In the days leading up to Christmas, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are approached by a young lady on the precipice of her 21st birthday. The lady in question, Eve Allerthorpe, is set to inherit a sizable sum from her deceased Aunt’s estate if, on her 21st birthday, she is of sound mind. Up until recently, that was not a concern, however, strange events have been occurring on her family’s vast estate, events to which only she has borne witness. Desperate for a solution, she hires Holmes and Watson to shed light on what has been happening, and to prove that she is mentally fit to receive her bursary.

I’m always looking for seasonal reads this time of year. With the market essentially flooded with holiday romance novels, it is challenging to find new novels outside that genre. And while I’ve read a few of those books, they’re generally not my style. So when I came across a somewhat recently released Sherlock Holmes legacy novel, and that it just so happened to be set at Christmas, I leapt at the chance to read it.

To date, this would be my first novel featuring Sherlock Holmes as I’ve never actually read any of Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, so I can’t say how it stacks up to the originals. That said, I had a really good time with this. The book’s central mystery was intriguing and the cast of characters were all engaging. I thought that Holmes had just the perfect amount of snark and arrogance, with Watson supplying a great sounding board for the sleuth as well as being a type of everyman with whom the reader can identify with. The Christmas “seasoning”, so to speak, added that little bit extra to push it over the top for me. I’m a Christmas fanatic, so anything revolving around that time of year already has a head start. Having the novel’s main setting be a large mansion that has been snowed in in the English countryside was the perfect setting.

I listened to this one, and I thought the narrator was tremendous. Dennis Kleinman added so much life to the story. I thought his portrayal of Holmes especially was wonderful. I could hear Sherlock’# conceit coming in through my earbuds. This absolutely will not be the last time I seek out Kleinman on Audible; especially since I plan to continue reading the series. He’s fantastic.

If you’re looking for a book this year to read leading up to Christmas, I can’t suggest this enough. In fact, it makes me happy that I’ve decided to truly wait for the end of the year to put out my top 10 list.