of Dr Watson was more of an afterthought - a feeling borne out in the acknowledgements section. As a Dr Watson story (with a brief appearance by Holmes) I didn't think this really worked - they seemed a fairly pale reflection of their original characters and were portrayed as show more being much older than they should have been in 1916, Holmes especially being a frail old man here, barely able to look after his bees on the Sussex Downs, never mind engage in any remote sleuthing. Also, without wishing to give away spoilers, I thought the basic rationale for the murders was completely implausible in this setting. The plot took rather a long time to get going, I thought, and the novel rather too long at nearly 500 pages. Some of the secondary characters, especially the nurses were well drawn. Overall, a bit of a disappointment, and I'm not certain if I will read the sequels. show less

Mr. Ryan explains in his acknowledgements that the book’s idea was inspired by Holmes’ suggestion at the end of "His Last Bow" that Watson would return to his ‘old service’. Dead Man’s Land is a powerful novel of WWI that could be read for this aspect alone, but lovers of Holmes and Watson will be astonished at the depth of Ryan’s Watson as the beloved doctor goes to war. He encounters there not only the appalling injuries and deaths from battle, but a death that he believes was murder. More deaths occur and it is up to Watson to discover the truth. He has a wee bit of help from Sherlock. The book has been authorized by the Conan Doyle estate and it is a book not to be missed by any fan of Holmes and Watson.