ARC Review: The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D.
Author: Nicholas Meyer
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 15, 2019)

Description: With the international bestseller The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes, as recorded by Dr. John H. Watson. Now Meyer returns with a shocking discovery―an unknown case drawn from a recently unearthed Watson journal.

January 1905: Holmes and Watson are summoned by Holmes' brother Mycroft to undertake a clandestine investigation. An agent of the British Secret Service has been found floating in the Thames, carrying a manuscript smuggled into England at the cost of her life. The pages purport to be the minutes of a meeting of a secret group intent on nothing less than taking over the world.

Based on real events, the adventure takes the famed duo―in the company of a bewitching woman―aboard the Orient Express from Paris into the heart of Tsarist Russia, where Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of this explosive document. On their heels are desperate men of unknown allegiance, determined to prevent them from achieving their task. And what they uncover is a conspiracy so vast as to challenge Sherlock Holmes as never before.

My Thoughts: Still another long-lost journal written by Dr. John Watson has found its way to Nicholas Meyer's hands. This one details a case that they worked in 1905. After getting together to celebrate Holmes's 50th birthday where they were joined by Mycroft, Mycroft brings a problem for Sherlock to solve.

One of Mycroft's agents was found murdered in a way that it made it look like she had been murdered by someone Jewish who wanted the papers she was carrying. Since the papers weren't taken and the murder weapon was conveniently left with the body, Holmes suspects a set up.

The recovered papers were supposedly the secret minutes of a group of Jews who were plotting to take over the world. This discovery leads our characters into the growing movement to found a homeland for the Jews who were dispersed throughout Europe. It also led them to Russia where they saw the results of pogroms which murdered countless Jews. Despite Sherlock's lack of knowledge about politics, the pair and their beautiful translator Anna Strunsky Walling hop aboard the Orient Express and find themselves battling the Okhrana - the Russian Secret Police - on their way to the truth.

The story includes quite a number of actual historical figures including Chaim Weizmann who would later become the first president of Israel. It is also about an actual document that, despite being debunked thoroughly, has come to prominence many times in the years since it was first written even as recently as 2018. It is a story about the power and persistence of a lie. It is also a case that Sherlock isn't able to solve despite his keen observation.

I enjoyed this story. I liked the way Sherlock and Watson interact despite the fact that they don't see each other as often as they once did.

Favorite Quote:

"I don't embellish." I insisted, annoyed at this charge he always laid at my door. "I include colour."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.