I'm a Holmes stories and victorian London fan, so I was so excited for this book! It did not disappoint one bit! Dr. Watson is suddenly kidnapped right out of his own home, and from there it’s a race against time as Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson try to piece together what happened. I loved the way the book mixes that classic foggy London atmosphere that I loved in the OG Holmes books with lots of quirky characters and clever twists—you get shady clubs, strange clues, and plenty of danger as they chase leads across the city. Great pace, great characters, and the humor sprinkled in kept it from being too heavy. I was unaware its though it’s part of a series, and I can't wait to read more about Badger and Watson in the future! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book to review. Really enjoyed it!

This entertaining series features one of the homeless lads who had previously worked on the streets for Sherlock Holmes as one of his Baker Street Irregulars. Tim Badger was part of the team who were tasked with following suspects – after all, who pays attention to some scruffy street kid? However, Tim was determined to become a detective just like Holmes, who once he was aware of Tim’s drive and intelligence, took him under his wing and has helped him get established. One of Tim’s smartest moves was to team up with Ben Watson, whose family moved to London from Jamaica. His wide experience of jobs and interest in all things scientific has helped in their cases so far.

This time, they have a major case to deal with while Sherlock Holmes is out of the country on a mission for the Government. For John Watson is kidnapped from 221 Baker Street and a distraught Mrs Hudson rushes over to Badger and Watson’s flat to plead for their help in finding Dr Watson and bringing him home unharmed.

It’s a big ask. The kidnappers have sent a notice making it very clear that if the police become involved, Dr Watson will be at serious risk – so Badger and Watson have to try to work out if some of the objects scattered about the flat might be clues left behind by John Watson. I like the fact these two young men are frequently unsure of what they’re doing, though they’re keen to follow The Method, as recommended by Sherlock Holmes.

The adventure takes them outside London where they’d be completely adrift if they didn’t have Miss Ellsie Littleton along to help these two young men from the wrong part of London negotiate buying a train ticket. I would say that there’s several instances with this adventure where it does get a tad daft, but I was never tempted to abandon the story. It’s written with plenty of verve and although I’ve got serious misgivings about Tim Badger’s romance – I’m unsure if an attraction between this couple would overcome the huge gulf in their social classes – it is tempered by Ellsie’s declaration that she doesn’t want to consider marriage. This was an increasing trend by young women of the time who ardently wanted the Vote and more freedom to earn their own wage. All that would abruptly stop if they got married.

All in all, this adventure is great fun. The pages flew by as I wanted to see if the two Irregulars were correct in their theories and this adventure is recommended for fans of historical mysteries, especially those who enjoy Holmes and Watson retellings. While I obtained an arc of The Misplaced Physician from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

The Misplaced Physician is book three in Jeri Westerson’s “Irregular Detective” series, featuring Tim Badger and Ben Watson, private investigators working together, with financial assistance and mentorship from the great Sherlock Holmes. In their youth the two were members of Sherlock’s Baker Street Irregulars (street urchins Holmes used to gather information across London).

In this latest entry, set in London, 1895, Mrs. Hudson alerts Badger and Watson that Dr. John Watson has been kidnapped from 221B Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes is out of the country and out of contact so Badger and Watson must solve the case on their own, following the mysterious ransom notes that begin to arrive, as well as some of their own group of ‘irregulars.’

Thankfully the two have help from reporter Ellsie Littleton. Ellsie is a baronet’s daughter and has access to and comfort in places and situations the two young men have never experienced.

This Victorian mystery is complex, full of twists and humor. The pace is fast, and I was hooked from the very start. While this is book three, readers certainly can read this as a standalone.

The characters are authentic. I’m especially fond of Katie Murphy (Badger and Watson’s maid) and Ellsie. They both exude confidence in their own way. Badger and Watson are likable, if sometimes a bit bumbling in the best possible way. Surely there is a lot of pressure to be a mentee of the great Sherlock Holmes and the two gentlemen handle it well. They use a nice combination of Sherlock’s method and their own skill.

The setting is descriptive and helps to create an atmospheric reading experience. This continues to be such a clever and imaginative premise for a mystery series and I do hope to see more in the future.

Book 3 in Jeri Westerson's Irregular Detective series does not disappoint. When Dr. John Watson is roughly abducted while Holmes is out of the country, Mrs. Hudson enlists the aid of Badger and Watson, the young detectives Holmes has taken under his wing. Timothy Badger was once one of Holmes’ own Baker Street Irregulars and now employs his own legion of street urchins. The duo, in company with an enterprising young female journalist, pursues the scant clues left by Watson and end up deep into the complexities of an old case. An admirable addition to the Holmes Canon; recommended!

Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.

Book 3 of the Irregular Detective series continues to flesh out the lives, loves and cases of Timothy Badger an Benjamin Watson during Victorian Era London. A knock on the door, frantic footsteps pounding up the stairs and Sherlock Holmes housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, barges in on Badger & Watson that Dr. Watson is missing and most likely kidnapped. Badger, as a child, was part of Holmes Baker Street Irregulars, and when he got older he began his own Detective Agency. Since Holmes was out of the country it was up to Badger and Watson to try and solve the mystery and rescue Dr. Watson.
And so begins an almost weeklong quest to find clues (a slipper left behind when Watson was taken, along with a cigar ash), and crisscross London along with their ever present journalist/companion Ellsie LIttleton. And as was begun in Book 2 more people are called upon the help out, from the newly formed Dean Street Irregulars, to Ben Watson's mother, and more. Jeri Westerson blends historical accuracy, with cases from the canon of Sherlock Holmes to take us on an exciting case in the Irregular Detective series.
Another fine effort!! 4.5****

Jen Westerson has his Irregular Detectives seek the Misplaced Physician as Dr. Watson is kidnapped and Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson, now detectives and former Baker Street Irregulars for Sherlock Holmes. try to solve the kidnapping. They gain an ally in Miss Littleton, journalist and daughter of a baronet who has set up on her own in London. Their adventures and misadventures in the streets of London and into the countryside show how their skills are maturing. Sherlock Holmes is out of the country and Mycroft Holmes of the Home Office refuses to help. What could go wrong? The plot is non stop and the revelation of Victorian mores is up front. Enjoy.

Timothy Badger was once one of Sherlock Holmes' Baker street irregulars. Now grown He has started his own detective agency with his partner Ben Watson. When Dr. Watson goes missing and Sherlock Holmes out of the country it's up to Timothy and Ben to find him. Good mystery.

I've been following this series from the start, but just haven't felt that it's realized the potential that underlies it. The idea of an adult Baker Street Irregular setting up shop as a consulting detective along with a friend is a wonderful one. The novels themselves are good(ish), but just haven't really captured my enthusiasm. Too many problems are solved by force instead of wit and the characters and dialog just feel a bit expected. I haven't been surprised in a way that delights. I would still pick one of these titles up if I needed distraction reading, but I won't being seeking out each new volume as it appears.

Generically, I really enjoy the stories that Jeri Westerson weaves but The Misplaced Physician misplaced the mark for me.

Potentially an interesting story about some new private detectives, sponsored by Sherlock Holmes, however the persona did not gel for me. Not something I can easily put my finger on. Having said that and pondering a little more, I feel The Misplaced Physician handles the different social classes involved in a way that does not feel realistic.

The story would have been far more interesting if, in addition to my previous paragraph, it had not "read" like a Victorian Flick Book.

Hopefully by the time that volume 2 appears, Jeri Westerson will be back on form.

Sherlock Holmes’ investment in his experiment pays surprising dividends for the ‘Great Detective’ in this third book in the Irregular Detective series. The physician who has been misplaced is Holmes’ own friend and chronicler, Dr. John H. Watson, while Holmes is out of town and out of reach on some mysterious errand of his own – or more likely at the behest of his brother Mycroft.

So, when Mrs. Hudson receives a ransom demand for the good doctor, she’s at sixes and sevens about who to call on. Of course, the note demands that she NOT involve the police, leaving her in a bit of a quandary. But Mrs. Hudson does not dither about the problem. If she were a ditherer, she wouldn’t have survived as Sherlock Holmes’ landlady for these many years.

If she can’t reach the master, she’ll get the apprentice, leading her straight to the Dean Street door of Badger and Watson, the young detectives that Holmes has taken under his wing. Or, in the case of Timothy Badger, kept there as Badger was once one of Holmes’ own Baker Street Irregulars.

The game that is afoot in Badger and HIS Watson’s third outing is both WAY over their heads and too close to home to allow them to refer the case to the police – even if Dr. Watson’s kidnappers hadn’t completely ruled out that possibility. Timothy Badger and Ben Watson OWE Sherlock Holmes after he bankrolled their start. His continued support has kept them afloat AND sent them cases to grow their agency.

They NEED to get this right. And for that, they need help. Specifically, they need the help of intrepid reporter Ellsie Littleton to help them navigate the trail from the familiar confines of London to places and situations where two young men from the rough side of that town have never had to tread.

And they need eyes and ears in places they never thought to go, meaning that the young detectives need to develop some ‘irregulars’ of their own – to be where they cannot. Just as Badger did when he was a lad.

