For a novel that started off as fanfic in a genre I would normally steer far away from, Angel of Crows was a delightful tour into an alternate Holmesian London! Katherine Addison's other novel, The Goblin Emperor, has long been on my TBR. After reading through Angel of Crows, I must admit I bumped have bumbed Goblin Emperor up to the top of my list.

Her voice is immediate and engrossing, the twists, turns and surprises delight throughout, and she manages the near impossible: breathing fresh life into a much lauded and oft imitated genre. I want more of this universe, these characters, of hell hounds and angels and vampires who are most DEFINITELY hiding something from us all.

I thought the premise of this book sounded very promising. However once I started it, I found the writing style to be very stiff. It was reminiscent of the writing of the classics, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just didn't suit my needs for present day. I found it hard to to stay focused, and thus I did not finish The Angel of the Crows. I will give it a 2 star rating for premise and storyline, but not more because I didn't finish it.

Angels, vampires, werewolves, alongside humans, in late 18th century London, mystery abounds, along with what seems to be a Sherlock Holmes inspired plot. The blurb for this book promised more than what was delivered, only my opinion.

I loved this retelling of Sherlock Holmes. The recasting of Sherlock as an Angel, and Watson as a Hellhound is right in my wheelhouse and I loved it. The mysteries in the book are also very well done. A great read!

I really didn't like this book. It was so similar to the BBC Sherlock, which I am a big fan of, so similar even that the beginning was almost a word for word copy. The only thing that changed was the names and the magic involved. Couldn't finish it.

Shout out to the author for teaching me what wingfic is. This book was delightful. Reminiscent of the “classic literature plus monster” fad of the mid-aughts, this story drops hellhounds, angels, vampires, werewolves, and genteel clairvoyance into the Sherlock stories. As in every retelling of the Sherlock tales, the puzzles plus the relationship between detective and sidekick combine for a treat of a read. Recommended for fans of Kate Locke.

This book was so unique, I loved the world and the characters. This is my first Katherine Addison book and it did not disappoint. I loved the new take on the Jack the ripper story.

The Angel of Crows is the most original Sherlock Holmes retelling that I've read. In this retelling, Sherlock is an Angel, and Watson is a Hellhound. Angels are attached to residences or buildings - all except Sherlock, who's called Crow in this story. But Angels can Fall, if they're not attached to a domicile. Watson (here called Dr. Doyle) was made a Hellhound when an Angel Fell. The case is Jack the Ripper, and a number of little cases that bring the sleuths closer to Jack the Ripper.

Which brings me to what I loved about this book: each part of the book focuses on a smaller mystery that serves also to bring into focus the main characters. Crow and Dr. Doyle make an excellent pair and their building relationship was one of my favorite aspects about this book. It did take me a little while to get into it - about 100 pages. It's a real boulder rolling downhill, though. It picked up pace and interest and suspense as it kept going, and by the end I really enjoyed it.

This is a great book, and it's a great option if you're looking for a unique Sherlock Holmes retelling. Even if you're tired of Sherlock retellings, give this one a try - it's well worth it.

After suffering an egregious injury on the front in Afghanistan, Dr. J. H. Doyle is forced to return to England in 1888 and none too happy about it. With a bad leg, a foul temper, and a war pension that doesn't quite go far enough in London, Doyle is unsure what to do upon returning until a friend makes a surprising suggestion.

Everyone knows about the angels--after all Nameless can be found in front of every place of worship or bakery, any habitation large enough hopes to have an angel claim it as their dominion, and--like Doyle--everyone knows the damage that can be wrought by angels who have Fallen.

Then there is Crow the self-described Angel of London. Claiming the entire city as his dominion, Crow works as a consultant with the police and for select clients. His focus is singular, his crow-like wings are massive and prone to toppling furniture when Crow is excited, and he is in need of a flatmate.

Moving into 221B Baker Street, both Crow and Doyle have secrets they would prefer to keep. But they also have work to do as Doyle is drawn into Crow's investigations of murder scenes with strange words on walls, locked room mysteries, and even the case of the Whitechapel Murderer who has been butchering prostitutes with increasing frequency in The Angel of the Crows (2020) by Katherine Addison.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Angel of the Crows started life as Sherlock wingfic (fan fiction which imagines one character with wings) and, in many ways, that is still the story readers have in the finished book.

