Barrie Roberts'
"Sherlock Holmes and the Devil's Grail", originally published in
1995. There is a fair amount of Arthurian matter therein, and the whole is
an interesting read, if not quite up to Conan Doyle's standard. Holmes and
Watson are depicted well, there is plenty of local 1895 color in the various
British Isle locales, and there are some interesting characters for Holmes
and Watson to interact with, plus an ancient, secret message for Holmes to
decode.
In the spring of 1895, an
American inventor of an ingenious camera is the object of anonymous threats
to leave Britain, escalating to the abduction of his son, Jay. Behind this
criminal activity, Holmes detects the hand of Drew, his old enemy Professor
Moriarty’s, lieutenant, an ex-Scotland Yard detective and worshipper of
Demeter, the goddess of fertility. Our villain searches for a priceless
treasure which, if possessed, would give him power over the whole world. The
general problem with non- Conan Doyle novels is that the author creates a
modern mystery with action to keep the reader's attention but fails to
understand human character and motivations. Villains act contrary to their
own motivations. Situations occur that in real life would just end in death
for the hero. Still, it is an interesting book with Arthurian flavor. If you
can find it in a second hand store at a reasonable price, buy.
by Barrie Roberts (Editor) (Paperback - June 2000
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