“You really are an automaton - a calculating machine” [SIGN]
The Science of
Deduction is a year-long Sherlock Holmes collection that will include
twelve original novellas by author Heidi Hewett, with a new story released to
Kindle each month. “TheCurious Case of the Clockwork Doll” is the first story in this collection.
A lady comes to call in Baker Street, but something feels off when she is requesting Holmes’ help. That is because this is no ordinary lady, but
an automaton sent by her maker, Judith Haviland, to uncover the source of curious
disturbances in their house . Many
readers would expect “The Curious Case of the Clockwork Doll” to devolve into a
steampunk story from this moment, but the use of this automaton and her
inventor’s other works are handled in a much more believable manner than many
other pastiches have done. Holmes is
intrigued by this invention and agrees to travel by train to the country. And after a run in with a jewel thief on the
train, they arrive at the family manor.
The author’s love for the canon is evident from the
beginning. The first half of the opening
chapter has an almost déjà vu feel to it because so many snippets of Doyle’s
stories are used again here. Holmes seems
to read Watson’s mind by using the reflection in a teapot just as he does with
the coffee pot in the beginning of The
Hound of the Baskervilles, and his line about the most winning woman he has
ever known from The Sign of Four is
used almost verbatim in this story.
Hewett does a fine job imitating the Watsonian voice of the original,
but the first chapter can be disconcerting with so many very familiar moments
popping up.
Once Holmes and Watson arrive at Haviland manor though,
Hewett shows her strength as an author.
The first few chapters of this book consist of exposition and mood setting,
which seem to have her at a disadvantage as a storyteller. So many of Holmes’ cases begin in Baker
Street and include a train car conversation.
This pastiche uses those old standbys as well, but it feels forced at
some points. Once Holmes and Watson reach
Haviland manor, the author is free to take the story in any direction she
chooses, and does so at a very nice pace.
The story twists and turns with many nods to the canon that are able to
be spread out enough so that they don’t overshadow the mystery at the heart of
the story.
The inhabitants of the Haviland household create a classic
manor mystery feel: Judith, the driven matron of the house, her lazy brother,
Lionel, their young charge, Mary, her tutor, Miss Berends, and a house full of
automatons. Other characters appear
later, and some are familiar names to those of us who know the canon well. There is, of course, more to this case than a
few disturbances in the house, and the imaginative plot leads up to a very
exciting climactic scene in the end.
Many pastiches that introduce robots into a Sherlock Holmes
story end up being a Victorian version of Iron Man, but The Curious Case of the
Clockwork Doll is able to keep the correct feel of the era while Holmes and
Watson stay true to the characters we are all so familiar with. After a rocky beginning, this story settles
into an inventive tale that is worth checking out.
The second story in this series, "The Door of Eternal Night" by Josh Reynolds, is also available from 18th Wall Productions.
The second story in this series, "The Door of Eternal Night" by Josh Reynolds, is also available from 18th Wall Productions.
18th Wall Productions provided a complimentary
copy of this eBook for review.
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