Charming, witty and weird describes this book perfectly. In this interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, we are introduced to the intriguing characters of Shaharazad Haas and Captain John Wyndham who take us on an amazing adventure and a wild ride that will have you laughing out loud.

I really enjoyed this book but did find our heroes’ last encounter not to be as much fun as the earlier ones. And, while the ending was enjoyable, it was not completely satisfying. I do, however, look forward to reading more about the sorceress Shaharazad Haas and Captain Wyndham in the future.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Early 1920s pulp fantastic fiction with steampunk gets updated for the modern era. Amusing and light, this work does not take itself too seriously, which is good because the plot will fall apart if you think about it too much. Still, the characters are fun, the one-liners are particularly good and the world(s) is particularly well drawn. Hopefully, we'll get more adventures of Mr. Wyndham and Shaharazad Haas!

I love Alexis Hall! I didn't realize this was not a romance, though, which is my fault as I should have done more research. I'm giving him all the stars because I love his books so much in general, even if this type of story is not my cup of tea.

THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER is a delightful romp with fun characters and a smart voice. Fans of Sherlock Holmes and Fallen London may be particularly interested in this spin on the antics of 221b.

In THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER, Sherlock is a consulting sorceress named Ms. Haas. With a familiar attitude, Ms. Haas sweeps Captain John Wyndham on a series of escapades. I was less interested in the main mystery about the letter and more concerned with the day-to-day antics of our heroes. Captain John’s particular voice solidifies the Sherlockian experience.

This is a book that demands sequels. Ms. Haas and Captain John mesh well with the fantastical world Alexis Hall has created, so that I couldn’t help but crave more of Captain John’s amusing recollections of his adventures with Ms. Haas. THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER is a solid adaptation.

There are so many Sherlock and Watson retellings and pastiches that I’ve started to skip over them when I see the reviews. Alexis Hall’s The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, however, caught my eye and I am so glad it did. This book has the Sherlock and Watson characters and hallmarks, but they’ve been transmogrified by a brilliant imagination that also takes from Lovecraft, Sheridan le Fanu, and Robert W. Chambers to create a madcap adventure across space and time with an uproarious Holmes-clone and a comically buttoned-up Watson-clone.

John Wyndham knows he is a fish out of water when he takes up residence in Khelathra-Ven. After leaving his home country for a university education and a tour with the Company of Strangers against the Empress of Nothing, Wyndham doesn’t fit in to his Puritanical, witch-hunting town or family any more. He can barely afford decent lodgings, so he moves in with the highly mysterious and definitely unethical consulting sorceress, Ms. Shaharazad Haas. He’s not there long when Miss Eirene Viola shows up at 221b Martyrs Walk to tell Haas that she’s being blackmailed. She wants Haas to sort it out.

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter is one entertaining, bizarre episode after another. Wyndham gets dragged along on Haas’ investigation into Viola’s many ex-lovers to find out who done it. Each episode introduces us to weird characters in even weirder locations that are the product of the weirdest histories. Some of the places the two go to aren’t even, strictly speaking, real. Along the way, Haas and Wyndham will occasionally drop bons mots that are almost the complete inverse of dialogue from the original Holmes stories. I laughed every time I recognized one.

Wyndham is a fun character, who often acts as Haas’ conscience, but Haas really steals the show. I loved her utter disregard for social convention, laws, and her fierce loyalty for people she considers “hers.” I also very much loved what Hall did with her source material. I don’t want this to sound like I think this book is derivative. While it’s clear that Hall was inspired by Doyle, Lovecraft, Sheridan le Fanu, and Chambers, she gave free rein to her imagination to spin all of that into something delightfully original—and something that’s a hell of a lot of fun to read.

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall set off planet, shares a mystery and adventure as relayed by Captain John Wyndham who finds himself housemates with the eccentric and brilliant sorcerer at 221b Martyrs Walk.

What a fun tale. This is a Sherlockian based tale set off planet and filled with magic, vampires, gods and limitless worlds. Come travel with John and Shaharzad Haas as they try to uncover a blackmailer.

See my full review on June 18th. Link below. A review will be cross-posted to Goodreads and Amazon. Link to review at Caffeinated Reviewer will be uplifted on social media for 90 days.

