A riveting novel, The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth grabs you from the very beginning and does not let go until the end of the story.

This is the third book in the series and even better than the previous books. Here, we find Sherlock Holmes' daughter trying to solve a perplexing mystery that includes spies and threats to the crown of England.

True to form, this has enough twists and turns to keep you at the edge of your seat. What a wonderful read. Once I highly recommend.

Smart Cookie Didn’t Fall Far from the Tree

When I read about this series’ main character at one of my favorite book review sites, I was intrigued about a series based around Sherlock Holmes’ daughter. While I would not consider myself to be a great reader of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, of course, I have a general familiarity with his primary character. I love the idea of a female having the sharp, incisive mind of her sire. She did not disappoint in that regard. I love how she noticed details and put together clues better than the men in her life, the estimable Watsons, including her husband, son of the great Doctor Watson (who is still living in this series). As she is Holmes’ daughter, her world is fraught with the problems and tensions of the Great War, not the Victorian Era. In fact, this book is very much inspired by that great European conflict, as a well-regarded English cryptographer has disappeared. The writing is elevated like we hope historical fiction will be, so this is a denser read than most current novels. But, I swear, I could almost hear the words in my head in a British accent! Well done, author! The book did have a few problems. The earlier timeline of the generations doesn't quite make sense to me as I try to puzzle it out. From what we know of Holmes and Watson from the Conan Doyle series, the ages of their children do not quite line up with the original. For instance, Holmes’ daughter—to have the experiences she has had, including having a ten-year-old son—would have to have been conceived before Holmes met her mother in the original. Other than these inconsistencies, which did niggle my mind a bit, I found this to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you Minotaur books and Netgalley for a copy of The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth by Leonard Goldberg for review.

I really like this series. Sherlock Holmes's daughter, Watson's son and Watson make such an interesting team. I am excited to see how the dynamic changes as we add in Joanna's son as well. I like how close these novels feel to what a Sherlock novel might be like but without having to stick too closely or change the character of Sherlock Holmes as much. This novel was based around the disappearance of a British code cracker for the war and I liked how the balance between English and German really changed the puzzles and the war added some drama.

After yesterday’s book, I was looking, partly for comfort but mostly for something where I knew what I was letting myself in for before I started. (Also looking for NOT a 700 page doorstop!) Then I saw that the fourth book in this series, The Art of Deception, came out recently – but I hadn’t read the third one yet.

And I’m always a sucker for a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, so I hunted this up in the virtually towering TBR pile, read the first chapter and BOOM the game was afoot!

Not that Joanna Blalock Watson ever utters her father’s favorite catchphrase during the course of this entry in the series. Although she certainly seems to have more than her fair share of her father’s attributes, talents and personal foibles.

As well as his partner and amanuensis, Dr. John H. Watson, Sr. But her father’s old partner isn’t hers. Rather, that role has fallen to his son, Dr. John H. Watson, Jr. The younger Watson fills multiple roles in Joanna’s life, as pathologist, partner in detection, chronicler and biographer, as well as husband and stepfather to her young son, who even as a teen is already a chip off the family block.

As, to some extent, is this case, reminiscent as it is of The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter and His Last Bow, encompassing as it does some of the plot elements of Greek Interpreter with the time period and circumstances of His Last Bow, which provides some information about Holmes’ service to the Crown during the Great War. In this series of his daughter’s adventures, Holmes has been deceased for some years, so those services to the Crown are provided by his daughter Joanna instead, with the able assistance of both of the Drs. Watson.

While the story begins with the kind of convoluted opening that Holmes’ cases were famous for, it quickly morphs into something that is both more so – and less at the same time. Initially, this is a case of a doctor treating a mysterious patient at the end of an equally mysterious journey, only to learn that his patient is not so much a patient as he is a captive trying to get out the message that he is in a great deal of trouble.

And that’s where the Crown steps into this narrative, as the captive is missing from his job as one of Britain’s top cryptanalysts. It is late in 1915, there is a war going on, and Alistair Ainsworth is a key figure in both deciphering coded enemy dispatches and encoding those of the British. German agents have kidnapped the man with the obvious intent of breaking him, getting him to work on their behalf both to tighten up their own codes and to break any codes that the British have used in the past, or will in the future.

The German agents are professionals; careful, cunning and seemingly always one step ahead of Joanna, the Watsons and the police. But there are three factors that they never seem to have accounted for in all of their careful planning. Their captive is a master chess player, always two or three steps ahead, attacking on multiple fronts and willing to play as long a game as necessary. His colleagues are, while not quite up to his level, geniuses at code breaking in their own rights and able to work from the tiniest of clues provided by their colleague. And last but not least, they clearly never reckoned on needing to keep several steps ahead of the daughter of Sherlock Holmes.

