The Counterfeit Detective
Simpson Grears
Genre:
Crime, Thriller
Publisher: Rymour Books
Date Published: 2023
Book Length: 332
Format: E Book supplied by Love Book Tours in return for an honest review
Star Rating: 4**** I liked it a lot and recommend.
About Book: An American professor discovers the diaries of John Ledbury, known as the counterfeit detective, a minor poet who, in Victorian London, is employed to reply to the mail that comes addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street.
Through the diaries, he unearths a series of baffling unsolved murders. He travels through England and Scotland but he realizes that, in order to solve the mystery, he has to travel further, back through time itself.
My Thoughts: I love all things mystery and Sherlock Holmes in particular, and as the blurb about the book mentioned Holmes I was hooked. The book moves backwards and forwards in time and feels confusing to start with and even a little slow, but it is a different style of writing that I quickly got used to and thoroughly enjoyed. I found myself fin the descriptive mode of Grears which was a delightful place to be. It transported you to places never been, but you could believe you were there. The words used to dance on the pages.
I loved the chapter headings along with the quotes The characters are well developed and intriguing and I especially enjoyed the character of John Ledbury. The book had moments of excitement, reflection and pondering a testament to Simpson Grears writing. The story is compelling in the way the prose is written but I did have to concentrate. It is a book I would recommend to lovers of mystery and intrigue.