A Reflection of Evil by William Todd
Crashing trains and prison breaks! Oh, my! While this story started off a little cliched (a woman needs Holmes’s help in finding her missing husband), the story definitely took off with some originality. Holmes and Watson are always a worthy duo and this story stays true to the original stories. I felt this was a very good addition to the world of Sherlock Holmes.
Several of my favorite scenes took place on the train. Watson and Holmes are still unwinding this mystery even as they travel. Then tragedy is about to strike the train and Holmes uses his own body to save a woman from a very serious injury. I could just imagine what was going through her mind as she initially had no idea what was to befall the train and the passengers. Then in the aftermath, Watson does what he can for the injured. He has to work quickly to save a man’s leg even if it causes him great pain.
The mystery itself was good though I did feel some of the clues were pretty obvious. Several of them were presented as non sequiturs so they really stood out. I really liked the chilling conversation Holmes has with the last standing culprit at the end. I can see that villain becoming a real thorn in Holmes’s side in future adventures.
As is almost universally so for Sherlock Holmes tales, the ladies are few and far between and have very limited roles. They are comforters, love interests, or providers of food. While this story did give the ladies names and lines, I still felt they didn’t add much to the plot. Despite this issue that plagues Holmes & Watson stories, I still really enjoyed this tale. 4.5/5 stars.
The Narration: Ben Werling had great voices for Holmes and Watson. They were distinct but also sounded like the men I was expecting. Watson sounds like the more compassionate of the two yet can be decisive in an emergency. Holmes sounded a little bored or arrogant depending on the situation. Werling’s female voices could have used a touch more femininity. There were no issues with the sound recording. 4.5/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by William Todd. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.