Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities

Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities is a mystery novel by James Lovegrove. It is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche that involves H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.[1] It is the second book in the Cthulhu Casebooks trilogy, with the first novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows, having been released a year previously.[2]

Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities
AuthorJames Lovegrove
LanguageEnglish
GenreMystery novels
PublisherTitan Books
Publication date
2017
Media typePrint (hardback)
ISBN978-1783295951 (first U.S. edition, hardback)
Preceded bySherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows 
Followed bySherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils (2018) 

Plot edit

15 years after the events of the Shadwell Shadows, Holmes and Watson are notified that an American is being held at Bethlem Royal Hospital and is continually writing the same three phrases in R'lyehian. A search for his identity leads to an American biologist from Miskatonic University in New England and more experiences with eldritch horrors in London.

Reception edit

The Guardian said "the characterisation, especially of Watson, is superb. This novel will delight fans of Doyle and Lovecraft alike" and suggests the novel "cleverly mirrors" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear.[3] Bob Byrne for Black Gate was less enthused about this novel than he was about the previous book in the trilogy[4] saying "Fully one-third of this novel has nothing to do with Holmes or Watson" and "Watson seems particularly harsh towards Holmes in this book".[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Cthulhu Casebooks – Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities". Starburst. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows". Titan Books. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. ^ Brown, Eric (29 December 2017). "The best recent science fiction – reviews roundup". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b Byrne, Bob (11 December 2017). "The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Cthulhu Casebooks (Vol 2) & The Thinking Engine". Retrieved 30 December 2017.