Medium – Book
About the Book – The events of the Hound of the Baskervilles occurred five years ago and still the terror of the climatic night haunts Dr Watson. They are called back to Baskerville Hall under the most awful of circumstances – Sir Henry Baskerville’s wife, Audrey, is killed whilst out walking one night, drained completely of blood. The country-folk thereabouts tell the story of a huge, vampiric moth which flies across the moor on lonely nights, sucking blood from sleep, and now, lone women. Sir Henry Baskerville, driven mad by the loss of his wife, and traumatised by the idea that his young son, Harry, may be next, is at his wits end. So Holmes (and eventually, Watson) go back to Devon to face the wrath of the next monster that stalks the moors.
My thoughts – So, as you may have noticed, I am in a Sherlock Holmes ‘mood’ at the moment. I really enjoy reading well-written pastiches of Holmes stories, and like stories which continue another story, so I thought this one looked excellent. And, I have thoughts…
So, firstly, I have to praise Lovegrove’s tone in the book. He strikes exactly the right Holmes/Watson balance and also does a great job at giving the two characters their own voices. Watson is a tad too wimpy for me in places, but not enough to be irritating. Holmes is a little rude in places, and doesn’t really chime with my (or Doyle’s) idea of Holmes being a bit more ‘human’ when he returns from his hiatus. But otherwise, they are excellent. I really like the character of Benjamin Grier, who is a wonderful addition to the story and little Harry Baskerville, who is super cute (although potentially a little advanced speech-wise for three years old? Maybe he’s a prodigy!) The author manages to evoke the sense of dread and terror from the original Hound of the Baskervilles book.
So, why a four star? I think that one of the things that rankled with me was the removal (and replacement) of Watson for part of the book, which he reacted to quite childishly! I also, without wanting to give away too many spoilers, found the ending a bit contrived and a bit of a turn around from the original Hound book. The author leaves out a very minor character in his story which then kind of suggests which way the ending might go. The title, to some extent, also slightly spoils parts of the book. Not a book I would read again, but one which I would gladly pass on as a Christmas present!
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