Dust and Shadow

DUST AND SHADOW

Lyndsay Faye



In “Dust and Shadow,” author Lyndsay Faye puts the fictional Sherlock Holmes on the trail of Jack the Ripper. Faye does double duty in her research for this, her debut novel. She has researched the grim details of the Ripper murders from locales to the women’s names to their horrendous post-mortem wounds, but she also closely follows the writing style of Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This book’s subtitle notes, “An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson.” Watson was not only Holmes‚ companion but the original stories were written from Watson’s perspective so that Watson is often referred to as Sherlock Holmes’ biographer. It should be noted that Faye is a modern Sherlock Holmes writer who strives to create a new story in the Doyle tradition. Readers can expect to find Holmes’ familiar rooms on Baker Street, the young Irregulars, the alliance with Scotland Yard, the loyalty of Dr. Watson. In Faye’s work, readers can also expect to find Sherlock Holmes’ towering intellect, his deep well of energies, his weakness for tobacco and narcotics, his penchant for disguise. Lyndsay Faye adheres closely to the character, much like Caleb Carr did a few years ago in his Sherlock Holmes’ novel, “The Italian Secretary.” If you’re a fan of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, you will appreciate Lyndsay Faye’s attention to style as well as her abilities as a writer of suspense. She also takes a few liberties, while staying true to Doyle and Holmes. There are instances here where Holmes is injured, is at times physically and mentally exhausted, and must even assert his own innocence that he is not Jack the Ripper. With possible exception of the Doyle-created arch-nemesis Professor James Moriarty, Holmes is more sorely tested here than in any of his other adventures. Of course, would anyone expect any less from Jack the Ripper? Even if it is Sherlock Holmes in pursuit?