It is the summer of 1887 and London is in the grips of a stifling heat wave when Watson receive a mysterious and long delayed package from his deceased mother. It is a beautifully engraved silver box with a lock so complex that not even the best locksmith can open it without the original key. The mystery of this box is not solved until the end and the story provides a look into the childhood of Dr. Watson and to his character. This is first of the three locks in the title of the fourth book in author Bonnie MacBird’s marvelous Sherlock Holmes series. The second lock arrives with the fiery and beautiful Ilaria Borelli, the wife of Italian escape artist The Great Borelli, who demands Holmes help in settling a feud between her husband and her former beau, another magician and mind reader. This leads Holmes and Watson to the London stages where the Great Borelli performs his Houdini like magic act. While still involved in this investigation Holmes is also approached by a young Catholic Deacon who requests Holmes help in finding one of his parishioners, Dillie Wyndham, a young woman who has gone missing. The deacon had found a childhood doll of hers floating in the Jesus Lock of the River Cam at Cambridge University. This is the third lock of the story. The doll is disfigured, and it is feared that this indicates that Dillie will come to harm. This leads Holmes and Watson to the famous university where they find her family strangely unsympathetic to the missing girl. Dillie is a strong-willed and impetuous young woman who has two fiancés fighting over her, and a jealous sister. This provides plenty of suspects who might want to do her harm. The author does an excellent job of portraying the time period and capturing the feel of the Conan-Doyle characters and stories. The interplay between Holmes and Watson is well done and often amusing. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look into the world of magic, as well as the look into the unusual and competitive world of Cambridge University. Anyone who enjoys Sherlock Holmes tales or Victorian mysteries will enjoy this book. I received an advance copy of The Three Locks for free from the publisher Harper Collins via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed Bonnie MacBird's Holmes novels from the beginning, but The Three Locks takes what was already a satisfying series up a notch. The plot is woven from multiple mysteries that entwine with and echo one another. Watson comes more fully into his own. Readers meet an engaging ensemble cast, most based in the community of Victorian-era magicians. What I particularly love about MacBird's take on Holmes and Watson is the humor she can inject into the novels without undercutting the tension of the mysteries. If you appreciate new takes on the Holmes canon, I'm confident you'll find this title rewarding reading. I received a free electronic copy of this title for review purposes; the opinions are my own.

The Three Locks by Bonnie Macbird is another entry into her continuing the adventures of the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes and his companion, and narrator of the story, Dr. Watson.

There is a lot going on as the book opens. Watson receives an odd, seemingly impossible to open, locked box, that he learns once belonged to his mother. While mulling over that contraption, he and Holmes are invited by the spouse of a stage magician to look into a spurned competetor who might be trying to cause the couple harm.

If that is not enough, a parish deacon comes to seek help over a young woman for whom he had some affection who seems to have gone missing. Thus begins this novel that is, on the one hand satisfying enough, but on the other, missing something. If you want an adventure with the lead protagonists, the author provides one for you to read. Yet, even though she is adept at the language of the time, and perhaps due to my recently re-reading some of Conan Doyle's original short stories, there was something missing. Thus, while being about Holmes and Watson, it does not feel as much like a missing story in the canon. Some people will not be bothered by this, but it left me pining for the original author's voice.

Still, as stated, MacBird provides a lot of plot points and adeptly takes the reader through them to a satisfying conclusion. Though it may not be for everyone, lovers of stage magic, and Sherlock Holmes will find enough to enjoy this novel.

BIG Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnie MacBird for this ARC.

As a long time fan of the adventures of Holmes and Watson, I was ecstatic to get my hands on this ARC. There are so many different types of Sherlock media out there, but I believe that this was the closest to the actual depiction of the character that I've seen in a VERY long time. It is obvious that MacBird is a student of Sherlock, and did a remarkable job of bring Sherlock to life. I enjoyed her depiction of Watson as well, as he came off as a young bachelor finding his way through life.

The mysteries were entertaining and introduced us to new characters I hope to see in later books. Overall, I'm excited to read more by MacBird and I'm only my way to get more of her books now!

This was a great Sherlock Holmes novel, it has what I'm looking in this type of novel, the characters felt true to the time period and I enjoyed going on this mystery.

I have always been intrigued by the Sherlock Holmes canon but have found over the years that several of the new takes on Holmes and Watson are even more intriguing than the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Bonnie MacBird's take on the duo is incredibly well done and does an exceptional job on fleshing out the two characters. The Three Locks is her newest and I absolutely loved it, reading it in one sitting! The interweaving of three separate cases into one cohesive story that kept me engrossed. The inclusion of a personal case involving Watson was very interesting. I highly recommend this series and look forward to her next one! Thank you to #NetGalley for the review copy of #TheThreeLocks.

The first of the titular “three locks” in this book appears in the form of a mysterious box sent to Dr. John Watson by an aunt of whom he had previously been unaware. It had been his mother's and she had requested that it be given to him on his 21st birthday, now years in the past. The trick lock on the box, however, renders its secret inaccessible for the present. Secondly, his colleague and friend Sherlock Holmes is approached by the wife of an Italian escape artist, The Great Borelli, who begs him to discover the truth behind a feud between her husband and another magician. Borelli comes close to death that same night when Holmes and Watson attend his show and one of his acts goes horribly wrong.