While Crow and Doyle live in a distinct and well-realized fantasy world filled with elements of steampunk and magic, between their original adventures (notably their hunt for Jack the Ripper) Addison also retells some of the most familiar cases from Sherlock Holmes' long canon. Readers familiar with "A Study in Scarlet," "The Sign of the Four," "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," "The Hound of the Baskervilles," and "The Adventure of Speckled Band" will immediately recognize the stories being retold here.

Addison stays very close to her source material while imbuing each story with the magical elements intrinsic to her version of London. A story element with a double edge as it makes the book both immediately familiar and, in certain cases, nearly too predictable.

The Angel of the Crows is strongest when Crow and Doyle are in their element and exploring new territory--albeit often with fun references to the class mysteries that inspired this novel. Addison also raises interesting questions about gender identity and agency throughout the story from both Doyle and Crow's experiences. While some of this gave me pause in that it felt very much like a plot device, the execution over the course of the novel as a whole was handled well and raises more questions and avenues of discussion than concerns.

The Angels of the Crows is an incredibly thorough and original retelling. Whether or not they are a fan of Holmes and Watson, readers can only hope to see more of Crow and Doyle.

Possible Pairings: Soulless by Gail Carriger, The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss, Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal, Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley, The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lillith St. Crow

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

2.5 Stars
I think it is this line in the blurb that tells the most truth:

"This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting"

It is right it was not the book I was expecting, and not in a positive way. I was not expecting an almost scene for scene retelling of a Study in Scarlet and many other of the Sherlock stories with paranormal elements shoe horned in. Other than the changing of two names (Sherlock is now Crow, and Dr Watson is Dr Doyle all other names remain) and adding a Jack the ripper story line it is a VERY faithful retelling. And it is such a shame. I love a good retelling, but retellings should elevate and change the story, give us something new. Take the reader to a new angle of the story or twist a character in a way we didn’t expect and this just didn’t do that. It just felt like an admittedly very creative paranormal world layered over the already existing text.

The paranormal additions and world building around it are fantastic. I wanted to know more about how the Angel’s society, why they inhabit public buildings, what it happens when they fall. I wanted to know more about the Vampire Hunts and the Hemophage dens and how they interplay. We only briefly got a glimpse at how the werewolves interact with this society and that could have been so much more. There was so much just on the edges, but we just don’t get to explore them as instead on focusing on these novel and interesting elements we are dragged back into the familiar stories, it was frustrating. I have read Sir Arthurs Conan Doyle, I have Stephen Fry’s excellent narration to fall back on when ever I want to revisit that world. I don’t need to read them again slightly reworded to add a vampire here or a werewolf there.

I have to admit I didn’t like the re-characterisation of Sherlock as Crow. Instead of having an aloof, intelligent air, Crow read more like Basil the great Mouse detective, slightly cartoonish with puppy like energy. The twists and turns in the Character of Dr Doyle (Watson) were very interesting. There are a few of them that are somewhat unexpected and could have been a really refreshing. We could have got these same aspects in an original tale, the retelling aspects really just drew me out of those elements of the story and they were the only thing that was new.

When the story line was original it was fantastic, the pursuit of Jack the Ripper was interesting, the dips into the various paranormal elements was interesting but there wasn’t enough! I kept waiting for the story to turn and go off the Sherlock line into this world and it didn’t, we just got the more classic Sherlock stories. It felt like all the originality was hidden and squashed, it was disappointing.

It was an ok read, I enjoy the Sherlock Stories so I enjoyed them again here. Its all I can say is it was ok.

This was OK but not as enjoyable as I was hoping it would be. The Angel of the Crows is basically a Sherlock Holmes retelling/reimagining set in an historical alternate fantasy London peopled with Angels and werewolves and other fantastic creatures as well as humans.

Crow (Sherlock) is an angel while Doyle (Watson) is a werewolf and the two find themselves investigating the Jack the Ripper murders as well as other mysterious cases.

There is potential here and it was good in parts but I didn't really connect with the main characters and I found myself losing interest at certain points and skipping to the end of the chapter to see if the next case would be more interesting. I was sad not to enjoy it more 😟
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I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Originally Sherlock Holmes fanfic (wingfic, as in angelic fanfic), which frankly should've stayed that way. Interesting only as a case for modern social anthropology research with its blanket gender reversal roles and zealous socio-political anachronism.

