The Canary Trainer

My first experience with Nicholas Meyer's take on Sherlock Holmes when I saw The Seven-per-Cent Solution on cable at my grandmother's. Later I came into possession of the book and its sequel, The West End Horror. But I didn't have the final one, The Canary Trainer so I put it on my wishlist.

When it was time to pick up The Canary Trainer at the library, I had some time while I waited for my kids to finish what they were doing. So I sat on one of the comfy couches in the children's wing and I started to read. By the second page I was struck with how similar the book was to the opening of The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King.

Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain now. After re-reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice I realized that show more they had to be pulling from an Arthur Conan Doyle book I hadn't read. So I did some poking around and realized I'd missed two: The Return of Sherlock Holmes and His Last Bow. They are often published together and I have them now on my to be read pile.

So that takes me back to The Canary Trainer. It begins with Sherlock keeping bees. But he is pulled back into his profession, this time not by a fourteen year bookworm but by his old friend Watson.

The game a foot relates to Holmes's time when was away (namely between the time that Doyle killed him off and was forced by angry fans to resurrect him). The tale he tells shares points of similarity again with King's vision of things as related in The Language of Bees. This time, though, Meyer takes the story and weaves it into another contemporaneous story, The Phantom of the Opera.

Being a fan of The Phantom of the Opera (the book and the original film, not the stage play nor more recent film), I had fun imagining Holmes in the middle of it all. He was trying to get away from being a detective, being there instead to play violin. Mysteries though always have a way of finding a detective, especially those who don't want to be found! show less

Sherlock meets the Phantom.

This was fun, and I did like that Sherlock was, for once, the narrator and that he'd been taken away from all of his familiar haunts.

Not the best adventure, but definitely nowhere near the worst.

Another title for this book could be "Sherlock Holmes meets The Phantom of the Opera." Nicholas Meyer does a good job of intertwining the two story lines. Meyer also throws in "The Woman" Irene Adler from "A Scandal in Bohemia" and exploits the minor plot device of Sherlock's violin playing. Using the characters and plot line from the Phantom ads spice to an otherwise average Sherlockian tale.

I thoroughly enjoy Nicholas Meyer's Sherlock Holmes. He is true to the canon but goes a bit beyond to give us a nice view of the man.

I liked the "Seven Percent Solution" and "The West End Horror" and found that "The Canary Trainer" is not as good.

Although it was a good idea to put Holmes in the middle of "The Phantom of the Opera"'s plot, it removes all sense of surprise and gives an annoying sense of déja-vu if you know Leroux's book, as I did.

Holmes' voice is well-written and Irene Adler is as lovely and as clever as ever. Meyer is a enthusiastic follower of Baring-Gould's theories about Holmes and the book finishes with a mention of Montenegro...

In all, it was the lesser book of a wonderful Holmesian series.

Original post - In French - on my blog: http://moncoinlecture.over-blog.com/article-sherlock-holmes-et-le-fantome-de-l-o...

I love Sherlock Holmes. And I love the Phantom. I couldn't resist to a book that is about both. I think Nicholas Meyer has written a few Sherlock Holmes pastiches (but I haven't read them except) and this one is set in Paris during the lost years of Sherlock Holmes.

It was a fun read but not a great one. Sherlock is entangled in the mystery of the Phantom of the opera and the great detective himself narrates the story to Watson, which can account for the differences in style and perception. My problem with this novel is that - obviously - Meyer had to change elements from the Phantom's plot. And since I know quite show more well - ok, very well - it kind of disturbed me. I think I would have liked it better if it had been very, very different.

A nice read. I'm curious to read the other pastiches, though... show less

Holmes without Watson deduces very little. This is how I would sum up The Canary Trainer.

Another 'lost' Dr Watson manuscript, this one apparently dictated to the doctor by his friend Holmes. A ghost in an opera house who is also a music teacher and demands a monthly stipend. A number of characters who existed for no reason whatsoever and only served to confuse me. The most unlikely resolution imaginable, and most questions left unanswered.

A quick but frustrating read.

Didn't like the way Erik was portrayed. I understand this was more a Sherlock story, but with that portrayal and the changing of a few other characters from POTO, I just can't get into it. Also with a small jab at the end of Leroux's work.............its on my "Trade Only" list as opposed to the "Buy" list.

It was an OK read, much more Sherlock and Watson, their portrayal was spot on. Plenty of great atmosphere and gothic/Victorian/Paris feel.

Great for Sherlock fans not so much for Phantom fans. For both like me, not so good.

Much prefer Angel Of The Opera.