Many thanks for Sean Harte for his Goodreads review of Holmes Volume 1...
As a Boro lad, you have to be intrigued by a reworking of the classic Sherlock Holmes based in modern day Middlesbrough. I expected to be entertained by this book and as it happens it was actually better than I anticipated.
Teesside Holmes swears a lot, wears a donkey jacket, enjoys a tipple (generally at Watson's expense) and solves crimes. This Northern twist on a well known and well used character brings humour as well as subtle nuances that perhaps only locals will really pick up on, but the wider scope of these sequenced short stories has enough to engage a much broader range of readers. Locations are familiar to those from Teesside though our heroes do venture as far afield as Sheffield! Each story is self contained but knits together to firm a greater whole. You can see the author's confidence in his own writing grow from the first story throughout the latter pieces and so it should. I believe this is the author's first work and it is a magnificent effort as such.
I loved this book and can't wait to read the forthcoming sequel.
5 of 5 stars.
