CBB Review: Murder in the Vatican and The Waston Chronicles

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 5:30 pm by Pete Socks

CBB Review: Murder in the Vatican and The Waston Chronicles 2015-08-08T08:00:14-05:00 Pete Socks

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As you can probably tell I have always been a voracious reader. Growing up mysteries were my favorite genre. I can recall in my school days when I would anxiously await a trip to the library to get the next Hardy Boys volume. The older I got my love of mysteries remained. I moved beyond Franklin W. Dixon’s Hard Boys to perhaps the most well known detective of all time…..Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hooked me immediately with his super sleuth Holmes. It has been some time since I have read an adventure of Holmes until recently. Prior to a family vacation I decided I wanted to take something a little lighter to read. As I perused my pile of review books I stumbled upon two titles I had been neglecting. I am glad I found them because I was missing out on some treasures.

Author Ann Margaret Lewis brought back a special treat from my teen and early adult years of reading. Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes and The Watson Chronicles: A Sherlock Holmes Novel in Stories are her foray into the world of Sherlock Holmes. Now that I have read each I must say she has contributed two worthy titles to the Sherlock Holmes genre. As I stated earlier I am not by any means new to Sherlock Holmes. The traditional canon of 56 short stores and 4 novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have long been favorites of mine. A Study in Scarlet, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Adventure of the Red-Headed League and The Adventure of the Speckled Bandall hold fond memories for me so when I dived into Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock HolmesI had some expectations. I can tell you I was not disappointed.

Ann’s writing style takes the reader back to the now infamous 221B Baker Street address made famous by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As I read the books I had to double check the author. Ann’s portrayal of Dr. John Watson’s narrative was spot on. Throughout both of the titles I found myself immersed in the world I had long ago stopped reading of. Ann gave me tales that allowed me to pick up right where I had left off. I cannot over emphasis this point because it is so important. Had this project been mishandled the end result would have been a huge disappointment for any Sherlock Holmes fan. You can tell that Ann put much time and research into these books. Throughout she drops subtle hints to the original canon stories of Holmes and even adds some new twists that I will not give away here.

These stories are engaging and I found myself not willing to put the book down until I was finished. Murder in the Vatican comprises three new tales f Sherlock Holmes. In The Death of Cardinal Tosca Holmes is hired by Pope Leo XIII himself to solve the murder of a Cardinal inside the walls of the Vatican. In The Vatican Cameos Pope Leo once more calls on Holmes to solve a mystery. This time around a set of priceless cameos are stolen.In an interesting twist Dr. Watson is occupied and cannot assist Holmes on his case. So as Pope Leo states, he plays Holmes’ Watson on this particular case. The book ends with The Second Coptic Patriarch. Holmes finds himself solving yet another murder and this time a very special guest appearance is made by Father Brown of G.K. Chesterton fame.

Ann’s follow up novel The Watson Chronicles is just as good as her first Holmes offerings. This volume contains twice the stories as the first. These six stories are separate tails but woven together by two common themes. First the book takes place near the end of Holmes’ career as he contemplates a retirement filled with the raising of bees. Second now that Watson faces a potential future without Holmes he must rediscover his own way and in the process……discovers love. Just as with her previous Holmes endeavor Ann does a great service to the legacy of Holmes.

I cannot recommend enough both of these books. Ann Margaret Lewis weaves connections and hints to the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales throughout her two offerings. In effect she makes her stories fit in nicely with the originals. I found her use of the Catholic faith hidden in the background and coming out when necessary, a delightful touch. I must admit as I read these tales I almost felt as if I myself were in the sitting room on Baker Street gazing at Sherlock Holmes puffing on his pipe as he his mind worked his way through another impossible mystery. Bravo, Ann Margaret Lewis, bravo indeed!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Review

Ann Margaret Lewis

Gasogene Books

Murder in the Vatican

The Watson Chronicles

Previous Post

August 19, 2015

Queen of hell and the demons, Mary: Day 029

Next Post

August 20, 2015 Mary’s name is a fortified tower, Mary: Day 030

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Year with Mary A Year with the Angels A Year with the Church Fathers Book News Children's Review Featured CD Giveaway Guest Post Interview Linked Review Media review Movie Review New Releases Off the Shelf Review speakers Teen Review The Clergy Speaks The Laity Speaks The Open Book Podcast Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz