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Holmes Volume 1 by Melvyn Small

14th December 2019
(Review)

This review by Alex J Book Reviews of Indipenned Creator Mel Small's book Holmes Volume 1: Enigma, Detective, Boro Lad really deserved a repost. Many thanks Alex for the support you give writers and the writing community.

So I was contacted by Melvyn Small, offering a copy of his book for an honest review, whilst being intrigued and slightly sceptical, I was unsure how the author would pull this off, Sherlock Holmes, reinvented and reimagined as a Computer hacker and small time criminal from Middlesbrough, that’s not going to work is it?

Wrong! he does it with aplomb. It’s banging stuff and really up there for me.

Holmes Volume 1:Enigma, Detective, Boro Lad by Melvyn Small Narrated by John Watson, In this set of 6, interlinked , Novella type stories we meet this new Holmes, John Watson , Now Holmes Psychiatrist, and landlady Martha Hudson, amongst other characters , Mycroft , my favourite even has a small cameo😁, from the Sherlock Holmes universe ensuring there is lots of authenticity to this volume of tales

This newly imagined Sherlock, with his Middlesbrough accent, that you can’t help but do in your head , is a triumph, the banter between Holmes and Watson at times is laugh out loud funny. No one is safe from Sherlock’s sharp tongue , DI Lestrade often takes the brunt, but it’s always good humoured.

Written as 6 stories, there is an arc that runs through them so you don’t feel like your reading a collections of stories, in fact it really is a novel in itself, just named in 6 parts.

My favourite part is “The goldfish bowl “, a game show that’s not quite what it seems, but each part is just brilliantly clever and does 🕵️‍♂️ Sherlock Holmes the justice he deserves.

There is a massive cliffhanger at the end but it only makes you want to read the next, and these 6 stories all have their end so it’s it’s done well, it’s just leading into the next chapters.

I think as you watch Sherlock on Tv you will think of Benedict Cumberbatch but for me this character is reminiscent of Johnny Lee Miller’s portrayal of Sherlock in the CBS TV show Elementary, I think he would fit the role perfectly.

The writing is both inviting and easy to read, it’s witty, funny, and just a joy to read, I smashed it in two days. I would recommend this to any Holmes fan who is open to something new. I’d recommend it to anyone in fairness, this is cracking stuff.

I will be investing in further volumes without a doubt.

5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to Mel Small for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Click here to get your copy.