Escape Rating B+: I was looking for a book where I knew pretty much what I was letting myself in for and that is exactly what I got. And yet it still managed to make me think. I’ll get to that in a minute.

This series, at least so far, is part of a group of series that take the Holmes canon that we know and twist it in, not exactly a feminist direction – although that can be part of it – but in a direction that provides a thinking woman’s perspective on what was originally an all-male preserve.

So there’s a kinship between Mary Russell (The Beekeeper’s Apprentice), Charlotte Holmes (A Study in Scarlet Women) and Joanna Blalock in that all of them use the canon as the way of telling another story entirely, a story that still works while eliminating the air of white male exclusivity and yes, privilege, that surrounds the original stories.

(The marvelous Mycroft and Sherlock series by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse does the same kind of thing but in a different direction, by inserting into the narrative a young Mycroft’s friend and frequent detecting partner, the older, somewhat calmer and generally more dispassionate Cyrus Douglas, a black man from Trinidad.)

All of which means that if you enjoy Holmes well enough to like one of these series, there’s a fair chance you’ll enjoy some of the others. Without necessarily having to start at the beginning of any as the Holmes canon has permeated pop culture to the extent that we all know at least a tiny bit, even if only from The Great Mouse Detective.

But that change in perspective, as well as the change in time period both for the story and for the author writing it, makes us see some things in a new way. Particularly when reminded of the fact that Conan Doyle wrote the originals as contemporary stories. He was living the times he was writing about. The pastiches that have followed have become historical because the Victorian era that Holmes and Doyle lived in has retreated from us further every year.

So, as much as I enjoyed this foray into a variation of Holmes that tries its best to be both different and the same at the same time, I found myself thinking about some things that felt meta rather than about the book in my hand.

What struck me was the attitude towards the German agents who had kidnapped Ainsworth. There is a tendency in times of war to dehumanize the enemy in order to justify the war and all the things that happen within it. But the perspective of Germans as a race rather than a nationality, and the way that national characteristics had become easy stereotypes felt both logical for their time and place AND sat uneasily at the same time. It reminded me that in the original stories, Holmes and Watson are creatures of their time, with all of the racism and sexism and plenty of other terrible -isms that were part of that era. I was painfully aware that I wanted them to be better because they are characters that I love, but that they were not, no matter how much more recent adaptations have tried to ameliorate or eliminate those tendencies.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading this one, except for the above niggles. I found it to be – while not as utterly absorbing as the first book in the series, The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes, considerably better and more original than the second, A Study in Treason. I’ll certain be back for The Art of Deception when I’m next in the mood for a taste of Sherlock.

The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth (The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries #3)
Author: Leonard Goldberg
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: June 11, 2019
4 Stars

The year was 1915, and England was embroiled in World War I. It was a frightful rainy evening, and the Watsons were at home for they evening. They were sitting around analyzing a previous case of Sherlock Holmes’s when they were interrupted by an old friend of the elder Dr. Watson, a Dr. Verner. Dr. Verner had quite the disturbing story to share with the group. Dr. Verner was visited by a representative of a seemingly distinguished person. The man arrived to inform Dr. Verner that a man who was to remain unnamed was suffering from some kind of abdominal trouble. He asked Dr. Verner to go with him and examine the patient. After a peculiar, roundabout trip, they reached the house of the patient. Dr. Verner came to realize that this man was not sick, but was in need of help, and was most likely being held against his will. Although Dr. Verner had little to offer in the way of proof or clues to the man’s whereabouts, the Watsons’ agreed to look into the matter.

By the next morning, Joanna had deduced that the man must be a British citizen and was very much being held against his will by German operatives. Joanna was also sure that Dr. Verner’s life was in danger, and they rush to his practice to warn him. Unfortunately, when they arrived he was already dead. The threesome headed home and scoured the paper for news that may help them with this case. A notice in the paper about a missing person caught their eye. They surmised that this missing person, Alistair Ainsworth, was most likely the same man that was being held captive. Their theory was reinforced when they discovered that Ainsworth was one of England’s top cryptologist. The elder and younger doctor Watsons and Joanna become entangled in an extremely urgent case. They must find Alistair Ainsworth before the Germans are able to break him, and extract some of England’s biggest war secrets.

