'A young man named Peter Maugram appears at the front door of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson’s Baker Street lodgings. Maugram’s uncle is dead and his will has disappeared, leaving the man afraid that he will be left penniless. Holmes agrees to take the case and he and Watson dig deep into the murky past of this complex family.'
Sherlock Holmes: The Will of the Dead is a slightly deceptive book, as it doesn't just contain the one mystery story, but includes some surprise additions to the narrative that take the book in some surprising directions.
The main story follows the Maugram family following the death of their patriarch and uncle. After apparently falling down the stairs to his death, the niece and three nephews of Lord Maugram find themselves facing financial destitution when their uncles will vanishes. Having spent years getting by with the money their uncle has given them, all four of them were needing their inheritance to survive, but with the only copy of the will missing it means that the inheritance won't be shared out equally.
Sherlock Holmes is called in to try to find out what happened to the will to save the family from financial upheaval and infighting. However, Holmes quickly discovers that Maugram's death may not be what it first appears, and concludes that the man was murdered. When a mystery figure arrives on the scene claiming to be the rightful heir to the Maugram estate things take another, deadly turn, as the surviving Maugram family begins to be killed off one by one.
During all of this Inspector Bainbridge, the detective duos contact at Scotland Yard, is not only trying to close the Maugram case, but deal with attacks from 'Iron Men', strange mechanical men that are stealing valuables from the richest homes in London.
As I'd not read any of George Mann's work before I wasn't aware that Bainbridge was actually a character in his own series of steampunk mystery series Newburry and Hobbes. Even though Bainbridge appears in this book and his other series, and the 'Iron Men' feel very steampunk, it never feels forced during the story. The book still stands alone as a Sherlock Holmes story without feeling like it's had another series shoehorned into it.
Whilst it's clear that Mann knows this world well, and is obviously comfortable in this time period and setting it does at times feel more like an exaggerated version of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes and Watson do feel like their characters, but sometimes an extreme version of them. Holmes has always been a bit rude towards people, but there are times here where he feels downright mean and seems to keep things from people just because he can't be bothered with others. Watson too feels like a more extreme version of himself, coming across as very put on and almost dominated by Holes at times. I know that this is sometimes how the characters acted in the original stories, but it does seem to be pushed a little extreme here at times.
Despite this, the characters are still very much the Holmes and Watson that people will know and love, and the mystery is more complex and layered than at first appears, with enough twists and turns in the tale to keep readers guessing right up to the end.
George Mann has told a great historical mystery story here, and one that can definitely act as a great introduction to more of his work thanks to the inclusion of Bainbridge. I certainly want to read more of his work and to see what his other series is about after reading this. A wonderful addition to the ever expanding world of Sherlock Holmes.
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