Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I have a huge apology to make. This book has sat on my NetGalley shelf for a long time and I should have read and reviewed it much earlier. Not least because I have missed out on reading this until now.

This is the third in Bonnie MacBird's excellent series featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. I've now read all four books (the latest, 'The Three Locks', has just been published). I think they can be read in any order as, although there are some recurring characters in the books aside from the expected ones, I don't think there are spoilers.

In this book, Sherlock turns his considerable investigative skills to a series of murders which seem to follow a pattern - the victims are being picked off in alphabetical order. All are philanthropists and part of the mysterious 'Luminaries' club, but the tragedies don't end with those figures - a series of mysterious deaths and suicides of their nearest and dearest follow. Holmes and Watson race to uncover a murderer on the freezing streets of 1890s London as the alphabet killer seems to be homing in on victim 'H', Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes.

What I love about the series is that MacBird has captured the warmth in the characters. Holmes remains true to the Arthur Conan Doyle originals, but remains likeable and human despite his superiority and (often) downright oddness. Our narrator, John Watson, is still a fallible and likeable figure who tells the story with gentle self-deprecating humour. Together, they are a brilliant partnership and MacBird gives a gorgeous sense of the depth of feeling between the two.

Other more peripheral characters are also convincingly and compellingly portrayed. A particular favourite of mine in this novel was Heffie, one of Sherlock's team of helpers that emerge from the street and prove to be extremely useful. This fabulously sassy and strong young woman - for me - stole every scene she was written into. Plus there are the regulars - Mrs Hudson, Lestrade and the self-important Mycroft Holmes, the latter pulling strings behind the scenes from his second home at the Diogenes Club.

As with all the MacBird Sherlock stories, this one is cleverly plotted and will keep you guessing until the end. There is no shortage of murders, twists and action here - probably more than in the original tales. This is one to block out time for and devour in a sitting!

I'd whole-heartedly recommend this series to anyone who loves Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective. However, this should also appeal to so many more people too - anyone who loves well-plotted crime novels, those who enjoy historical fiction with a real sense of authenticity in the setting, those who like their crime stories with excellent characterisation at their heart...basically anyone!

With many thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review. I am just sorry it took so long!

I received an advance copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

As a reader, I am a little finicky when it comes to my favorite authors. I am leery of spinoff and retellings and new stories with your favorite characters. I am suspicious to a fault and almost equate them to fan fiction that was by some lucky chance, picked up by a publisher and mass marketed.

Well, I have to admit that I was completely wrong in that assessment. Especially in the case of Ms. MacBird and her Sherlock Holmes novels. The Devil's Due is the third installment and is just as amazing as the first two books. Ms. MacBird is as faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work as can be. Holmes and Watson are not suddenly modern facsimiles of their former selves, they are as Conan Doyle initially wrote them.

An amazing novel! I look forward to future installments!

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

this was a really good Sherlock Holmes book, the characters felt true to the original stories. I loved the story and loved the flow of this story.

Bonnie MacBird resurrects Holmes and Watson and writes absolutely cracking tales, as a worthy successor to Conan Doyle.

It can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to books purporting to contain the new Sherlock Holmes. Even the movies or tv shows sometimes hit the nail on the head and other times, the character or plot is unrecognisable. Not so here.

Having read the original Conan cannon more times than I care to disclose, I nervously approached Unquiet Spirits (the book immediately prior to The Devil’s Due). I need not have felt apprehensive - it was a work I sped through in a day and felt finally happy there was an author who understood the character so well. I felt the same was true of this book and am looking forward to The Thee Locks, to be released in 2020 - can’t come soon enough! This is well-written and well-paced. A hugely enjoyable read for fans of Holmes and Watson - highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was not able to download this title once I was approved and before it was archived. I therefore cannot provide a review at this time.

The Devils Due by Bonnie MacBird is the 3rd of her Sherlock Holmes novels.

It can be read as a standalone which is what I did or as a follow on to the previous ones. (Which having read this one I will be going back to read as this one was superb.

I enjoyed the writing and it was easy to follow and full on with lots of twists and turns in the story. Ive read a few "new" Holmes novels and this one is so far the best I have have read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Haper Collins for the ARC Copy. (My review is my own opinion)

Another series that continues the Sherlock Holmes stories, this one is very close to Doyle 's Holmes though the story drags at times

The Devil's Due is a fantastic historical mystery. The characters are well developed and the storyline is entertaining. I would love to read more by this author.

The Devil’s Due is the third Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird. Released 22nd Oct 2019 by HarperCollins, it's 384 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. Presumably that feature will carry through to the release version of the ebook.

There are so many (SO many) Holmes and Watson pastiches/homages/alternate worlds, timelines, alternate interpretations, that it is difficult to sort the good stuff from the dross. I am a die-hard canon fan and have read the originals so many times I've worn out copies. That being said, there is a fair bit of good fiction being written today, and this series (and author) are consistently excellent, verging on superlative.

The writing, plotting, tension arc, characterizations, and descriptions are all well done; the author is adept at her craft. The tone of the book and the dialogue manage to feel like it could have been written contemporaneously with the canon; no mean feat. I was a little disappointed with the foreshadowing; it seemed a little heavy handed. I read the book thinking that the major plot twist which I expected couldn't be so obvious. Honestly, the book was so well written and entertaining otherwise that I didn't really mind much.

