A Study in crimson : Sherlock Holmes 1942 / Robert J. Harris.

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Title:

Author:

Harris, Robert J.

ISBN:

9781643137582

Edition:

First Pegasus Books cloth edition

Publication Information:

New York : Pegasus Crime, 2021.

Physical Description:

306 p.

Abstract:

"LONDON, 1942. A killer going by the name of 'Crimson Jack' is stalking the wartime streets of London, murdering women on the exact dates of the infamous Jack the Ripper killings of 1888. Has the Ripper somehow returned from the grave? Is the self-styled Crimson Jack a descendant of the original Jack or merely a madman obsessed with those notorious killings? In desperation Scotland Yard turn to Sherlock Holmes, the world's greatest detective. Surely he is the one man who can sift fact from legend and track down Crimson Jack before he completes his tally of death. As Holmes and the faithful Watson tread the blacked out streets of London, death waits just around the corner."--Provided by publisher.

Personal Subject:

Doyle, Arthur Conan, 1859-1930

Subject Term:

Holmes, Sherlock (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Watson, John H. (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Serial murder investigation -- England -- London -- Fiction.

Women -- Crimes against -- Fiction.

Nineteen forties -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

London (England) -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction.

England -- London -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback	120791002884658	M HAR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Bringing Sherlock Holmes from the Victorian Era into the dark days of World War II, this imaginative new thriller confronts the world's greatest detective with a killer emulating the murders of Jack the Ripper.

London, 1942.

A killer going by the name of "Crimson Jack" is stalking the wartime streets of London, murdering women on the exact dates of the infamous Jack the Ripper killings of 1888. Has the Ripper somehow returned from the grave? Is the self-styled Crimson Jack a descendant of the original Jack--or merely a madman obsessed with those notorious killings?

In desperation Scotland Yard turn to Sherlock Holmes, the world's greatest detective. Surely he is the one man who can sift fact from legend to track down Crimson Jack before he completes his tally of death. As Holmes and the faithful Watson tread the blacked out streets of London, death waits just around the corner.

Inspired by the classic film series from Universal Pictures starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, which took Sherlock Holmes to the 1940s, this is a brand-new adventure from a talented author who brilliantly evokes one of mystery fiction's most popular characters.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

As Harris (The Thirty-One Kings) explains in the preface, the Sherlock Holmes films made and set in the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce inspired him to transplant Holmes and Watson to the same period in this superior pastiche. In 1942, with London under nighttime blackout restrictions, a serial murderer modeling himself on Jack the Ripper has struck twice. Holmes is called in by Inspector Lestrade after the second killing, which, like the first, happened on an anniversary of a Ripper murder. The current killer leaves his chosen nickname, Crimson Jack, emblazoned in red chalk near the bodies. Efforts to keep the savage murders a secret fail, and the ensuing panic has broader consequences, including a clamor to lift the blackout so that Londoners can travel at night safely. With less than a month until the expected date of the next killing, Holmes pursues every reasonable theory, including the possibility that Crimson Jack is a descendant of the Ripper. Besides providing the duo with a worthy challenge, Harris makes his Watson an intelligent and competent sidekick. Both the strong characterization and plot bode well for a sequel. (June)

Booklist Review

In Harris' Sherlock Holmes pastiche, WWII is raging in England, and Holmes is called in by Scotland Yard to investigate a series of gruesome murders. The killer, who leaves his signature, "Crimson Jack," at the scene of each crime, targets prostitutes, stabbing and then disemboweling them. Holmes quickly sees that the killings bear an unmistakable similarity to those of Jack the Ripper, 50 years earlier. With the help of his loyal sidekick, Watson; ambitious American reporter Gail Preston; and military intelligence officer Philip Rayner, Holmes races against time to stop Crimson Jack. What he discovers is a plot involving the highest levels of government, Nazi Germany, a decades-old spy ring, and a man set on exacting retribution. Harris successfully captures Holmes' brilliance, talent, and arrogance, as well as Watson's dogged devotion to Holmes and the atmosphere in London during the dark days of war. The case he has imagined for Holmes to solve is both thoroughly challenging and pleasingly multilayered. A satisfying, albeit gruesome, read.