The Hound of the Baskervilles is such a wonderful novel that perhaps it's inevitable many authors would attempt to continue the story. The results often have been unfortunate. Such is not the case with Warwick Downing's The Widow of Dartmoor.
Perhaps one reason that this book works so well is that it's not a Sherlock Holmes story, and it's not a Sherlock Holmes type of story, so there's no comparison to be made. Instead, it's a courtroom drama featuring the great detective's illegitimate nephew, Jeremy Holmes, whose legal adventures are narrated by a solicitor named Edward Greech.
Both the sleuth and his Boswell are richly-drawn, original characters. Jeremy was reared in the American West, where he learned native American skills. Greech is all too fond of Irish whiskey, which he drinks constantly from a flask that he keeps with him at all times.
The book is not lacking in familiar characters, however - Rodger Baskerville, Beryle Stapleton, Dr. Mortimer, Sir Henry Baskerville, and even Laura Lyons from the original novel all play a part in this absorbing story.
As a former prosecutor for the state of Colorado, veteran novelist Warwick Downing handles the court-room scenes with ease. But he also serves up an exciting duel with bows and arrows.
And the ending almost took my breath away. I'd love to read a sequel to this sequel.
The Widow of Dartmoor is
available from all good bookstores including
Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and
for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . In ebook
format it is in Amazon Kindle, Kobo and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).
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