Magical Victorian Mystery
It’s Sherlock Holmes with Magic!... sorta. This book is number 12 in the Elemental Masters series and the second to feature the Great Detective as well as a cast of recurring characters. The little hints to prior books prick the interest without being intrusive and it works well as a standalone if you so wish. Overall, it was a fun read with all the right ingredients: magic, friendship, an amoral magician, and a creeping evil.
It’s not without its problems. There was a focus on virginity which had some unfortunate implications and some unexpected sexual content on the part of the villains. Title notwithstanding, there wasn’t much Holmes in the book except as the token sceptic so he seemed almost unnecessary. Series notwithstanding, there wasn’t much Elemental Magic in the book except as passing mentions. There wasn’t much closure at the end – I would’ve loved to see some of the other victims rescued (or even acknowledged by the main characters), and the magician’s fate was annoyingly ambiguous.
Looking over that list, I’m making the book sounds worse than it was. It was a solidly enjoyable book that will please fans of Nan and Sarah. The problem is that I’m comparing it to the earlier books which had that added fairytale-retelling layer. The Sherlock elements seemed rather incidental and pasted on, rather than being woven in as the fairytales were. If that doesn’t bother you, then I recommend this book.
Four foggy stars
I received a copy of this story from the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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