This is one of those books that is hard to define. It has a charming wit, a brilliant Victorian sleuth complete with a stoic sidekick. This is not your typical Sherlock Holmes read-a-like however because it takes place not in London but in a fantasy world with an indistinct timeline, the sleuth is not a detective but a sorceress and they are solving a case of blackmail against the sorceress's ex-lover. It is a well thought-out world, the characters are perfectly matched and the witty banter abundant. If you like a bit of Alice in Wonderland with your Sherlock Holmes, this is for you. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This interpretation of Sherlock Holmes is a lot fun. It's in a fantasy world with other dimensions, a town in the Thames, and secret alliances everywhere. The book focuses on one mystery. Wyndham (the Watson in the story) tells the story of the mysterious letter with an Arthur Dent-like naivete and surprising moments of wit. The narrative voice and the constant breaks of the fourth wall were compelling and hilarious. Hall's decision to use this perspective is enough for me to rate this book so highly. The story has some adventure, and the mystery is difficult to figure out since you're led in several different directions at once. With the added factors of parallel universes and time travel, it's really hard to know how the story will end because it can be, quite literally, anything.

There are so many Sherlock pastiches, but this one is so bizarre, so imaginative, so...psychedelically creative, that it merits special note. It feels a bit like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle all sat around with PCP-laced absinthe one night and the pages of this story were scattered around them when they woke up the next day. Yes, it's a gender-swapped, steam-punk blend of scifi and fantasy. Yes, they cross continents, dimensions, and time. Yes, the adventures are more Indiana Jones and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen than Sherlock Holmes, but who wouldn't want to see Sherlock on a alchemically-enchanted flying machine or in a harpoon-gun standoff in an underwater city? The characterizations of the louche, narcissistic, and indulgent sleuth with the disciplined, principled, and naive partner were spot on. The whole romp was a delightful pleasure.

This is a steampunk novel of Sherlock Holmes. I found the world-building to be very confusing. I like the writing style and the mystery was interesting. However, the characters did not appeal to me and I kept comparing them to Doyle’s original characters. Still, I recommend this for anyone interested in Sherlock Holmes.

Thanks for approving me to read this! It was really fun. I'd definitely recommend for fans of Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald, Lilith Saintcrow's Bannon & Clare series, or anyone who would enjoy a diverse--and often hilarious!--Doctor Who meets Lovecraft Sherlock Holmes pastiche.

• Title: The Affair Of The Mysterious Letter
• Author: Alexis Hall
• Series: Stand-alone
• Pages: 352
• Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Retelling, LGBTQ
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 4

My Thoughts: Picture this...Sherlock Holmes is a Sorceress. Still witty, intelligent, but with a penchant for taken complicated lovers and still has all those messy and addictive habits. Now sit that character down at a Dungeons and Dragon’s table with character’s nodding to those we’ve seen in Doyle’s works. Watson is our lovable, tolerant Dungeon Master who likes who to throw Lovecfraftian and other classic horror entities at our troop as they try to complete their quest to find out who is blackmailing Miss Eriene. That is The Affair of the Mysterious letter in a nutshell.
Sounds insane right? It is, but in the best way. There is LGBTQ rep galore. The writing is quick witted, sassy and well paced. The Affair of the Mysterious Letter has some epicly weird world building. Things like gender, race, sexuality, time and reality in and of itself are pulled apart and thrust back to together in bizarre yet delightfully entertaining ways. Understand that going in and you’ll be better off for it in the long run. You get the classic who-done-it mystery but with fun fantasy twist.
This is a laugh-out-loud, bizarre but oh-so-fun, quick read. I highly recommend this; especially if you like things a little oddball.

*EARC kindly provided by Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I Just could not finish this one. The writing was somehow both over-wrought and flat? And just didn't grab my interest at all.

I absolutely love this book. It’s an interesting take on the Sherlock Holmes/Watson relationship. The investigator is a sorceress, Shaharazad Haas and her partner is Captain John Wyndham. A mismatched pair indeed but when circumstances bring them together it’s the start of a weird partnership that is a unique, fun, imaginative romp. There is a letter, blackmail and a mystery that brings together bankers, time travel, magic and through it all John Wyndham manages to survive and his partner is not bored by it all. This is a very unique story that manages to be interesting and the unraveling of the mystery is all part of the journey. I hope to see more from this new world.

