I love Sherlock Holmes and I love the world of horror that HP Lovecraft created. Seeing the two of them brought together was almost irresistible to me but I have seen Holmes placed in a world where logic doesn’t apply before, most notably the collection called shadows over Baker Street. There are aspects of this book that are very reminiscent of some of the best stories in that particular collection.
Where the author is most effective is in trying to really ground homes in this World where he hast to turn into magic to try to solve cases and save humanity. Lovegrove First establish is this by stating that he is a descendent far removed from HP Lovecraft. He then introduces various elements from Home’s world with some slight twists. One in particular, Relating to Watson seems like it was influenced by the Neil Gaiman story A study in emerald.
That being said the author does a really nice job and taking elements from the Home story and Incorporating supernatural elements from the Lovecraftian universe.
One of the aspects I didn’t like was that I felt he brought in Moriarty a little too quickly. It becomes clearer in subsequent novels why he did that but I still would’ve preferred Moriarty to a bit of whispered legend rather than a more dominant character right at the start.
Even though I am very familiar with Holmes canon even I lost count of how many references to stories and characters that appear within the Holmes universe. And I have to admit I am a sucker for the Diogenes club so I was very happy that it was included fairly early as well as Mycroft taking an active role.
If you like Sherlock Holmes and like seeing him placed in a situation where his ability to solve crimes and to handle situations is pushed to its limit then this is absolutely a book that you would enjoy