Holmes & Watson's foil, Billings, is suitably dense, objectionably racist, and obstructive enough to engender heartfelt boos and hisses whenever he shows up. Holmes' encounters and abuse at the hands of the media are evident in this adventure as well, so he and Watson find themselves up against an array of more or less active foes.

I enjoyed this story and I suspect that most Holmesians will find enough here to keep them entertained. The story is also written around a framework of real historical occurrences and the author provides a link in the book to annotations and historical notes which are well worth a read.

Five stars. Delightful to see Holmes and Watson in fighting form.

I want to start out by stating that I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes. While many authors have attempted to write their own versions based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, not all of them ring true. However, Bonnie MacBride has done a wonderful job with her version of Sherlock Holmes. This is book 3 in the series, and I've read the first two and greatly enjoyed them. This book is my favorite one to date. I found myself immersed in Victorian England assisting Sherlock and Watson in Devil's Due. The author does such a wonderful job with her descriptions, her deep interesting characterizations and plot, that you find yourself falling into the story so easily and not wanting to put the book down. I enjoyed reading this very much and I really looking forward to the next installment in her series. Well done, Miss McBride!

I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and exchange for a fair and honest review.

While The Devil's Due makes for engaging reading and entertaining mystery, it falls short in terms of characterization of the renowned detective and his stalwart companion. The series seems to be increasingly becoming something akin to fan fiction rather than pastiche, with the author's focus on what she would like the characters of Holmes and Watson to be overriding what Doyle's original works clearly indicate they are. The author may wish to consider writing original stories in the future -- they have the talent, but they are starting to butt up against the limitations inherent in continuing another author's work.

i am a sherlock holmes freak - one of those! - and this is a terrific addition to the oeuvre of novels about him - and this time, what's interesting, is that he is under serious, personal threat - it's always problematic in this stage of his career too, that Watson joins him but his wife's away on holiday with people the doctor does not like - and he and Holmes fall into their duo well. this time too Lestrade is 'offstage' outflanked by a new bully boy control freak chief policeman - and Holmes outdoes him in spades this time too - a deadly plot is targetting figures joined together in a way Mycroft (who also appears on that list) and Sherlock have to figure out .. really ingenious plotting and wonderful characterisations - hurrah!

I wish to thank NetGalley for my eARC for my honest review. Bonnie MacBird once again succeeds in producing a brilliant Sherlock Holmes adventure truly fitting to having been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! The wonderful Victorian manners, atmosphere, and stout pride! All shine in this her third Sherlock Holmes adventure. If you are a fan of the original, this surely will not disappoint.

I haven't read the first two books in this series but I can't wait to buy them. I was a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes when I was a teenager and the traditional mystery series and its characters brought back so many memories. I felt like Bonnie MacBird stayed true to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories which was wonderful. Holmes and Watson are in perfect form and a character I am new to, Heffie O’Malley, was a wonderful addition. There were humorous moments and villains I loved like the police commissioner Titus Billings (great name) who questions Holmes' competence in an effort to sway police away from private detectives. Holmes is actually defending himself a lot in this one because a journalist has also set his sights on proving he is a demon.

I haven't read a story this rich in texture and detail in a long time, yet it moved with great speed. There were so many fun elements that made this stand out from the classic series of mysteries such as the French gangs who are causing trouble in the city and there were fun breadcrumbs like tarot cards that the killer left for investigators to follow. The mystery was complex and clever, which I appreciated, and the ending was great. Overall this has been one of the better books I've read lately and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read it for a review.

Holmes is a much beloved character and I was worried this book wouldn’t stand up but I’m glad it wasn’t the case. The author did a good job and I would definitely pick her other books.

I read Bonnie MacBird's other sherlock holmes novels and i loved them. I was so happy to see this book on netgalley. It was amazing as always. I love Bonnie MacBird's writing style. I really enjoyed reading this novel and couldn't wait to read her next novels.

Alright ya'll, this book was so good! I have no experience with Sherlock Holmes' books (just the movies). Bonnie MacBird gave me everything I expected in a Sherlock Holmes novel and more. Holmes and Watson's relationship was hilarious and I loved them as characters. I will say it was a little slow in the beginning, but it made a comeback! I definitely recommend!

Meet Sherlock Holmes as an 8 year old way back in the 1960’s. The magic of reading “ The Hound of the Baskerville’s” as a young in’ was extraordinary— and led me to spend millions of hours reading (and now listening to) books of all size and shapes. Bonnie Macbird makes a noble attempt to bring Holmes and Watson back to us for another excellent mystery.
There is a lot to praise in “The Devil’s Due”: The characters are developed, the plot intricate, and, unlike many of the books written since Conan Doyle, there are some kinky plot twists to make the story speed along.
A few complaints...having Holmes being (literally) demonized in the London press doesn’t pass the London fog smell test; and Holmes deferred way too much to some of the other main characters. But I shan’t give away the plot so as to subtract from the joy of new readers.
Overall well done: I look forward to the next book in the series authored by Macbird.

I'm afraid it's elementary, dear reader: It is difficult for me to be objective about all the cover bands that rock out those indelible Holmes' hits. As long as they get the trappings right --- the gestures, the pat phrases, the props (opium, a violin, etc) -- and the plot is reasonably interesting, well, for me the game is afoot! Bonnie MacBird is a designated Holmes specialist and this is the latest in her Sherlockian adventures. That she was the original writer of TRON, the sci-fi epic back in the day, I will neither hold against her or in her favor. Let her lead you to 221B Baker Street and you will be happy to gain entry.
I can't split stars but if I could this would be a 3.5