My Five Word TL:DR Review : Holmes and Watson, new style

I loved this.  It’s absolutely brilliant.  The mystery and the way it develops is compelling, the two main characters are great, the world building is unique.  The writing is a winning combination of just the right amount of description coupled with great pacing and I found the whole thing perfectly divine.  Seriously, I’m praying to the Book Gods right now to make this a long series of mysteries because we have this new, modern day, similar but not the same version of Holmes and Watson.  I didn’t know I needed this in my life but what did I know?  I do.  I need it. Give me more of this.  Please say there’ll be more.

Is it just me or did everyone’s parents say to them if they swallowed an apple seed – ‘oh, you’ll grow an apple tree inside you now’ – or were my mum and dad just raging maniacs.  Anyway, it just makes me think that from these little kernels great trees can grow.

Anyhow, I digress.  As this story begins we meet Dinios Kol, newly appointed assistant to Ana Dolabra, Investigator extraordinaire.  Straight away we’re witness to a horrific crime, a man, a guest at a prestigious mansion, has died in the most unusual circumstances.  I think he ate an apple seed because he has quite literally turned into a tree – the small piece of his face that can be found hanging amongst the branches has a look of abject terror.  So, listen to your parents – is my take out.  Seriously, I’m not going to give the plot away, there’s obviously an investigation that leads to much ‘bigger stakes’ is about all you can drag from my closed lips using wild horses.

What I loved about this.

Everything.

If this doesn’t develop into a full blown series then I don’t know why.  Just, let’s make it happen.

The world here,  I don’t even know what to tell you.  Ecologically unstable, rife with contagion, populated by people who love augmentations.  There are leviathans that threaten the entire existence of everyone.  Huge sea walls have been constructed with massive artillery machines aimed out to sea (or inland in the event of anything breaking through).  On top of this we have all these fascinating things such as huge mushrooms that are actually air filtration systems – to name just one – will you just read the book already.  The people are for the large part obsessed with augmentations, to make them age better, seem stronger, have better spatial awareness, etc, etc.  In Din’s case he has been augmented to become an engraver.  Using scent bottles to help the memory he basically is able to memorise a full scene to memory and recall it later.  This can be used for maps, history, just about anything.

So, the world building is pretty cool to be fair but the winning element of this story falls into – the fascinating mystery and the way all the elements come together in such a pleasing way and the two central characters.

I’m not going to discuss the mystery itself, you won’t be stealing no spoilers from this quarter.  Nope – see above comment and get away with your wild horses.

The characters.  Yes, they are like some strange reimagined and yet totally unique version of Holmes and Watson.  Similar in so many ways – Ana, so intelligent, so quick witted, can absorb inordinate amounts of seemingly useless information, ponders things, usually has a pretty good idea of what’s going on but saves it for the big reveal, she’s easily bored.  Not very good at doing the whole ‘people’ thing.  Usually makes people annoyed – which probably explains her banishment away from the ‘big I am’ to Littleville.  Din, well, on the face of it he might not feel like a ‘Watson’.  Watson was a cheery fellow really, very good natured, didn’t hold a grudge, liked to think he could solve things but didn’t really have that knack – and there you go.  Din, he’s a good engraver, he undertakes Ana’s instructions to the letter, he relates all the events to her but he doesn’t join up the dots himself.  He’s not the same cheery bloke as Watson but he is the perfect companion to Ana, his totally, straight forward, no nonsense attitude playing the perfect foil to her crazy eccentricity.

In case you can’t tell from the above I adored this book.  I shall undoubtedly be pushing this onto everyone that asks (or doesn’t ask for that matter) for at least the next few years so I shall apologise now for my unadulterated adoration.  Buy this.  Read it.  Talk to me.  Pretty please.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 of 5 stars