A Study in Crimson (2020) by Robert J. Harris
Good Reads meta-data is 290 pages, rated 3.75 by 921 litizens.
Genre: Krimi; Species: Sherlock.
DNA: Holmes.
Verdict: I ate it with a spoon.
Tagline: ‘He’s back!’
There is a subtitle: Sherlock Holmes 1942 because this is a tribute to Basil Rathbone’s embodiment of Sherlock in the 1942 film The Voice of Terror. For those whose first Holmes was Rathbone, he remains the standard against whom all others are measured.
During London wartime blackouts, four disconnected women have been murdered and mutilated. Baffled, as usual, the plod calls in the ageless Sherlock with his Boswell, this Watson is not the avuncular buffoon of Nigel Bruce’s portrayal, but still none too bright. While the war explains the blackout it does not figure in the story in any other way. Except…well, it turns out to be the key to the plot. Nicely done that.
There are many red herrings and blue cods, while the least likely is per genre the villain.
***
I bought a paper copy of this book at Abbey’s while we were on a staycation at that art deco palace, the Grace Hotel. I read it in a single rainy day there, and a rainy night, to be sure. Very diverting.