Sherlock Holmes junkies, add this to your must-read list! Nicholas Meyer set the standard years ago with THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION and THE ADVENTURES OF THE PECULIAR PROTOCOLS keeps that standard high. Sadness is threaded through this fast-paced tale, as Holmes hits 50, but the stakes are high and the pages will fly by.

Like many other Sherlock fans, I have waited for this book for a very long time. I have been a huge fan of Mr. Meyer for years and this book did NOT disappoint. I only hope that he will continue to write the Sherlock/Watson books for years to come. I had to force myself to read this one slowly and savor it but it is so good that I just dropped everything and read it. Definitely one for my collection!

It’s been many years since I read The Seven Percent Solution, but I remember thinking how well Meyer captured Conon Doyle’s style. This book is no exception. There is also a sense of melancholy throughout that was very moving: the story starts on Holmes’ 50th birthday and he’s beginning to talk about retirement. The case depicted here deals with issues that, sadly, still are relevant to today’s political landscape.

Meyer hits another Holmes pastiche home run!fast paced , well written, historically accurate, exotic locations and a world wide conspiracy that Holmes unravels. Cameos by historical personages as well as Holmes’ brother. My Croft -its just fun. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed reading this book,the mystery was interesting and the characters engaging. A very intriguing take on Sherlock Holmes

Possible spoilers ahoy!

Back in the 1970s, Meyer penned THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION, about Sherlock Holmes' efforts, with the assistance of Dr. John Watson and the famous "alienist" Sigmund Freud, to wean himself from a cocaine addiction that is making him increasingly ill and paranoid. (The book was later made into a film which kept those essential parts of the plot while changing the rest of the storyline; it too was well-received.) Later Meyer wrote two sequels, THE WEST END HORROR and THE CANARY TRAINER. This is his fourth Holmes effort, which opens on Sherlock Holmes' birthday when Mycroft contacts his brother about an unsettling manuscript that has come into his hands. The British intelligence agent bringing it to him was murdered, and it has become essential, in the political climate, to stop its distribution. The manuscript is the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," an anti-Semetic screed published in Russia in the late 19th century, purportedly a true report of the "Jewish plot" to take over the world.

In Meyer's novel, it is Watson's new wife, Juliet, who provides the means of translation for the Russian manuscript—she has "bluestocking" family members belonging to the Bloomsbury set who are Russian-language scholars—and discovers it's a plagiarism of a French document criticizing Napoleon III. Holmes, Watson, and an a Jewish-American woman named Anna Strunsky head for Russia under assumed names, dodging those who follow them, determined to discover who wrote this calumny and get his (or her) confession, thereby refuting the document if it is distributed.

It's a hair-raising adventure across Europe and into Russia, and all done in Meyer's marvelous voice: he has Conan Doyle's style down cold and provides a narrative as much like the originals as possible (without the pesky racism). The result comes off as a "real Holmes story"—but there's one fly in the ointment: anyone familiar with history knows that the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" continued as a destructive juggernaut, causing the strengthening of anti-Semitism, pogroms, and eventually the Holocaust, and even today the document is taken for real by Holocaust deniers. So there is no triumph at the end for our intrepid pair. Also, Anna Strunsky is introduced as an intelligent, tough woman who gets through all of the hardships Holmes and Watson also suffer, but an event happens that lessens her role in the story. It was rather irritating to have a positive figure come out in such a negative manner. Still worth it for the great Holmes/Watson interaction and Arthur Conan Doyle feel.

Interesting and different take on Sir Authur Conan Doyle's writing style. I didn't know what to expect, but found this to a good mystery and I enjoyed the story.

Although I'd been a fan of Nicholas Meyer's work as a screenwriter and director for a very long time, I'd never read any of his novels before. I'd heard many good things over the years about his first Sherlock Holmes novel, THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION and was always curious to read it, but never got around to it for one reason or another.

When I saw that Meyer was releasing this new Holmes novel, THE ADVENTURE OF THE PECULIAR PROTOCOLS, I was instantly intrigued. Not only because of Meyer, but also because I've recently become a pretty big fan of the Sherlock Holmes character.

This novel was impressive right from the start and I quickly began to admire Nicholas Meyer even more than I had before. I felt that he captured the characters of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson perfectly. In many ways, it felt like I was reading one of the original Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Especially impressive to me is the way that Nicholas Meyer used real events in history in this story. It's obvious that he did a lot of research for this book. I very much admire the way he weaved together a fictional story with fictional characters with real historical events and fictionalized versions of people who actually existed.

Having said that, something did fall a little short for me here. Yes, it held my interest from the very beginning and I enjoyed reading the entire book, but I didn't love it quite as much as I'd hoped to. I think, though, that the main reason for that is because I've recently been watching a lot of the two recent television series featuring Holmes: SHERLOCK and ELEMENTARY. Both of those series do a very good job coming up with great mysteries for Holmes and Watson to investigate. While there are definitely some big mysteries to be solved in THE ADVENTURE OF THE PECULIAR PROTOCOL, it felt more to me like a historical novel than a mystery novel.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course. I liked it a lot, but I was just hoping for more of a traditional mystery story. I'm very glad I read it, though, because it made me even more of a fan of Nicholas Meyer. I think he's a great writer. I'm definitely going to check out his other novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review.

The cover and jacket description are sure to catch the eye and heart of all Sherlock Holmes junkies, just as it did mine. Nicholas Meyer stayed true to the Holmes/ Watson series, the book definitely has the feel of a Conan Doyle book. The story itself is a good one, based on a true event during the war. I could see the characters in my mind as I followed their footsteps. I puzzled the mystery as they did. Mr Meyer has done an excellent job of maintaining and furthering the legend of Sherlock Holmes.

