SHERLOCK HOLMES THE MISSING YEARS: TIMBUKTU

This story tells of part of the time called “The Great Hiatus” by Sherlockians. Nominally, it conforms to the events as told by Dr. Watson in “The Final Problem” and “The Empty House.” I say “nominally” because most Sherlockians are aware that the accounts given there by the good Doctor are, at best, sketchy, and, at worst, downright fabrications. In fact, most students of the Canon agree that the Doctor strayed fairly far from the truth in these tales.

In this story, Sherlock is faced with a double threat. He discovers plans involving the Japanese Yakuza (organized gangsters) with certain Chinese Triads (more organized gangsters) and members of the Moriarty organization (still more organized gangsters) to flood Europe with narcotics and thus, to destabilize the economies of the dominant European States. Secondly, these plans, whether successful or not, will, when made public, demean the already shaky view the world powers have of the ability of Japan to enter into serious relations with the dominant trading nations.

The details of Sherlock’s travels to Japan and acceptance of an obligation to help deal with these problems is revealed, piecemeal, throughout the tale. This sequence of events is moderately improbable, but, by no means, impossible. The same is true for the basic premise of the tale and the events related. The author displays a solid knowledge of late Nineteenth Century Political History and a more than nodding acquaintance with many interesting characters of the times.

The tale is well-crafted and the characters are fascinating so it reads well and seems plausible. It is a fun read and it is very hard to point at any portions as stretching the reader’s historical tolerance or knowledge of the times. I enjoyed it and, with a few reservations, I heartily recommend it to readers. It leaves several important issues unresolved, but I understand that another tale or two are coming along to round-out the complete story of “The Great Hiatus.”

Potential readers MUST be forewarned, however, that the writer has some tendencies that may cause his writing to be hazardous to their health. First, Mr. Murthy has a most reprehensible, low, sense of humor that crops up in the oddest places. Be careful, as it is apt to bite the reader in an unprotected spot without warning. Second, the author spouts split infinitives with enormous abandon. Finally, the author uses modern meanings of words that were assigned different meanings in Victorian times or even uses words not available in those times.

I am fortunate in that my own writings include a volume of hundreds of narrative Sherlockian puns, so I am already immunized against low and vulgar humor. Further, my habit of writing book reviews has served to give me a certain, jaded outlook towards improper English usage and I was able to control my actions in this case. I managed simply to un-split each infinitive as I encountered it, without condemning the writer for his perfidy. Finally, at my age, I have experienced the changing use of Language, while, for younger persons, word usage in the 1930s and ‘40s is little different than those used fifty years earlier and such anachronisms are, truly, less serious.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, October, 2015