Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest in Bonnie MacBird’s brilliant Sherlock Holmes series. ‘The Serpent Under’ is the 6th book in the series and is a great addition.
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Collins Crime Club for my place on the tour and my copy for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
The Serpent Under: Treachery, Twists and Terror in Baker Street is the sixth full-length Sherlock Holmes thriller in the series by award-winning Hollywood scriptwriter Bonnie MacBird. It will be released in hardback by Collins Crime Club, an imprint of HarperCollins, on 2 January 2025.
Echoing Lady Macbeth’s advice, “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t,” the villains in this tale enact treachery, murder and deceit as they cut a bloody swath through London and Windsor. But are they a match for Sherlock Holmes and John Watson?
The two friends are called upon to solve the murder of a beautiful courtier at Windsor Castle, the drowning of a boy in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and, with the help of young Heffie O’Malley, to assist a crusading women’s rights activist who suspects that there is a traitor in her organisation.
Holmes and Watson race from the Royal Palace to the London Zoo, barely escape a riot at a Dockland cannery, and travel from an arts and crafts atelier to a Japanese festival, a gypsy encampment and more — yet perhaps the gravest danger they face is in the place they most feel safe, 221B Baker Street.
The clock is ticking as the murders continue.
MacBird’s signature fast-paced tales with multiple interlocking mysteries, brilliant deductions, witty dialogue and movie-worthy action scenes have entranced discerning readers for a decade. She has loved Sherlock Holmes since the age of ten and her passion for the traditional characters rings off the page. Her books have also been the gateway for many new fans to the works of Conan Doyle, and are admired by readers and critics. A must-read for fans of the original Sherlock Holmes adventures and for readers new to the genre.
My Review:
This is a series that I’ve followed right from the start, so I was delighted to be included on the blog tour for the latest book.
‘The Serpent Under’ is another clever and twisty mystery, this time focusing on the death of a young woman who was part of the court at Windsor Castle – this makes this case very high profile for Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Dr John Watson (who – as in the original books – is the ‘author’ and narrative voice here). Overseen by Queen Victoria herself, the detective duo embark on a dangerous trip into London’s seedier side in order to track down a tattoo artist, a band of suffragettes and a travelling community who can unlock key secrets.
As with all the books in the series, this is cleverly plotted with three interlocking mysteries that come together well as Holmes and Watson find the links.
One of the real strengths of MacBird’s series is the way that she writes the warm relationship between Holmes and Watson. She has taken Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters and made them act authentically in new plots – they’re appealing as characters and still feel true to the Victorian novels. She has also introduced other ‘regulars’ (in this case actually one of Holmes’ ‘Irregulars’!) such as the fabulous Heffie O’Malley, a young woman who has a strong network on the streets of the city and who can infiltrate communities where Holmes and Watson cannot go, in this case a group of women campaigning for the suffrage cause. She’s a joy to read about, being totally down to earth, tough and independent. Indeed, there’s a real affection, wit and warmth in all the characters in the novel.
MacBird also takes her readers to a great range of locations, each one portrayed vividly. In particular, I loved the Japanese festival which felt so unusual in Victorian London, yet makes perfect sense in the historical context given the spectacle of the Great Exhibitions that the city’s residents enjoyed in that period. Holmes and Watson aren’t constrained to 221B Baker Street and it is fun to travel alongside them.
This is probably my favourite book within a series that I’ve enjoyed throughout. I would thoroughly recommend that crime fiction fans add it (and the previous 5 books) to their TBR piles as soon as possible – time spent in MacBird’s Victorian world is well spent.
About the Author
Bonnie MacBird is passionate about Victorian London and Sherlock Holmes.
She lives in an 1890 building right off Baker Street, and fell in love with Holmes as a schoolgirl in her native California.
After many years in the entertainment industry as a film executive, Emmy- winning producer and screenwriter – she wrote the original screenplay to TRON –she now writes the critically acclaimed Sherlock Holmes Adventure Series for HarperCollins, bringing the much-loved detective back, in traditional style, in full-length adventures.
Meticulous research, a flair for deductions and a decided sense of humour have turned these into fan favourites. Art in the Blood was translated into seventeen languages, and was followed by Unquiet Spirits; The Devil’s Due, The Three Locks and What Child Is This? A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Adventure.
Bonnie is active in the Sherlockian community in both the USA (where she is a BSI member) and the UK, where she is a council member of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London. She is also the co-convenor of the London CWA meetings, a member of the RSA, and lectures regularly on Sherlock Holmes, writing, and creativity.
For further information about Bonnie MacBird visit: http://www.macbird.com Twitter:@macbird / Instagram: bmacbird / Facebook: SherlockHolmesAdventureSeries