Thank you NetGalley and TOR for the eARC of The Angel of the Crows, by Katherine Addison in exchange for my honest review.

I was browsing through NetGalley to see the upcoming releases and when I saw The Angel of the Crows I had to request it immediately. I knew nothing about the author but the cover was beautiful and after I read the description I was fascinated.

This book is a Sherlock Holmes retelling/fanfiction meets Jack the Ripper, with all the fantastical creatures we love, such as angels, demons, werewolves and vampires, in 19th Century London. So basically everything I love thrown together into a novel.

This year I've finally been reading the Sherlock Holmes stories, after only being familiar with them through BBC's Sherlock and reading a reimagining so close after reading the real thing was fascinating to me.

This story follows Crow, the Angel of London, as he tries to solve his client's mysteries/problems with the aid of his new roommate, Dr J. H. Doyle, whilst trying to piece together everything he can about the Whitechapel murderer (a.k.a Jack the Ripper).

I think the world Katherine Addison crafted is brilliant, seeing the cases being mixed up with supernatural beings (both in happening and during their resolution) and the idea that we could've had Sherlock Holmes investigating Jack the Ripper seems incredible to me. I adored the characters, Crow is the perfectly intriguing-but-actual-sweetheart Sherlock, with all the things I love about him, and Doyle is the ever so innocent and adoring Watson.

I loved the tiny mysteries between the solving of the big one and adored Crow and Doyle's friendship, something I feel like I've been wanting more of in the original SH stories. However, there were some things that didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Essentially, I've felt like the cases are too similar to the original Arthur Conan Doyle's and I think that they could've been changed a bit to leave the reader wondering, instead of just having us know how the tiny cases would be solved. Another thing that I felt was that I wanted more from the world, specifically the Angel dynamics, how they Fall or become Nameless and have this be a bigger thing in the story than it actually is (it's talked about it but we don't see it, meaning we can't get close to it). I was also very intrigued by many of the side characters and was hoping they would become much bigger in the story than they did, especially Moriarty who has always fascinated me.

Overall, my reading experience was great, I just feel like the story fell a bit flat. I left it with the sense of wanting more. More mystery, more on the workings of the world and the dynamics between all the supernatural creatures, more side characters and to feel intrigued and desperate to know what's gonna happen.

I didn't know any of Addison's works but her writing is beautiful. I had no problem to jump straight into this and will definitely look into her other book, The Goblin Emperor. You could tell she loves the original stories and that they're very dear to her, as well as be intrigued by the way she crafted this London.

I would love it if this ended up becoming a series, I think we would be able to get more of the world that I felt the need of and maybe some mysteries we don't already know. I think if you love Sherlock and fantasy you'll really enjoy this.

I ended up giving this book 3/5 ⭐️. As I said, I thought it was a bit underdeveloped but it was really intriguing and entertaining. I think if anything, the fact that I wanted more just goes to show how great the world is and it's unfortunate that we didn't get to see that much of it.

The Angel of the Crows was everywhere and it got me bit hyped before I started reading, I have to admit. A Sherlock based Victorian story but in a fantasy setting, what about that would not sound like it was going to be a great read.

In the beginning I liked it a lot, it was basically a retelling of A Study in Scarlet, and I thought the story would move from there to its own case, but this didn’t happen and I am not quite sure how I felt about that. The book is basically filled with several of Sherlock Holmes’ cases which are retold with a supernatural angle. It left me feeling that I was missing something ‘new’ here, since I had read some of them before and while details might have been a bit hazy, they came back to me while reading.

The cases are framed in the larger case of Jack the Ripper, but still I missed something new to hold my interest. The names are different, but it was all a bit too similar for my tastes. In the afterword, the author explains it started as a fanfic, and I think this is a little bit too apparent from the book. So, while I enjoyed reading it, I missed the originality which I had expected and would not really recommend it except to those who like to read the original stories but with a little supernatural twist to it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for providing this book for an honest and open review.

