Review: The Serpent Under. A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird. Minor spoilers!

Bonnie MacBird has crafted another Sherlock Holmes adventure. This one is the latest, following What Child is This? I was sent a free copy for review. Some of what follows might be considered as minor spoilers. Be warned.

The Serpent Under is a dark tale that intertwines two main mysteries. Firstly, the death of a young boy, pulled from the Serpentine and, secondly, the death of a palace courtier found with slit wrists and an elaborate tattoo that covers most of her head.

Holmes sets his female irregular onto the former case while he attends to the latter. From the get go he is impeded by careless police, stiff palace staff and uncooperative witnesses who include the victim's fiancé, father and siblings. The siblings comprise an artistic brother and a suffragette sister - neither of whom cared for their dead sibling. You are not short of suspects in this adventure.

The investigation takes Holmes from Windsor to Southwark in search of people and clues. He helps to prevent the manipulation of a suffragette protest and visits London Zoo in search of serpent expertise. He spends time in the company of travellers - going so far as to pretend to be one. 

The pace of the story is consistent. There were, in my opinion, no parts where the story slowed down. Watson's narration is top-notch and the good doctor is more than a bit rebellious during the course of events. Each event detailed in the story contributes to the whole.

I consider this to be the best of Bonnie's adventures so far. I found it a lot darker and more sinister than its predecessors. More darkness please.

Written by Alistair Duncan Buy my books here
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