The locals report the presence of shadowy spectres in the area, and blame a dark magic. Ever the rationalist and logician, Holmes is dismissive. Holmes has been investigating a series of bizarre deaths in the East End district of Shadwell poor, unfortunate men and women are dying at the height of the new moon, their bodies aged and shrunken in an improbable manner. He is dragged by accident into one of Holmes’ cases, and from there their friendship grows. Watson has returned from Afghanistan an invalid, but the cause of his injury was not as previously stated a Jezail bullet during the Battle of Maiwand, but rather as a result of his first brush with the occult. Purists might feel like turning away now, but shouldn’t, because in other respects he has made a good job of being faithful to Conan Doyle’s legacy. Lovegrove is no stranger to writing Holmesian stories, and we reviewed two of his novels previously – The Gods of War and The Stuff of Nightmares. In order to do this he has had to tinker with the chronology of the Holmes canon. Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows is the first of James Lovegrove’s Cthulhu Casebooks, which attempt to merge the Arthur Conan Doyle and HP Lovecraft literary lines and bring out the best in both of them. If that day comes then humanity will perish and in the meantime anyone who catches some knowledge of the gods will realise our cosmic insignificance and go mad. Lovecraft envisioned a number of Elder Gods, led by Cthulhu, who ruled over the Earth aeons ago and may do so again in the future. The American horror writer HP Lovecraft may not be as popular as Conan Doyle, but his Cthulhu Mythos is the inspiration for countless books. However, crime fiction lovers who don’t dip their toes into darker waters may be unaware that there is another author whose creations continue in a life of their own. This undying popularity seems to make Holmes’ original creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, unique. He is an iconic character that continues to capture the imagination of readers, writers and TV viewers alike. Written by James Lovegrove - Sherlock Holmes remains an enduring literary phenomenon.

Sherlock holmes shadwell shadows