An interesting take on a classic and already extensively seen and written about crime solving duo, Sherlock and Watson... except of course, Sherlock Holmes is an Angel and Watson has an injury from a paranormal being that keeps him from serving as an army doctor. Addison uses the novel to cover some of Holmes & Watson's most famous cases before plunging them into a Jack the Ripper mystery. I was definitely not expecting the main element of this story to contain Holmes and Watson but with a Wingfic twist. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of retellings and the Arthur Conan-Doyle's original stories hold a special place for me.

That being said, the book was well written and the characters were given an original twist yet Katherine managed to pay homage to their beginnings. An adventure story for anyone that loves Addison's previous work and loves Holmes and Watson no matter their incarnation!

Oooooo I love the way this book is set up and all of the stories within it! It felt like a Sherlock Holmes fanfic, and I’m totally not mad about that at ALL. I thought that the characters were interesting, and Crow (the Sherlock) absolutely stole the show for me! I went in expecting this to be a little dry, I’m gonna be honest, but it really kept me engaged the whole time. The only complaint I have, despite the fact that I just mentioned enjoying the fact that it felt like fanfic, is that I wish the story itself had been more original. The plot line felt a little basic to me, but that was just a minor grievance.

The Angel of Crows continues to build upon Addison's reputation for engaging prose, thoughtful world-building, and entertaining characters. While this would appeal to any readers who enjoy historical fiction, alternate history, and supernatural beings (particularly angels and werewolves), it does function as a sort of re-imagining of the work of Arthur Conan Doyle and readers not looking for a Sherlock Holmes-adjacent story may end up a touch dissatisfied, though Addison is a skillful enough writer that any reader who picks this up should find something in it to enjoy.

Tropes!

* Sherlock Holmes wingfic retelling! but with no real wingfic tropes
* Deep platonic friendships! that pretty much should have been romantic
* Pining, sort of? except not really I guess*
* Queer main characters! only it's not really relevant to, uh, anything

*it SHOULD have been proper pining and I'm grumpy it wasn't

Full review!

After having read and loved The Goblin Emperor, I was incredibly excited to see that Katherine Addison had a new book out! I cannot express how quickly I smashed "request" on NetGalley. Unfortunately, I regret to say that this book was a bit of a hot mess. Admittedly, I came into it with slightly incorrect expectations: when I heard that this novel had begun as a Sherlock Holmes wingfic, I instantly made the assumption that I would see some of my favorite tropes from that particular subgenre of fanfic. However, even outside of this mismatch of expectations, I felt that the book had major issues with pacing, character development, worldbuilding, and queer representation. It did not grab my attention at any juncture. Every time I thought it was going to do something interesting, it went nowhere. I felt set adrift and overall dissatisfied.
For those who are unfamiliar with wingfic tropes, it’s important to understand that wingfic is usually very, very gay. It’s a bit like telling someone you wrote a Harry Potter fanfic about Draco / Harry. Someone will click on that with the expectation that this is going to be queer. It’s incredibly jarring to discover that no, actually, it’s really not.

“You didn’t have to come,” I started, but he said, “Doyle, surely you aren’t seriously suggesting you would have left me behind?”

He made me laugh, which was the last thing I was expecting. “No, of course not,” I said.

“Good,” said Crow, “for you wouldn’t have succeeded.”

He stood up, and despite the fact that I disliked the touch of his feathers, I found myself missing the slight weight and static prickle of his wing.

Given this, I expected this to be gay as hell . It was not. Much to my dismay, there was also a very high degree of queer-baiting throughout. I was disappointed . There are so, so many moments where the relationship between Doyle (Watson) and Crow (Sherlock) hints that it will become romantic. Although Crow, as an angel, does not have any sexual desires, this could have been a beautiful ace romance.

To be clear, I'm not at all opposed to deep friendships between main characters rather than romantic entanglements. There are many books that do this very well, such as Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace. Where Archivist Wasp perfectly balances two main characters in a friendship that receives every ounce of attention that a romantic relationship would have, The Angel of the Crows seems to sit off-axis. Their friendship grows, certainly, but it's interspersed with lines that I can only interpret as queer-baiting. I did not enjoy feeling strung along.

“Doyle, are you still mad at me?”

“Yes,” I said, because all the folktales say you should not lie to an angel. And because I was still mad.

“If . . .” He broke off. I was halfway down the casualty lists when he blurted, “If you have sexual congress with me, will you stop being mad?”

