''Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon'' is a
mystery novel by
James Lovegrove
James M. H. Lovegrove (born 1965) is a British writer of speculative fiction.
Early life
Lovegrove was educated at Radley College, Oxfordshire, and was one of the subjects of a 1979 BBC television series, ''Public School''. A follow-up progr ...
. It is a
Sherlock Holmes pastiche that involves a
Krampus-like Christmas demon. The book also makes reference to
Philip Jose Farmer’s
Wold Newton family
The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer.
Origins
In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorite, fell near Wold New ...
.
Plot
December 1890, Eve Allerthorpe visits London from
Yorkshire with the aim of asking
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
to aid her. Allerthorpe is due to inherit a large estate on her 21st birthday, just days away, if she is found of sound mind. Recently, there have been chilling tales of the ghost of Allerthorpe's deceased mother and worse; visions of a legend told to her in her childhood, the Black Thurrick.
Reception
''
Publishers Weekly'' praised the novel and said that Lovegrove joined "the top rank of authors of traditional Holmes pastiches." Mark Yon of SFFworld enjoyed the book calling it "a deceptively easy read that draws you in and, once started, I found difficult to put down."
Sam Tyler of SFbook.com called it "a great Christmas gift for the Sherlock Holmes fan in your life."
Katie Turzansky, manager of
Edmonton Public Library
The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is a publicly funded library system in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, available for use by any member of the public. Library cards are free to all Edmontonians; as part of its centennial in 2013, the Edmo ...
's Strathcona branch recommended the book on
CBC's ''Radio Active with Adrienne Pan''.
References
External links
''Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon''at
Titan Books
2019 British novels
Novels set in the 1890s
Sherlock Holmes novels
Sherlock Holmes pastiches
Christmas novels
Novels set in London
Fiction set in 1890
Titan Books titles
Krampus in popular culture
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