Finally, Peregrine Buttons, a young Catholic deacon, asks Holmes to discover the whereabouts of a missing young woman, the strong-willed Odilie (Dillie) Wyndham, who has disappeared from her father’s home in Cambridge. The “lock” in this case is the Jesus Lock on the River Cam, which will play a crucial part in the story later on.

How are these mysteries connected, if indeed they are? Holmes skillfully juggles the two cases, in both of which lives are at stake and in both of which, if loss of life can be considered failure, he fails despite his best efforts, but, as in many of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he succeeds to the extent that some justice is achieved. The final mystery, that of the locked box, is also solved at the end, giving us some knowledge of events in Watson’s past and how they have affected his subsequent life.

The Three Locks is the fourth in a series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches by Ms. MacBird, but the first I have read. However, I did not feel lost or confused in any way, which may be a benefit of reading a book, even out of order, that is set in a much larger fictional world. At first, I didn’t care for the somewhat testy - even rude - way in which the relationship between Holmes and Watson is presented, although there is some comedy in it, but eventually I felt that the author hit her stride. I will certainly seek out the other books in the series in the hope that they are as enjoyable as this one was.

I received a copy of The Three Locks for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

London is the grips of an intense heatwave in the late summer of 1887. Watson receives a strange silver box in the mail that appears to have no key. An Italian escape artists experiences problems with his performance and his wife demands the Holmes prove her former lover be cleared of suspicion. A young lady runs away from home, leaving her father strangely unconcerned. As these cases intertwine, locks play on an important part as Holmes and Watson race to find the answer.

I am always delighted when I find a Sherlock Holmes novel that closely mimics the original characters and the spirit of the original stories. I found it in this book. The author does a marvelous job of writing a plot, dialogue, and characterization much like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first wrote so long ago.

Though I will admit I had my suspicions about a character soon after he was introduced, most of the mysteries are laid out in a way that kept me guessing. Clues are scattered through the story and come together in a satisfying way. I was kept glued to the narrative from page to page to find out just how everything connected.

The story is filled with colorful, memorable characters. The atmosphere of the year, with the oppressive heat, is excellent as well. The writing is reminiscent of Doyle's work, as I mentioned before. My only concern would be that I didn't realize that this is the fourth in a series. There are details that obviously come from earlier books that influence choices, such as Watson's mother drowning, and that Watson had a twin sister, Rose, who...also drowned. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was unexpected.

I'm going to have to find the first three books but I would recommend this one to readers looking for a new Sherlock Holmes adventure.

The Three Locks is based on the premise that manuscripts written by John Watson but never published are discovered. The writing is good and the various plots complex and well thought out. I feel the second half of the book is stronger than the first, but I enjoyed all of the novel. There are a few personality traits not brought out by Arthur Conan Doyle that I didn’t like, for instance that Watson’s financial difficulties arose from gambling, but those are small and personal preferences. All in all, an enjoyable read for Sherlock Holmes fans.

In the West End, a renowned Italian escape artist dies spectacularly on stage during a performance – immolated in a gleaming copper cauldron of his wife’s design. In Cambridge, the runaway daughter of a famous don is found drowned, her long blonde hair tangled in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. And in Baker Street, a mysterious locksmith exacts an unusual price to open a small silver box sent to Watson. And so another adventure of Holmes and Watson begins. If you haven't read this authors interpretation of the Holmes mythology you are seriously missing out. I started this and didn't put it down all night. Tightly plotted, amazing dialogue and really interesting characters. No one does Sherlock like Bonnie MacBird. This is a must read! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I received an ARC copy of #TheThreeLocks from #NetGalley for review.

The Three Locks follows Holmes and Watson on three separate cases playing out at the same time. The book opens with Watson receiving a locked box that belonged to his mother, who died under questionable circumstances when he was a child. The box is locked with a trick lock & requires a special key. While puzzling over the box, the wife of a stage magician arrives at 221B Baker Street begging Holmes for help fining who was trying sending threats to her husband. While investigating the magician, a young priest arrives claiming that one of his patrons is missing.

If you are a fan of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, then I highly recommend this series. I absolutely love the way that Bonnie MacBird is able to capture both the feel and voice of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. She neatly ties the events in-between Doyle's stories and even lightly foreshadows further events that we are all very familiar with. The twists and turns on the plot kept me hanging on the edge of my seat. This of the fourth book of hers that I've read and I greatly enjoyed it.

For lovers of "the canon," that is, Sherlockiana, there is no one better than Bonnie MacBird, and this latest outing does not disappoint. She nails Watson's voice, the spirit of Holmes, and the Victorian atmosphere both as an artist and a craftsperson. The Three Locks is a splendid read. Highly recommend.

This is the fourth Sherlock Holmes novel by Bonnie MacBird that I've read, and I've enjoyed them all. This novel, like the others, has a lot of humor in it, which I really appreciate; that's an aspect of the original Holmes novels that some writers forget about. Also, The Three Locks gives us intriguing new insights into Watson's character and what has been driving him all these years. MacBird looks at Holmes' world through a feminist lens, which makes The Three Locks feel very contemporary, not just an exercise in Holmesian nostalgia. With all of these things going for it, along with the usual Holmesian deductions and plot twists, this is a great read.