Combine Sherlock Holmes and space fantasy and time travel, and you get The Affair of the Mysterious Letter. Written in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by the Watson-esque John Wyndham, this romp begins with Wyndham becoming the tenant of Shaharazad Haas, an arrogant sorcerer with no boundaries. The client is being blackmailed, sending the Haas and Wyndham duo to other universes and times to find the culprit. Each escapade and escape is more outrageous than the last, and clearly more installments describing these two characters are likely. The number of strong female and gender-bending characters (and pronouns) is appreciated. A listing of characters and a glossary would be helpful. Fans of Doyle's writing will love this book, while those who find it tedious will not.

A delightful romp written with Alexis Hall’s customary finesse and wit. I can only hope that this is the start of a new series — and for the further adventures of Ms. Haas and Mr. Wyndham. More, please!

While I am a big fan of the original Sherlock Holmes, and a fan of Sci/Fi and Fantasy this book failed for me. It felt as if too much was added and too much taken away to really appeal to me. I do think others might enjoy it however. Best of Luck and thank you for considering me to read this book.

I think I've found my favorite book of 2019 and it's not even halfway through February yet.

I love Sherlock Holmes pastiches and this is certainly that in that it involves a maddeningly intelligent and occasionally infuriating protagonist and a faithful ex-military doctor who serves as assistant, sounding board, admirer and biographer who live together at 221B with their landlady and solve crimes.

Except that this is the sorceress Shaharazad Haas who breaks the laws of gods and men as it suits her and indulges in a wide variety of unspeakable indulgences, and Dr. John Wyndham, a pious soul who is helplessly caught up in Haas' schemes that take them through a whirlwind of lands, dimensions and times. (And the landlady? A cranky swarm of wasps in a re-animated cadaver that has to be replaced from time to time as bits fall off. Don't drink her tea.) This is Holmes in the land of Lovecraft, with some Dungeons and Dragons tossed in, and it's wonderfully bizarre.

Eirene Viola, one of Hass' former lovers, is being blackmailed and wants Haas to find the blackmailer and stop them before Viola's fiance finds out. Haas and Wyndham face off against time-traveling merchants, underwater ruffians, flying pirates, sharks, gods, vampires, and the local constabulary in their mad-dash efforts for Wyndham to help the young lady as honor and chivalry command and for Hass to aggravate people and try not to get too bored.

There is a LOT of weird world-building packed into this novel, and the only way it works at all is because it is told through Wyndham's eyes and Wyndham, much like a Dr. John Watson, writes in a charming, eyes-wide style that makes you accept what's happening because Wyndham accepts what's happening.

It's fast and it's unabashedly LBGTQ-friendly. It's also funny as hell and actually made me laugh out loud on several occasions.

I have only two complaints about it. One: the constant reference to future adventures got a little annoying after awhile. Two: I desperately want to read the future adventures and they're not here yet.

This book was received as an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was super excited to read this book because Historical mysteries are very popular in our library and I knew our patrons will be ecstatic to know that one is about to be released. The Affair of the Mysterious Letter tells the story of Captain John Wyndham post-war looking for a place to live. While searching for a home he comes across this letter that was addressing an affair of one of the former lovers of his housemate. This letter leads to witchcraft, pirates, and even encounters with sharks that now Capt. Wyndham is involved with. Each page was a new twist that was a huge shocker to the plot. Each chapter kept you invested and wanting to know who this mystery blackmailer is and will Captain Wyndham catch him once and for all.

We will consider adding this title to our mystery collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

For fans of Doyle and Lovecraft, finally here is a story that brings them together in the perfect mix (with a small dash of Hercule Poirot thrown in for taste). Sherlock Holmes becomes sorceress Shaharazad Haas, and London is replaced by Khelathra-Ven, a city where dimensions, time and consciousness may not be one and the same. The mystery is a classic, two lovers beset by a blackmailer, but the possible culprits include a playwright, a gang leader and possibly a vampire. I also loved the fact that the characters did not exist in the binary world H.P. Lovecraft would have preferred, but rather in a world where there is a lot of diversity and the book is inclusive of different sexualities and gender identities. I think the added religious background of Wyndham (the Watson in this story) brought an interesting conversation to the work which added to the character and his relationship with Shaharazad.

Overall, this was an exciting and original twist on the classics of detective and other-worldly horror fiction, one which fans of either would really enjoy. The first in what is certain to be a series, and a one not to be missed. The writing style, humor and world-making is sure to entertain and intrigue readers.