The Affair of the Mysterious Letter is a 2019 fantasy-detective novel by Alexis Hall. It was first published by Ace Books.
Synopsis edit
When injured physician Captain John Wyndham moves into the spare room at 221B Martyrs Walk in the multidimensional city of Khelathra-Ven, he soon finds himself recruited by his new roommate, consulting sorceress Shaharazad Haas, in a quest to discover who is blackmailing Haas's ex-lover Eirene Viola.
Reception edit
Publishers Weekly called it "zany queer and fantastical" and a "fun riff on canonical works of fantasy and detection" that "froths with magic and humor".[1] The Chicago Review of Books lauded it as "an exciting romp through a truly imaginative universe (or, more accurately, multi-verse)", comparing Haas' cosmically aware nihilism to Rick Sanchez, and praising Hall's "wit and empathy", but also found that he too strongly emulated the prose of Arthur Conan Doyle in a way which was "enjoyable at first" but eventually "burdensome to the narrative."[2]
James Nicoll considered it to be "hilarious",[3] and noted its "ample LGBTQ+ representation", with "over-the-top unconventional" characters who are "queer as fuck".[4]
Locus described it as "weird and witty", with Khelathra-Ven serving as a "fascinatingly warped" setting in which "the quirky characters hold the plot together," but nonetheless faulted it as "more a string of adventures than a cohesive mystery".[5]
References edit
- ^ The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published March 22, 2019; retrieved May 10, 2023
- ^ A Queer Reimagining Of Sherlock Holmes, by Aidan Falk, at the Chicago Review of Books; published July 9, 2019; retrieved May 10, 2023
- ^ 12 Excellent SFF Books You Might Have Missed in 2019, by James Nicoll; at Tor.com; published January 6, 2020; retrieved May 10, 2023
- ^ So Dependable, by James Nicoll; at James Nicoll Reviews; published August 21, 2019; retrieved May 10, 2023
- ^ Carolyn Cushman Reviews Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews and The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall , by Carolyn Cushman; originally published in Locus, November 2019; archived online January 2, 2020; retrieved May 10, 2023