Sometimes this is too deliberately trying to show the difference between it and Conan Doyle for its own good, with the "Watson" being far less aware than the original, and the "Holmes" being meaner and less cerebral. And the tone is often far archer than the original, also not helpful. However, the world created is worth exploring - the different countries (especially the underwater one!) and gods made me continue reading even if the mystery wasn't to my taste.

eARC provided by publisher.

This book was so delightful! The Affair of the Mysterious Letter is a take on Sherlock Holmes, but Holmes is a sorceress named Shaharazad Haas and Watson is the uptight John Wyndham, who grew up in an oppressive religious society and struggles with Haas's lack of propriety. Haas and Wyndham are visited by Haas's friend (and ex) Eirene Viola, who is being blackmailed into ending her engagement. The case takes the pair on several adventures including battling vampires, being imprisoned by an oppressive military regime, and fighting a shark. Shaharazad in particular is pitch perfect - funny, nihilistic, wonderfully powerful, and enigmatic. Wyndham too is wonderfully funny, and I particularly liked his interactions with the local police captain. I am a fan of the original Holmes books and appreciated all the references and nods to those books, but you can enjoy this one without knowing anything about Sherlock. I do not know if this is the first book in a series, but I really hope it is. I loved it.

Do you like Sherlock Holmes, fantasy, and queer characters? This book has all of 'em and is a crazy fun mashup of a trans and pansexual Sherlock Holmes-eque duo going on adventures to solve a mystery in an amazingly set fantasy world, or really, worlds. So why the 3.5 stars? Captain Wyndham comes from a very prudish culture, and as a result, he edits what everyone says that is too indecent or offensive to him. This wouldn't be so bad, but he has to talk on and on about how he cuts words out so as not to offend the reader and whether his editor approves or not. This dry narrative is quirky and funny at first, becomes slightly annoying mid-book, and really grated on my nerves nearer the end, because it breaks up any action with a lot of exposition. Ultimately, I loved so many aspects of this book: the incredible worlds, the Holmesian plot and characters, but it's Wyndham's long-winded telling rather than doing that might make this a drag for some readers.

3.5 stars?

This was a really hard book to rate.

On the one hand—a gender-swapped (well, for the sorceress) and queer as hell retelling of Sherlock Holmes, set in a complex fantasy world? On the other hand—a Sherlock Holmes retelling written in the style of the original books.

After an unfortunate injury that prevented him from serving in the military, Captain John Wyndham, feeling adrift from his religiously conservative home (and not welcome in his father's house), returns to the city of his university days, gets a job as an alchemist in a hospital, and finds a housemate in the form of the infamous sorceress Shaharazad Haas, who is just as brilliant as she is drug addled (if you're wondering, she is very drug addled).

When Haas' ex-girlfriend shows up with a letter and demands that Haas figure out who is blackmailing her from marrying her fishmonger fiancée, Haas drags Wyndham all over the three cities of Khelathra-Ven to discover the culprit. Haas and Wyndham have a list—and they are going to use deduction, logic and a whole lot of luck to figure it out.

It's a good story, but I felt like it was lost in the mountains of exposition and Wyndham (bless his ooey, gooey soul he's so precious) choosing to tell us what happened versus showing us what happened. I kept reading, hoping it would get better and that the action sequences would be...actiony...but it did not.

At first, I was digging Wyndham's long-winded way of telling things, with the hope that eventually he'd cut it out and get to the story, but I was waiting for him to cut it out and get to the story for...the entire story. I felt like half the book was him going, "oh no dear reader, I cannot show you this," or "this person did not actually say that word," or accidentally spoiling what was to come by telling us what was to come and how it turned out before it happened. It's a schtick that gets old very quickly.

The summary promises drowned cities (okay, Ven was pretty cool), vampire seduction (much of it edited out by our favorite prude Wyndham), punching a shark (more like a graze, actually, because water drags a lot), and sky pirates (okay, that was pretty cool). Thanks to the mass amounts of exposition, it felt like each chapter draaaaaagged on, and despite how utterly fascinating the world was, I found myself reluctant to pick this up. It felt like it took me forever to read (forever being three days, which is forever based on how short this is).

Oh sweet pickles, I'm starting to write like the book!

Anywho. I really appreciate this book, despite my previous complaints. Dammit, still like the book!

Khelathra-Ven is a fascinating city, and the world was complex and deliciously weird.

There are really creepy vampires, bending reality, lots of oozing sores and ichor, and a landlady that is really just a hive of very annoyed bees (I mean, I'd be annoyed too if Shaharazad Haas was my tenant and she kept blowing holes into walls and destroying perfectly nice watercolor paintings) who possesses rotting dead bodies in order to have a single, solid form.

Shaharazad Haas was the perfect version of Sherlock Holmes—and by that I mean a general asshole, degenerate, self-interested, druggie genius with waaaaaay more confidence and firepower than any one person should possess (this is, surprisingly, a compliment).

John Wyndham, for all his narrative faults, was hilariously uptight but willing to just...go along with things, because—well, we never really got that explained. He just follows her around and is constantly changing his clothes (this was a gimmick that didn't get old, surprisingly) because what he is wearing is never fit for the occasion (I feel his pain). He's also loyal, brave and truthful to a fault (as the many interrogations reveal...poor Augur Lawson).

Finally, the LGBTQIA+ rep is off the charts. John is trans (and also gay? He mentions a husband but no other lovers?), and Shaharazad and much of the rest of the cast seem to be pansexual. There are so many queer characters and a lot of diverse representation all around.

I just wish that the narration had been a little more straight-forward.

However, if you loved the original Sherlock Holmes novels and are looking for an updated, queer as fuck, gender-swapped Sherlock Holmes in a weird fantasy world (or just more queer fantasy rep in general), this is the book for you.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

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!