About book The Devil's Grin - A Crime Novel Featuring Anna Kronberg And Sherlock Holmes (2012)
I wanted to like this book more than I ultimately did. I was excited about the premise of the book, a female in Victorian England posing as a male in order to work as a Physician. The author had some clever explanations for the transition. Add Sherlock Holmes to that and what a great mix you have! The story fell flat for me about half way through, receding into a somewhat dry primer of the culturing of organisms and vaccine development couched in dialog by Dr. Kronberg rather than the intriguing mystery with which the book began. After about a half dozen instances of sudden and, at times, seemingly misplaced outbursts of anger toward Holmes on the protagonist's part, I figured it was leading into a romantic interest, which consequently didn't interest me at all. I wanted to read about an intelligent, sharp-witted woman who was on a par with Sherlock Holmes in solving a mystery. Seeing Anna slip into the stereotypical female role of quickly falling in love with Holmes after a few encounters was a disappointment. There was plenty of room for romantic tension between Anna and the female nurses at the hospital who believed her to be a man, one of the male physicians, or her Irish lover who was already present in her life. I was excited to read a story where a woman was the main character and Sherlock Holmes wasn't the primary focus. Unfortunately, by the third chapter, this story felt more like Sherlock fanfic than any unique undertaking. The spotlight was most definitely on him, and not Dr. Kronberg. By chapter 5, the story is back to her, so I'm glad I didn't give up. I think the author just introduced Holmes too soon. The reader needs more time to bond with the doctor first.Several times the writing was unclear. Was HE saying that or was SHE? Is that supposed to be a reference to Sherlock or XXX? It made for some confusing moments that I never really could resolve, so I just moved on.Overall, the story was interesting and well-written. Very enjoyable.
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This reminds me of The Alienist, writing, time period. Nicely done.
—grundles
I would have given it 5 stars, but I didn't like the way it ended.
—SadMangaGirl
a good start, but gets silly at the end.
—CassadyH
