Mrs Hudson and the Spirits' Curse
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4.0 • 417 Ratings
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- $0.99
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
What if Baker Street’s most gifted resident wasn’t called Sherlock Holmes?
An evil stalks London, blown in from the tropics. Stories of cursed giant rats and malign spirits haunt the garrets of Limehouse. A group of merchants are, one by one, dying. The elementary choice to investigate these mysterious deaths is, of course, Holmes and Dr Watson.
Yet the unique gifts of their housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, and her orphaned assistant Flotsam, will be needed to solve the case. Can she do it all under the nose of Sherlock himself?
From the coal fire at Baker Street to the smog of Whitechapel and the jungles of Sumatra, from snake bites in grand hotels to midnight carriage chases at the docks, it’s time for Mrs Hudson to step out of the shadows. Playfully breaking with convention, Martin Davies brings a fresh twist to classic Victorian mystery.
Martin Davies grew up in north-west England. All his writing is done in cafes, on buses or on trains, and all his first drafts are written in longhand. He has travelled widely, including in the Middle East, India and Sicily. In addition to the Holmes & Hudson Mysteries, he is the author of four other novels, including The Conjurer’s Bird, which sold over 150,000 copies and was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club and Havana Sleeping, which was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA Historical Dagger award. He works as a consultant in the broadcasting industry.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
BBC producer Davies draws many details from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures for his first novel, a lightweight pastiche narrated by Flotsam (aka Flottie), a 12-year-old orphan girl, and starring Mrs. Hudson, housekeeper extraordinaire, who becomes an unlikely crime solver after rescuing Flottie from the streets. Highly agitated Nathaniel Moran appears at 221b Baker Street seeking protection from unknown assassins who have pursued him from Sumatra, where he and his partners ran a trading business until five members of the firm were mysteriously slain. Despite their bankruptcy, Moran and his fellow survivors are able to afford fine London hotels and apartments. Holmes, Dr. Watson, Scotland Yard, Mrs. Hudson and Flottie all look into the possibility that the Pagi, or spirits' curse imposed by tribal priests, is the cause of these misfortunes. Soon associates of Moran are found dead of such causes as bites from exotic poisonous snakes and tarantulas, and Watson goes on "a tramp across the moors" to interview Moran's father. Some confusing shifts of speaker and repetitive descriptions of foggy London may disturb some readers, but most should be won over by this affectionate homage.
Customer Reviews
Holmes & Hudson
Very good book. I look forward to reading more in the series!
Wonderful.
The detail in this book is great. I am not a Sherlock homes fan but I loved this. Well written.
Mrs. Hudson and the Spirit’s Curse
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor James Watson don’t solve cases as easily and neatly as Watson would have us believe in this series of novels. Their maid, Flotsam, recounts her observations of the mental gymnastics of both Holmes and his housekeeper Mrs. Hudson when a mysterious man presents them with a dagger and a letter on their first night in their new lodgings on Baker Street. As Holmes and Watson search for ways to protect Mr. Moran from a curse, Flottie’s past returns to haunt her.
I found this perspective rather entertaining. Flottie and Mrs. Hudson’s prove just as formidable as their famous employers.
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