The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth is the third book in the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery series. This book is an excellent addition to the collection. Joanna’s deductive skills are right up there with her father’s, Sherlock Homes, but with a slightly softer touch. She has an uncanny ability to see clues that the other characters and the readers tend to overlook. Once she explains her reasoning, however, her assertions seem more than credible. Her impeccable reasoning skills are the only thing standing in the way of the German spies fulfilling their mission. The Germans are not without their own advantage though. It seems they have a spy placed very high within the English intelligence community which keeps them one step ahead of their pursuers.

Joanna, and her husband, Dr. Holmes, along with the elder Dr. Holmes are joined by other familiar characters to help them solve the case. Toby Two is back and his sniffer is as good as ever. Also back, and in charge of the murder investigation, is the younger Inspector Lestrade.

This book is a truly fun and exciting mystery. In line with the urgency of this case, the plot moves at a very fast pace. I can highly recommend this book to fans of Sherlock Holmes and historical mysteries. While this book could be read as a stand alone story, I recommend starting with the first book. Not only will you find yourself reading a great mystery, you will get to see the development of the characters. I’m very excited to see that there will be a fourth book in this series that is due out in June 2020.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #TheDisappearanceOfAlistairAinsworth

Great story, great mystery, and great pace!

One stormy night, the occupants of 221b Baker Street receive an unexpected visitor. An old colleague of Dr. Watson, Dr. Alexander Verner, comes to them with an extraordinary tale. He was requested to make a house call to someone complaining of stomach pains, but not before he was blindfolded and taken by carriage to the house. Once there, he realized that the patient did not have stomach pains and was actually signaling for help. Unfortunately, he was unable to convince the captors that the man needed to be hospitalized, so upon being returned to London, he came strait to the Watsons and the daughter of Sherlock Holmes. As the crew begin their investigation, it quickly becomes apparent that this is yet another national intelligence case and it appears to involve German spies as well as a group of unorthodox code breakers for the Royal Navy. As the group unravels the clues, it seems that the German’s always have a head start which can only mean one thing, someone on the inside is working for the Germans. With no time to spare, the group works alongside Scotland Yard and Naval Intelligence to rescue the victim before secrets can be released that will be devasting to Britain’s success in the war.

These books are quickly becoming my favorite mystery series. The demeanor between the three main characters is always entertaining. I always find myself wandering how Joanna will end up solving the case. She is intelligent, attentive, and very persistent. Her character reminds me of Sherlock himself and I enjoyed getting to see the glimpse of her son in this novel. He is very headstrong, but she knows what is best for him but allows him to make his own decisions, even if she might have had a bit of play in determining the outcome. The story is very entertaining and the mystery will have you wrapped up quickly in trying to figure out the whole story, which only Joanna can truly unravel.

Although this is a series, it easily reads as a standalone. Fair warning though, if you do read this first, you will probably want to go buy the first two! If you’re a fan of Holmes or just love a good mystery, give this a try!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions express within are my own.

Title: The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth



Author: Leonard Goldberg

Series: The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries book 3



Pages: 320



Genre: Historical mystery



Rating: 3 stars






The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth is the third book in the daughter of Sherlock Holmes mysteries series by Leonard Goldberg, which is the premise that Sherlock had a daughter and the case of Joanna it's basically what would happen if that daughter literally teamed up with her Watson and the actual Watson to solve mysteries. For a Sherlock Holmes retelling its kind of unique in the sense that you don't get many books focusing on the offspring of Sherlock Homes. I did enjoy it though parts of it tended to be slow at times, so it took me a minute but it was still a good read.



This book is perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes who wanted more of the story.





I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

A great story written in the manner of the original Sherlock Holmes' books with his daughter as the starring character. If you loved Conan Doyle's Sherlock, you'll love Goldberg's Jane. The characters are familiar, the stories full of clues that only she can deduce and the surprise at the end that you never saw coming.

The third installment in the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series finds our intrepid trio in 1915, searching for a traitor when German spies kidnap an English code breaker.

Somehow, I found this story both a page-turner and slow as molasses. If you removed all of Joanna’s explanations for how she figured everything out, the story might be less than novella length (though it may feel more action-packed). But I was intrigued enough to understand her deductions and figure out the identity of the mysterious traitor, which kept me reading at quite a clip. As with the first two books of the series, it’s all “tell,” no “show”.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Tense and diverting!

