Reviewed by Lotte:
I certainly loved the premise of this book but the delivery did not live up to expectations or hope. It had all the elements I knew I’d love – the well-known parts of a would-be Sherlock Holmes and Watson, mixed with many fantasy elements and characters, a good dose of murder mystery, all set in a steampunk 1880’s – but nothing was fully fleshed out or explored, leaving me feel underwhelmed.
I think for me it felt like the author tried to include too many things, leaving not enough space for anything to truly flourish. For example, there were many fantastical characters but we barely got to see their traits played out within the plot, with the exception of Doyle (our would-be Watson) and a little of Crow (our would-be Sherlock Holmes). And speaking of Crow, despite his angel status being explained and some of the pros and cons of it, the angel part was not massively integrated into the plot, or at least nowhere near as much as it could. Overall it left me feeling like it was all superficial and too much was missing.
The same was true for the storyline, the author tried to weave in many sub plots within the over-arching theme but it felt like adding too much and not allowing any one plot to fully come to fruition. At one point it was almost information overload and not enough interesting, action, plot-moving stuff. It lacked that fast pace that we know and love from a Sherlock inspired theme. The author set up many potential interesting avenues, like the types of angel – those with a dominion, the nameless and the fallen – but there was a distinct lacking in the use of those set ups. So we knew they existed, they just didn’t really get included in the main storyline other than as token gestures. All of which just left me wanting more. Also, the synopsis of the book gives away the name of a murderer so as it’s playing out in the book we already know who it is long before they start using his nickname. This was disappointing and a bit of a pet-peeve of mine.
In summary, I would have preferred a much cut down version but with fully realised characters that played integral roles in the story, with their character traits woven throughout the plot – making the plot! Couple that with a detailed but again, fully covered storyline and I might have loved this book.
Thanks Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity of reading this re-released ARC.
Author: Katherine Addison
Publisher: Rebellion, Solaris
Release Date: 17 September 2020
Lotte's Library 