*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and Zoé of Zooloo's Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: While on a well-deserved holiday in the Lake District to get away from the toils and troubles of London, Holmes and Watson find no respite.
As soon as they exit the train, they hear news of a grisly murder making its way around the murmuring commuters. A local aristocrat, Mr. Darcy, has been found missing his head!
And that very night, the wealthy widow finds a stranger in her home who, upon seeing her, abandons his plans and quickly leaves. She believes the intruder to be the murderer of her husband who is now after a large sum of cash she keeps in the house safe.
Unsure if the would-be thief is the murderer or an opportunistic burglar, Holmes devises a plan to catch the burglar, all the while investigating the murder of Mr. Darcy.
Follow Holmes, Watson, and the local constable Mr. Wickham as they untangle the mystery surrounding a Murder in Keswick.
I love the original Holmes and Watson stories by Conan Doyle, and am always happy to read a new addition to or spinoff from the canon. Not many of such that I have read have managed to capture the characters, atmosphere and style of the originals the way that William Todd has here.
We join Holmes and Watson on what was intended to be an enforced period of rest and recreation for the great detective, and are plunged with them into a dramatic local murder mystery featuring the decapitated body of a prominent citizen. Our detective duo employ their usual blend of deductive investigation and staking out the night with pistols ready - all very familiar and so wonderful to read a new story in the authentic style.
The murder plot has a small suspect pool and is easy to follow, with plenty of clues, and forms a neat, classic, golden-age style P.I. mystery - one of my personal favourite genres!
This was a highly enjoyable read for any fans of the great detective, or any fans of classic murder mysteries in general, and I would definitely happily read as many of these new-classic stories as William Todd would care to write.
'Noticing the devastated look on my face, Holmes only blinked at me emotionlessly then turned on his heel. Making haste towards the station entrance, he said over his shoulder, 'come, come, now Watson. Did you not want me to relax on holiday? Well, what could be more relaxing than solving a murder.'
- William Todd, Murder in Keswick
Author Bio
William Todd has been writing for over 20 years, primarily gothic horror stories in the style of Lovecraft, Poe, and Shelley. Loving all things Victorian, he was inspired to read (and later to write) by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The first book he ever read cover to cover was Hound of the Baskervilles, which also fed his appetite for horror. William Todd has written two short story compilations of gothic horror, Dead of Night and Beyond the Gossamer Veil and one sci-fi/horror hybrid genre Something Wicked This Way Comes.
He has also written multiple Sherlock Holmes pastiches, Murder in Keswick, A Reflection of Evil, Mystery of the Broken Window, and Elementary—a short story compilation. Two of his short stories were part of MX Publishing's New Sherlock Holmes Stories with proceeds going to a charity for special needs children housed in Undershaw, the very home Conan Doyle penned Hound of the Baskervilles. Writing for the books was a special privilege because his daughter, Alina, has Down Syndrome. In 2022, he just finished his first YA/historical novel The Fall of the Hermit King, which is under review for publication, and in the meantime has started yet another Sherlock Holmes compilation.
You can follow William Todd on Facebook and Instagram.
Murder in Keswick is available on Amazon right now!
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