A thoroughly mezmerizing chase that piles fact upon fact with Sherlock Holme's daughter Joanne smoking Turkish cigarettes and deducing information from both what is present and what is not.
The aside factor of her son Johnny coming home from Eton declaring that he only needs a home tutor is something Joanne handles beautifully. And of course there are tentacles attached to the current case that see Johnny coming home.
It's November 1915. An awfully clever, high ranking codebreaker, has gone missing and as Joanne, her now husband John Watson, and her father-in-law, Dr. Watson go on the hunt the bodies pile up. Joanne deduces that Alistair Ainsworth, "was not taken prisoner in his workplace, but somewhere outside the agency, preferably in a secluded location where no one could see the capture or hear his cry."
The logical development around clues and the pursuit of the these by Joanne is a thing of beauty, as the mystery builds towards resolution. As Joanne points out clues, "will not be handed down to you on a platter ... they must be sought and placed in order." She does this with breathtaking accuracy.
Roles of the Holmsian characters have switched somewhat adding a certain piquancy to the work. Quite an invigorating read and another excellent series that joins the many Holmsian spinoffs.

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley

Enjoyable, suspenseful read. This book wasn't as engaging as the first two novels in the series, but it was still entertaining. I did find myself frustrated at some points due to the lack of character development. I would have thought by the 3rd novel the characters would have grown, yet they are still doing the same thing in the same order as the previous two books.

Leonard Goldberg intrigues with the third daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery in the Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth. The First World War brings German spies to kidnap an English cryptographer, Alistair Ainsworth to ferret out the secrets of the English navy. There is a traitor in the English coding services and Joanna Watson is working with her husband, Dr. Watson Junior to help English authorities to identify the traitor and rescue Mr. Ainsworth. Deductive reasoning must triumph !

This is the first book I have read in this series. I feel that I need to go start at the beginning in order to understand some of the background. However, I enjoyed the book very much. Sherlock’s daughter is much like her father. She has a brilliant mind and picks up on the smallest of clues.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth

A Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Book 3
Leonard Goldberg
Minotaur Books, Jun 2019
314 pages, ebook, hardcover, Audiobook, Audio CD
Historical Mystery
✭✭✭✭
eARC from NetGalley

The cover is lovely and shows Ms. Holmes looking just as unconcerned as her illustrious father as she gathers blooms for a bouquet of roses and lilies in a busy marketplace.

The story was interesting as Joanna and the Watsons put together bits and pieces of clues to figure out where the missing cryptographer is being held and what condition he is in. They seem to be able to use the smallest bits of evidence to tell that the missing Englishman is keeping his secrets and holding up to torture well and possibly where he will be moved to next. It’s not the newspaper that is left behind, but some little fact about the condition of it or such that tells them this. Then there is the information in the bathroom, behind the mirror, under the bed, in the closet, and a million other tiny things they seem to scent out. Oops, they almost missed the soggy tea bag. After a bit, it seemed to lag a tad for me as it seemed the clues were getting a bit far fetched and they just weren’t getting any closer to saving their cryptographer from the Nazis before he gave up his secrets or they killed him.

The pace, as I said, lagged a bit when the clues seemed to get a bit far fetched and the chase had gone on too long. But Joanna is a Holmes with the brain to prove it, and she always gets her bad guys in the end. I recommend this book to Sherlock Holmes readers, but don’t expect quite the same amount of suspense or drama. Joanna is a calmer person and doesn’t have quite the flair her father did. Still, it was a good read.

This story was good, but not spectacular. I liked the characters and felt they fit their respective roles well. The wartime storyline was intriguing. It does have a very “Sherlock” vibe to it. But the pace of the story was much too slow for me, and the dialogue seemed a little bit stilted. It seemed to bog down midway through, but the action did pick up again at the end. If you like a slow-building story, that won’t be a hinderance to you. Since this is a popular series, it’s possible that this is just not my type of book. I’ll give another book in this series a try to see what I think.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

What a wonderful book this was!

Sometimes I find that authors that try to duplicate the success of a classic book fall short. The prevalence of Sherlock Holmes copies certainly shows that there are many such attempts. Sadly. most fail for one reason or another. Here we have the daughter of Sherlock Holmes following in there father's footsteps. Her second husband is the son of Dr. John Watson. Midway through the book we are introduced to her son by her late first husband. This allows her to teach her son many of her methods. All in all, it works well.

In this book, Alistair Ainsworth is part of a group of cytologists working for the Department of the Navy during the Great War. Alistair igoes missing and it is presumed (correctly) that he has been kidnapped by the Germans who expect to break him so that they can break the British codes and learn secrets of Naval operations. We see the transitioning of society which employs both horse and carriages and automobiles for transportation.

