ARROWOOD by Mick Finlay follows in the long tradition of
Sherlock Holmes spinoff fiction but with a distinctive
twist. In Mick Finlay's version, the main character William
Arrowood is sort of a flawed anti-Holmes. In fact, Arrowood
detests Holmes and often laments the fact that he is
overshadowed by the other man in many respects. The one
thing that Arrowood has going for him is that Holmes's
services are quite expensive and can only stretch to so many
clients, so the overflow ultimately gets funneled his way.
As with Sherlock Holmes, Arrowood also has a faithful
assistant Barnett who often butts heads with the
ex-journalist turned detective.
The premise of ARROWOOD is an intriguing missing-persons
mystery. Caroline Cousture, a French photographer, enlists
Arrowood to investigate the disappearance of her brother
Thierry. Her brother was working as a cook at the Barrel of
Beef at the time and Caroline is convinced that there is
more to his sudden disappearance than meets the eye. As
Arrowood begins to interview people who are acquainted with
the vanished cook, they are mysteriously killed, or in the
case of Arrowood's 10-year-old amateur neighborhood
assistant Neddy, is kidnapped twice. Arrowood gradually
comes to the realization that he has gotten himself involved
in a much deeper investigation than he initially thought and
that there are sinister people who do not want it to go
forward. Why would anyone want to permanently silence those
being questioned about the disappearance of a simple cook at
a local chophouse? Was Thierry involved in something more
serious that would warrant such measures be taken? These are
just a couple of the questions that must be answered in Mick
Finlay's late 19th Century mystery tale.
I am a sucker for mysteries that take place during this time
period and that have a Holmesian feel to them. Some of my
favorite books have much the same theme as ARROWOOD. I felt
that the book started a bit slow but once the investigation
started to really take flight, I couldn't stop reading. For
me, the true measure of the effectiveness of a mystery book
is how unpredictable it is. Too many times when I read
mystery books, I find myself easily being able to figure out
who the culprit is fairly early on. Mick Finlay has managed
to write a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very
end while also penning an amusing and sometimes brutal
story. If you enjoy books like The Alienist by Caleb Carr or
The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon, then I certainly
believe you should give ARROWOOD a read as well. It has the
same elements that make those 19th Century mysteries so
great. You can smell the pipe tobacco, see the glimmer of
the gaslights, and hear the horse hooves clip-clopping on
the cobblestones. I thoroughly enjoyed ARROWOOD and would
recommend it to anyone who loves a great mystery with
characters who jump off the page. Pick it up, you won't be
disappointed!
London is scared. A killer haunts the city's streets; the
poor are hungry; crime bosses are taking control; the police
force is stretched to the breaking point.
The rich turn to Sherlock Holmes, but the celebrated private
detective rarely visits the densely populated streets of
South London, where the crimes are sleazier and the people
are poorer.
In the dark corner of Southwark, victims turn to a man who
despises Holmes, his wealthy clientele and his showy
forensic approach to crime: Arrowood—self-taught
psychologist, occasional drunkard and private investigator.
When a man mysteriously disappears and Arrowood's best lead
is viciously stabbed before his eyes, he and his sidekick
Barnett face their toughest quest yet: to capture the head
of the most notorious gang in London…
In the bestselling tradition of Anthony Horowitz and
Andrew Taylor, this gloriously dark crime debut will haunt
readers long after the final page has been turned.
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