Tea went everywhere. If I’d had a mouthful of toast, I probably would have choked to death. As it was, I wheezed and gasped and finally said, “WHAT?”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me,” Crow explained unhappily. “I thought maybe—”

“That is not what sexual congress is for!”

“It isn’t?”

In addition to these issues, Addison had the sheer audacity to create a fascinating world filled with hellhounds, angelic societies, vampiric hunts, and necrophages…. Only to somehow make them not very interesting. The little bites of information we get about the angels are all terribly intriguing but never explored. Doyle himself is a hellhound; he was infected during the war by a Fallen angel. There’s a mysterious, ominous registration act… but no one properly explains why it’s so bad to be registered. There are strange, magical automata without a hint as to their origin. The whole thing was an exercise in frustration. I wanted to know more. I wanted a deep, highly developed world. The book was certainly long enough to give me that. Instead, I was given just enough to be annoyed.

Some cerberus automata were actually built in the shape of dogs. This one was in human form, save for the three mastiff heads, which its body was built broad and squat to accommodate. It was two-thirds my height and probably that much broader.

“It knows me,” Sholto said, “but it will want to examine the three of you. Brother Bartholomew is becoming more and more paranoid.”

Speaking of length, I expected the novel to focus on a single Sherlock story, going into detail on the intricacies of the crime and the investigation needed to resolve it. Instead, this was a rambling mess of, oh god I don’t know, ten? different mysteries. It sure felt like ten. It dragged on and on. This book was all over the place when it needed focus, clarity, and a proper plot arc. Essentially, Addison smooshed all the Sherlock Holmes novels and then a few short stories all into one book. We had Moriarty and Jack the Ripper and The Hound of the Baskervilles all overlapping each other at once. It was just a bit too much. It was hard to tell which plotline was mean to be the “real” one tying everything together. This book could have had half the page count and twice the worldbuilding, had it only had some of the fat trimmed off it.

~* SPOILERS AHEAD *~

One of my largest frustrations with the book, beyond what has already been mentioned, was the queer representation. Generally speaking, the more queer characters a novel has the happier I am. When it came to The Angel of the Crows, though... they felt forced and shoehorned in. I don't really understand why you'd make your main character queer and then make it almost entirely irrelevant to their character arc as a whole. About two thirds into the novel, it’s revealed that Doyle is, in fact, a trans man. Which is great! Beyond a few paragraphs explaining how he’d hidden his secret while in the army, this becomes almost completely irrelevant to the remainder of the plot. It felt cowardly. Beyond that, he even identifies himself as "a woman" in conversation with Crow. Now, I cannot speak for trans folks of the 1800s, but I cannot imagine one saying that they're actually a woman.

“You know I’m a woman, Crow.” If he knew I was a hell-hound, he had to know that.

“Yes,” he said, “but what does that have to do with it?”

“Well, for one thing, it isn’t legal for two women to marry. For another thing, I feel quite sure that Miss Morstan doesn’t want to marry a woman.”

Similarly, it turns out that all angels, including Crow, are biologically female. However, angels may present as either men or women depending on how they are perceived. This, too, never became relevant again. This sort of gender presentation and assignment was never explored in a meaningful way. It has so, so much potential: I love the idea of a book that goes into what it means to have an identity imposed on you by society and your surroundings in the way that the angels do here. Sadly, it didn't do this. At the end of the day.... it was effectively just one more instance of queer-baiting: Crow revealed this tidbit shortly after Doyle spoke to him about being trans but preferring women.

~* END SPOILERS *~

All in all, this book is fine if you're hankering for a Sherlock Holmes retelling with fairly good prose. If you can look past all of the opportunities for engagement and exploration, it's only real issue is the pacing. I was not able to look past that. This book had so, so much potential. It wasted it at every step

More reviews on my blog, Black Forest Basilisks.

Maybe I expected too much.

The story left me unsatisfied. There's a Sherlock Holmes with wings, a not too thrilling Ripper case - whose solution wasn't very satisfying, and a few magical creatures.

The writing, though, was good.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book and I had to stop. I tried to get invested in the story, but nothing about it was clicking with me or leading me to become engaged with the characters or story. I had initially requested to review this book because the description led me to believe it would be different. Instead it came across very quickly as more Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. The blurb for this book is very misleading. Apologies, but this book wasn't for me.