I read a ton of "new" Holmes fiction, and this is the best piece I've read in ages. Why?
• The "mystery" at the center of the story really matters—both in its moment and for what it can help us examine in the present day
• The author's version of Watson's voice is believable and engaging.
• The trope of presenting the story as a "found" document and the addition of notes by the author/finder are delightful, giving the book an additional level of entertainment.
• The reader sees development of both the Holmes and Watson characters that is appropriate to their identities as Conan Doyle created them.
• There's some very nice exploration of the tensions in the relationship between Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes.
This is definitely a title work seeking out.

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D. is definitely worth a read. It was good. I give it three stars.

There are so many pastiches and parodies of Sherlock Holmes stories about that it is a welcome change to find one that appears, on first glance, to actually be based on my notes from one of Holmes’ cases.

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is by Nicholas Meyer, whom you may remember also wrote The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and the author also wrote the screenplay for the film version with Robert Duvall as me and Nicol Williamson as Holmes. I will leave any review of that film until a later date except to state that its premise is somewhat flimsy.

Meyer is on safer ground with this story being based on notes from my diary of 1905. The reason it has not appeared before now is the involvement of the Secret Service (we were brought into the case by Holmes’s brother Mycroft) and I put the notes into the safety deposit box at my bank at the 16 Charing Cross branch of Cox and Company in London. That bank eventually became part of Lloyds Bank which, coincidentally also swallowed up the Capital and Counties Bank, where Holmes had his account at 125 Oxford Street, London. But I digress . . .

Let’s get some inaccuracies out of the way first. I am not sure on what evidence Meyer names my second wife as Juliet Garnett, sister of Edward Garnett, the English writer, and sister-in-law of Constance Black (Edward’s wife). It is possible that he has misread some remarks in my diary. In his defence, he does indicate the fragility of the diary in “A Word of Explanation” at the beginning of the book.

Putting all that aside, Meyer’s screenwriting prowess shows as he weaves some historical facts into my diary notes to produce a short story that could move readily onto the silver screen. He has, in some places, embellished the tale with Sherlockian ephemera in an attempt to give it authority, but this is done to good effect. Holmes not only outwits the Russian secret service but, as is often the case, yours truly.

This case, as Meyer relates it, took place shortly before Holmes’ retirement and, though Mycroft considered it a failure, his brother had done exactly what he had asked and we were both honoured by His Majesty at its conclusion.

For those looking for a new case of ours to read, this would fill that nice little gap on your bookshelf, and would only take up an afternoon to read.

John H Watson M.D. (retd)

It was a pleasant surprise to learn Nicholas Meyer had turned his attention again to the world of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. And, as The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols proves, he hasn't lost his ability to perfectly capture the voices of Holmes and Watson. However, it is a Holmes from a different era. It is a Holmes for a changing world. The case proves to be a curious one in the Holmes canon but it would be a major spoiler to reveal why here. Meyer nicely mixes historical figures and events in the book. It's also fun to see his use of famous quotes from the original Conan Doyle stories. This is an enjoyable return to 221B Baker Street by Meyer.

This book was slow to capture my attention, but once it kicked in, I was decidedly hooked. I loved the splash of history throughout as well as the trip on the Orient Express, which has always fascinated me. Overall, I felt the author definitely captured the essence of Sherlock Holmes. I loved the narration as well as the inclusion of a strong female character. Well done!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I grew up watching old Sherlock Holmes’ movies with Basil Rathbone so any Sherlock book I read I always compare the two. I was excited to see this book, I had read one by this author years ago. For me it felt true to other Sherlock Holmes books I’ve read. I’m not sure if I cared for the historical part of the story. I enjoyed the story and it kept my attention. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

3.5 stars...

This was the first Sherlock Holmes pastiche I've read by Nicholas Meyer. I've been meaning to read them but just haven't gotten around to it yet so when I saw this one offered on NetGalley I couldn't pass it up. The story itself was entertaining and I enjoyed their travels on the Orient Express, however, I felt like Meyer's representation of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Mycroft missed the mark a bit. There were instances in which I glimpsed the original characters but I didn't feel like their personalities carried throughout the entire story unfortunately. Even so, I still have every intention of reading The Seven-Percent Solution in the near future.

Fake news is nothing new, and Nicholas Meyer uses a genuine 1905 case that illustrates the appalling consequences of a plagiarized document.

I read Meyer's The Seven Per Cent Solution years ago, and I still tend to choose books linked to Sherlock Holmes. As in this case, these books have the premise of rediscovered writings by Watson.

Although based on true events, there are some unnecessary liberties taken pertaining to real people that bothered me. The descriptions of Holmes differ as well.

Read in May. Blog review scheduled for Oct. 1.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur
Sherlock Holmes/Historical Fiction. Oct. 15, 2019. Print length: 246 pages

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is a fascinating book. The book is well written and has great characters.

“Based on real events, the adventure takes the famed duo—in the company of a bewitching woman—aboard the Orient Express from Paris into the heart of Tsarist Russia, where Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of this explosive document. On their heels are desperate men of unknown allegiance, determined to prevent them from achieving their task. And what they uncover is a conspiracy so vast as to challenge Sherlock Holmes as never before.” After having read the Seven-Percent-Solution years ago I was waiting for a follow up and it’s finally here! Much like the first, this is historically based and gripping from the start. I hope we don’t have to wait so long for more Holmes and Watson adventures as imagined by Nicholas Meyer.....because no one does it better! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.