May 14, 2021
In Harris' Sherlock Holmes pastiche, WWII is raging in England, and Holmes is called in by Scotland Yard to investigate a series of gruesome murders. The killer, who leaves his signature, "Crimson Jack," at the scene of each crime, targets prostitutes, stabbing and then disemboweling them. Holmes quickly sees that the killings bear an unmistakable similarity to those of Jack the Ripper, 50 years earlier. With the help of his loyal sidekick, Watson; ambitious American reporter Gail Preston; and military intelligence officer Philip Rayner, Holmes races against time to stop Crimson Jack. What he discovers is a plot involving the highest levels of government, Nazi Germany, a decades-old spy ring, and a man set on exacting retribution. Harris successfully captures Holmes' brilliance, talent, and arrogance, as well as Watson's dogged devotion to Holmes and the atmosphere in London during the dark days of war. The case he has imagined for Holmes to solve is both thoroughly challenging and pleasingly multilayered. A satisfying, albeit gruesome, read.
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