''Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell'' is a

Sherlock Holmes pastiche Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories: *New Sherlock Holmes stories *Stories in which Holm ...

Paul Kane Paul Kane (September 3, 1810 – February 20, 1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Columbia Dis ...

. The book thrusts

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 ...

into the world of

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

's ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

''.

Premise

After the death of his nemesis,

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

, Holmes finds himself bored without someone with whom to match wits. He stirs from his malaise when an interesting case presents itself: Laurence Cotton's brother Francis has gone missing with only his screams from behind a locked door a clue to his whereabouts. Soon enough the trail leads Holmes to a particular

puzzle box A puzzle box (also called a secret box or trick box) is a box that can be opened only by solving a puzzle. Some require only a simple move and others a series of discoveries. Modern puzzle boxes developed from furniture and jewelry boxes with ...

Reception

Niall Alexander of

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

called the book "a whole bunch of bloody fun". Steve Dillon of

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

enjoyed the "parallels with the established ''Hellraiser'' mythos" such as "the tie-ins to the Cotton family and the address on Lodovico street". ''Scream'' magazine praised the book: "The dynamic between Holmes and Watson, our narrator for the majority of the book, is wonderful" and the "setting and time period are perfect". Phil Lunt of

The British Fantasy Society The British Fantasy Society (BFS) was founded in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. ...

said that "Kane gambled with an intricate recipe—but triumphed in blending unorthodox ingredients with finesse and expertise to produce one hellishly tasty cocktail!"

References

2016 British novels Crossover novels Sherlock Holmes novels Sherlock Holmes pastiches Novels set in England Hellraiser mass media Solaris Books books {{2010s-mystery-novel-stub