The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
Oh my goodness. I just finished a novel I received through the Amazon Vine Voice Early Reviewers program. Release date is July 2015. And boy, I haven't been this excited about a book in quite some time. So much so that I've already started casting actors for the two leads. I mean, you know you're majorly into a book if you start doing that.
Well, anyhow, below is the review I posted on Goodreads, Librarything and Amazon. I'm going to attempt to get the word out on Tumblr too (if I can figure it out) and maybe some of the Goodreads m/m groups:
All right, all you Sherlock Holmes fangirls, listen up.
What would you think of a version where “Sherlock” is a petite clairvoyant Japanese samurai/watchmaker with a Lincolnshire accent? And what if his “Watson” is a twenty-five year old Whitehall telegraph clerk who gave up his musical aspirations due to an acute case of synesthesia? And “Mary Watson” is an Oxford educated scientist with a butch haircut, a penchant for dressing in menswear and a Japanese dandy for a best friend? Think you might enjoy that?
Let me answer that for you. Yes. Yes, you would.
Okay okay, this isn’t really a Sherlock Holmes story. But it’s as good as. And I mean that respectfully and in every respect. I know from a little online investigative work that author Natasha Pulley is a Sherlock fan, and this novel, which is surely an homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s number one son, definitely ranks among the best of them. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a while. The atmosphere of Victorian era London is lovingly recreated. The characters are completely enchanting and believable - by the end I was in love with them all. And in typical Conan Doyle fashion, the plot is labyrinthine and kind of outrageous (as is the resolution), but that’s all part of the fun. Plus, there’s a neat fantasy element that is completely unique and charming.
Like the entire oeuvre of recent Sherlock Holmes re-tellings, the focus is not really on the plot, which basically functions as nothing more than a convoluted Maguffin to deliver the real story - which is the relationship between these two very different men. I think readers will be delighted by the evident chemistry between the peculiar, misanthropic Keita Mori and hapless, pragmatist Nathaniel Steepleton.
I hesitate to say more, for fear of spoiling a story that was full of truly wonderful surprises. I loved this book. I hated that it ended because I wanted to spend more time with these people. So even though it’s unbelievably corny and I vowed I would never say this sort of thing, I’m kind of wishing for a sequel.
I’m confident this book will be a huge hit. It has all the right stuff.
I should add, the author wrote an article for the Bubble, Durham University's online literary digest, which argues that Arthur Conan Doyle intended Sherlock Holmes to be seen as a gay character, living in the quiet manner that would have been appropriate to Victorian times. The article can be found here:
http://www.thebubble.org.uk/literature/a-wilder-reading-of-sherlock-holmes
Once I discovered this article, I had a strange feeling her novel would not disappoint me. And I'm happy to report, my insight was spot on. To give away anymore would constitute major spoilers. Suffice it to say, if this one finds its way into the right hands, I think it could be massive. I highly, highly recommend it.
Below are pictures of the two actors I've chosen for Nathaniel Steepleton (Joseph Morgan - 33) and Keita Mori (Fujiki Naohito - 42):