It’s going to take the combined efforts of every single one of those resources – as well as the odd assortment of skills that Ben Watson has learned along his way – to figure out the who, what, when, where and why of a case that may not make much sense but has the potential to scupper their futures AND take away a mentor that they both respect.

Escape Rating A-: This series has been pure historical mystery fun from Badger and Watson’s first outing in The Isolated Seance, and this third book is no exception – although it is a bit different from both Seance and the second book, The Mummy of Mayfair.

It did seem as if the young detectives were taking on cases that their mentor probably wouldn’t have touched with someone else’s barge-pole due to the supposed ‘paranormal’ vibes. (The author left hints that their fourth case will head back in that direction.)

But this third outing is a bit less outré and a bit more conventional than their earlier cases, as at its heart this is a kidnapping and ransom case where it’s up to our detectives to rescue the victim before their kidnapper is done with them – and does away with Dr. John H. Watson.

While the stakes of this case are high, it is still fun to see Badger and Watson grow into it, both as people and as detectives. They have to expand their horizons, both literally and figuratively, as they have no one to rely on but each other and the ‘irregulars’ they have already gathered around them.

They’ve never been outside of London, they’ve never had a case with so few clues, and they’ve never had to solve a case where the costs will be both so personal and so catastrophic if they fail.

Which is where, really, really surprisingly, romance enters the picture for both Badger and Watson. As much as Ben Watson doesn’t want to include reporter Ellsie Littleton in their investigation, they need her for the skills they both lack. At the same time, Tim and Ben are both wary of Ellsie’s involvement in their cases AND especially in Tim’s life, as she is an aristocrat whose family fortune is gone. There’s plenty of suspicion to go around – as there should be.

Meanwhile, the case itself is fascinating, because so little of it makes sense. It absolutely does hang together well in all the ways that a mystery should, but everything feels askew. Dr. Watson either left in a hurry OR he left really obscure clues behind. The case might relate to one of Holmes’ old cases, or it might be a way of getting at Holmes himself by kidnapping his friend.

And the ransom demand is WAY too low and the instructions for delivery are way too strange. The kidnapping might not be about the ransom at all. But then, what is it about? They have a lot to work through but seemingly a flexible amount of time to do it. Which is also, well, not exactly typical in a kidnapping case.

That, in the end, this case, like one of Holmes’ other old cases, comes down to the ‘curious incident of the dog in the nighttime’ weaves the whole thing back into the Holmes’ canon without pulling a thread of it out of place made The Misplaced Physician an excellent addition to both the Irregular Detective series and the library of stories that ensure that the game is always afoot.

Jeri Westerson's Sherlock Holmes take-off is a little silly and more than a little melodramatic, but fun all the same. A grown up Badger, one of Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars has teamed up with a new Watson, and with the support of Badger's mentor, have taken to detection. This is the third title in the series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Watson has been kidnapped! Holmes is out of town! Tim Badger must get to work quickly to find him. This takes Badger back into the old case files to uncover the villain who has kidnapped Watson. It's a nice read for fans of the Baker Street crew. I liked the characters and the story kept me guessing. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is a cute series featuring a former street kid, Timothy Badger, who had been a Baker Street Irregular who is now grown up and has become a detective with a new friend of his, Ben Watson, as well as a female journalist he is attracted to. Now they have a crucial case to solve since Dr. Watson has been kidnapped and Sherlock Holmes is out of the country. It’s fun to follow their path as they try to figure out the clues from the kidnapping. They don’t have the acute detective abilities of Holmes. So I enjoyed following along with the amateur detectives trying to figure things out on their own.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Tim Badger and Ben Watson are the Irregular Detectives. Tim grew up as a Baker Street Irregular, working with Sherlock Holmes and now that he has aged out of that group, he has started his own detective agency, quietly supported by the great Holmes himself. Holmes is out of the country when Mrs. Hudson sends word to Badger and Watson that Dr. John Watson has been kidnapped from 221B Baker Street. When they arrive, they discover the room in disorder with a few clues scattered here and there. Badger goes to his contact at the newspaper, Miss Ellsie Littleton, who shows him how to do research in a newspaper archive. That first clue lays out the trail of crumbs for the detectives to follow, involving an old case, a wrongfully imprisoned man and a dog who barked in the nighttime. An enjoyable pastiche paying attention to The Canon.

A well crafted pastiche with good character development. The excellent attention to period detail aids for the best immersive reading.

Get this book if you need a fun story for pure escapism.

Fans of classic Sherlock Holmes will like this newest tale of Tim Badger (an original Holmes character) and Ben Watson (a black chemist turned detective). It's written in classic Holmes style, but with new energy. Worth a try is you liked the Sherlock Holmes tales.