Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Harper Collins

Reviewer: JAG

JAGS: 6

Those who can't do, teach.

And Ernie Cunningham is no exception. Ern, to close friends, helps writers navigate the craft of murder mystery as a crime fiction aficionado. After one fateful evening with his brother, Ernie broke the cardinal rule of the Cunningham Family and snitched on his brother for murder. 

Fast-forward 3 years, and Ernie is headed to a ski lodge for a family reunion, and hopefully reconciliation with his newly released brother. Little does the Cunningham family know, including Ern, that this weekend retreat will be anything but normal. Death seems to follow wherever they go. Ernie must use every ounce of his deductive reasoning, and his "10 Commandments of Detective Fiction from Ronald Knox's 1929 playbook, to solve a rash of unexplained murders. 

Agatha Christie meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, meets Guy Ritchie, in this salute to the Golden Age of Crime fiction. Can Ern make peace with his brother and his family before the next body turns up? Are his skills as a sleuth as good as the literary greats he teaches about? 

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is a humorous take on crime drama. Confusing in parts, and drags in others, the story is overall pretty good. It was reminiscent of the movie Clue, just with too many backstories. Ern, the main character, could have been less self-deprecating. You are constantly reminded of his failings in life and his quest to be the Sherlock Holmes of the Cunningham Family. 

It's definitely a page-turner, only because you want to just finish it. Good palate cleanser if you had a month of hard fiction right before.  

  

The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr

Genre: Fiction

 

Pages: Paper

 

Publisher: Carroll & Graf

 

JAGS: 7

 

The services of Sherlock Holmes and his trusted friend Dr. John Watson are needed once again by the British Realm to solve a perplexing case of supernatural proportions. Enlisted by Holmes’s brother Mycroft under the Queens direct order, the detectives travel to Scotland after receiving a cryptic message from the elder Holmes. Almost immediately, the pair is thrust into what appears to be the brewing of international espionage as the train ride from London is attacked by spies.

Reaching the royal residence of Holyroodhouse, or as it is more simply known by British subjects as Palace of Holyrood, Holmes and Watson stumble on what could quiet possibly be the strangest case yet. The ghost of Rizzo is said to be haunting the West Tower and all of the Queens staff knows all too well the comings and goings of the specter of Holyrood.

Caleb Carr wows readers once again with his poetic styling of 18^th century England as he resurrects the famous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in The Italian Secretary. Caleb Carr does not have the clinical syntax of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Dr. Watson, but executes beautifully the subtle nuisances of the relationship between the detectives. Carr’s interpretation honors the Holmes legacy and would make any Sherlock fan proud to read. A definite must read if you are a Holmes fanatic.

 

 



Sherlock’s Logic by William Neblett

Genre: Non-Fiction

Published By:  University Press of America

Pages: Hard Cover

Rating: 4 JAGS

If A =B and B=C, then A has to equal C. Better Put, if Jan likes Pepsi, and Pepsi is Soda, then Jan has to like Soda.  William Neblett’s Sherlock’s Logic is a simple and brief introduction to the deductive reasoning behind Sherlock Holmes master detective skill. One part story of the Great-Great Grandson of the Mater Sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Holmes the III and his trusted friend Dr. John Watkins solve a present day crime of murder and intrigue.

The second part of the book, William Neblett breaks down the story and the logical process of deduction by illustrating the various forms of reasoning, correct and fallacious, deductive and inductive, while demonstrating how logic is present in everyday living.

The story is marginal at best, paling in comparison to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective series. Interesting read if you are curious how the thought process of one of literature's greatest characters. Quick read, but long and drawn out during the second half of the tutorial.

The Hound of the D’Urbervilles by Kim Newman

When it comes to The Hound of the D’Urbervilles, quite honestly, I am on the fence. A HUGE, HUGE fan of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes series since as early as I can remember, I was ecstatic when I came across this story of Holmes’s arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty and this revamped version told from the most popular criminal genius in literature.  In the end, I only enjoyed 4 out of the 7 stories, and even then I was left wanting more.

The stories are mirrored like the Sherlock trilogy, told from the point of view from Moriarty’s partner in crime and 2^nd in command, Colonel Moran.  Instead of the inner workings and quasi intellectual behavior we read in Watson’s chronicles of Holmes, Moran takes center stage in most of the tale and little is mentioned of Professor Moriarty and his consulting circle of crime.

Hats off to Kim Newman and her attempt at recreating magic with a popular character from literature in The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, but in the end, the idea was there, but the execution was off the mark.

4 JAGS