Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay FayeSimon and Schuster, 2009.
Step aside Professor Moriarty, Holmes takes on Jack the Ripper in this tremendous debut novel by Lyndsay Faye.
Sherlockians will relish this return of the super sleuth. Faye does an excellent job of recreating the mood, the atmosphere, the characters and the setting that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced to readers in the late 19th century.
In this case, Inspector Lestrade calls upon the unconventional Sherlock Holmes after the savage killing of two prostitutes in London in 1888 that are attributed to Jack the Ripper, and Holmes is forced to break a few rules when a journalist accuses him of being the very villain he is trying to catch.
According to Library Journal, Faye writes effectively in Watson's voice. "She is faithful to both the Holmes oeuvre and the Ripper case, and she successfully evokes 1880's London. The secondary characters are interesting and believable."
I for one Sherlock Holmes fan is hoping that Faye continues with the reincarnation of the world's greatest detective, and will be looking forward to her next adaptation of SH & JW.
