When a young woman goes missing the police have no clues to
her whereabouts. It takes a new team of private investigators to solve the
case. It’s hardly a surprise that the team are able to succeed where the police
failed since they are Holmes, Marple and Poe.
It’s a while since I’ve read anything by James Patterson.
I used to buy each new hardback and race through them. Since I was working
full-time the writing style suited my time perfectly. Short, snappy chapters,
gripping plot and familiar characters (I’m thinking of series such as Alex
Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett) meant that I didn’t have to invest
a lot of time or concentration. However, I simply couldn’t keep up with the
author’s prolific output and I simply drifted away. Even though I now have more
time available to read I haven’t really been tempted back, probably because it
would involve trying to figure out where I was in each series and trying to
catch up. When I saw the title of this new book, Holmes, Marple And Poe,
along with the description, I was immediately intrigued.
I’m so pleased I decided to give the book a chance as I
thoroughly enjoyed it. My attention was grabbed from the very beginning as we
are introduced to the eccentric Brendan Holmes. Alongside Margaret Marple and
Auguste Poe, he is able to solve the case of the mysterious disappearance of a
young attorney. While the case thrusts the new team of private investigators into
the limelight, it also makes them a few enemies, namely the mayor and the
police commissioner.
New cases to solve come at the team thick and fast, crimes
which are solved relatively quickly. While we do get a taste for the eccentric
nature of each character and can see links to their namesakes, we don’t get an
in-depth understanding of the thought process and deductions that lead to
solving each case. This light touch is part of the reason the book is so
readable.
More intriguing than the numerous crimes the trio are
involved with is the identity of the characters themselves. Whenever they are
introduced to someone there is always a comment about the names being a “joke”.
Each of the trio shares traits with their namesake, some of which have a
negative impact. There are subtle hints regarding the true identities of each
of them but nothing is fully revealed, keeping the reader in suspense. A couple
of supporting characters also add to the overall mystique of the team.
I really did enjoy this far more than I expected to. I do hope that this is the start of a new series.
Holmes, Marple And Poe by James
Patterson and Brian Sitts will be published on 4th
January 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and
Random House UK for a review copy.
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