There are four who work in the Admiralty Club, the name of the group of cryptologists. Codes are written or deciphered in their offices and then transported by a trusted courier to the safe at the Office of Naval Intelligence. It is clear that there is a traitor in the group of people who work with codes in some fashion as no one else could be aware enough of Alistair's movements to plan his disappearance. Alistair, or Tubby as he is known to friends, is too valuable to the Germans to ask for ransom. Their first plan is to break him to reveal the codes and then to remove him to Germany to continue to translate for them. The government is concerned that if Alistair breaks, the entire war effort will be lost.

The book seemed to be very long, and yet was about the same number of pages as other books I read. I attribute that seeming contradiction to the fact that I hung on to every word while with many books I tend to skim some of the passages. Every small detail was of interest even if it had nothing to do with the mystery at hand.

I had never read one of Goldbberg's mysteries before. There were hints in the novel of previous books in this series, but there were no blatant references to them. I now have a need to know more about those stories as my appetite was wheted by the subtle references.

I look forward to reading more by Goldberg. (And was thrilled to learn that he is also a native of my hometown!)

If Sherlock Holmes had a daughter, and Dr. John Watson had a son... This is not the first of this series starring Sherlock's daughter, Joanna Blalock Watson, her husband, and father-in-law John in the war-tossed crimes of London Town in November, 1915. I will find the previous novels, however. Leonard Goldberg writes a fine tale of British intrigue.

These three crime fighters reside at 221b Baker Street of course, with Mrs. Hudson very much present. Joanna carries the genes that made the late Sherlock Holmes such a formidable crime fighter, and with the help of her Watson and John, they have to run down German spies who have infiltrated the British war machine. We have help from the Baker Street Irregulars, and as with her famous father, Joanna is able to finesse her way to solving the riddle put before them. It is interesting that much medical intrigue is involved and with two Dr. Watsons, easily traversed.

If you loved Sherlock and Watson, you will thoroughly enjoy this series of Joanna, Watson, and Watson. I am pleased to recommend this work to friends and family.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Leonard Goldberg, and Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this historical novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

It's 1915, London and England is at war with Germany. On a very wet and stormy evening the doctor who bought Dr. Watson's medical practice arrives at the door of 221B Bake Street with a problem he thinks only Dr. Watson can be of help. The famous partner of the very famous Sherlock Holmes is now solving difficult cases with the aid of his son, John, now married to Joanna, daughter of the late, great Sherlock Holmes. These three are a formidable team and agree to help Dr. Verner. It seems that he has been drawn into a nasty bit of wartime spying when he is whisked away in a shrouded carriage arriving at a house to treat a mysterious man, one who is, he is told, is mute. When things don't seem to add up, Dr. Verner sets out to find answers.
Joanna is the perfect person for the job. Her keen mind is just as agile as her father was and, when the Dr. Verner is murdered, most likely as a result of having treated the mystery man, she and the Watson's join forces with Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard to unravel a case that can have a huge impact on England and WWI. The mystery man is Alisrair Ainsworth, one of a handful of code breakers working with Lt. Dunn of the Royal Navy - all very hush hush, super high clearance. Sad to say, Dr. Verner isn't the only one to be murdered and time is of the essence when they discover a message concerning German U Boats. To say that they have a tough puzzle to solve is an understatement.
Along with Joanna, John and his father, Dr. Watson, we get to meet the next generation - Miss Hudson is in charge of the household of 221B Baker street and the Baker Street Irregulars are on hand to follow a certain lady and report back in great detail everything that she did.
This is the third in the series but it works well as a stand alone. The writing flows very well and the puzzle is laid out in such a way that I was constantly left with the thought of Joanna, how will you explain this new twist? Sure enough, the explanation soon follows and it makes perfect sense. Just like Sherlock Holmes would have it figured out. Now I'm looking forward to the next puzzle.

Another mystery for the daughter of Sherlock Homes. Someone has disappeared and he is a very important person in the war with Germany. Lots of clues before the main villain is revealed. This has interesting characters and action. Loaded with tension as time passes and the answers stay just out of reach.

One evening in November 1915 a very wet Dr. Alexander Verner arrives at 221b Baker Street to tell his tale to the Watsons and Joanna, concerning a patient he deemed to held against his will. In the next mornings' newspaper, details of the disappearance of a Alistair Ainsworth, a cryptographer, were stated asking for help in locating him.
Joanna and the Watsons must find him before he reveals any secrets.
An enjoyable and interesting well-written mystery, easily read as a standalone story.