2,5 stars
I was very excited for the premise of this book, but unfortunately the excecution fell a little flat for me. The story really excelled when we got to follow Mary on her journey, and it is very obvious that the author has done a ton of research to flesh out the world.
But for me the start dragged a lot. Connecting the story of Peter Pan with Sherlock Holmes did not work for me, and all of the random connections between many of the characters felt a bit forced. I was past the 100 page mark before I really felt like I was getting the story I was hoping for, and I would have loved to spend more time in this part of the story, because I really liked to read about this version of Neverland.
As for the language, I much prefer it when more is left up to the readers interpretation and not spelled out. The description of Sherlock Holmes´ actions should be enough for you to understand his character without the author having to explain it to us as well, and a few of the info dumps about victorian society felt unecessary and like an unmotivated breaking of the fourth wall.

Wonderful twist on the original story. Loved the ideas, as well as the historical items tied into the piece. Self defense classes for women have been around for a long time. Too bad we need them!

Here's a Victorian mix of the worlds of Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes, with a feminist perspective. The heroine here is Mary Darling, who is the niece of Dr. Watson in this pastiche. Her three children have been abducted from under the nose of their canine nanny, and of course she must seek them. The tropes are set on their heads as Sherlock is not very bright, Mary is savvy, and she recruits many of the female characters of various backgrounds to aid her along the way.

I enjoyed the book, and think it will be a bit of a tongue-in-cheek romp for people used to seeing a bit of the period patriarchy subverted. Generally light reading, but a little heavy-handed sometimes.

Technically this was a well done book. It was smart and witty with an interesting premise but I had just had some difficulty getting into the story of it. I think it just wasn’t a book for me but I would recommend this to people who do enjoy more mysteries like this one! I’m still so happy I got to read this one!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story of the Darling kids in Neverland with Peter Pan has been oft-told and retold, but what happened back in London when their parents find them missing? What kind of parents have a dog as a nanny? How would Sherlock Holmes react to everyone around him flying, encountering fairies, etc.? All of these questions are answered in a novel that has a great elevator pitch (Peter Pan + Sherlock Holmes = ???), but Murphy's execution of it is uneven at times and at the end I'm left with more questions than answers.

For some reason I always pictured Neverland as existing on another planet ("Second star to the right", I guess), but this novel places it somewhere off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Murphy draws from Barrie's original tale moreso than the subsequent, more family-friendly, retellings, which means that the mermaids are malignant creatures luring humans to their deaths for sport, the fairies are haughty sprites, the lost boys are malnourished kidnap-victims, and Peter Pan is the worst of all: some sort of spirit in the body of a perpetually-young boy who kidnaps children, forces them to commit murder on a whim, and then replaces them when they are eventually murdered with other young boys who he bequeaths with identical names (we meet at least three "Tootles"-es in this story alone).

I found this adaptation of the source material fascinating and dark, but this is also a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Mary Darling (the mother of Wendy, Michael, and John) is the niece of John Watson, so when the children go missing she and her husband George enlist the help of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, who is underused and portrayed as if not bumbling then definitely willfully ignorant and unhelpful.

It's quickly revealed that both Mary and her husband had been whisked away by Pan as children themselves, which begs the first question: why would they have involved Holmes at all? George spends the first half of the book as a blubbering fool while Mary makes her plans to go rescue the children herself, so why was a detective or the police involved when they both immediately knew what had happened to the kids as soon as they came into the room with the window open, all three kids missing, and no footprints in the snow outside? It felt like a fairly-major inconsistency, just for the sake of getting Holmes into the story.

Then there's the ending, which I won't spoil but let's just say felt very rushed. There's some great stuff in here about the origin story of Captain Hook, but the final encounter between all parties felt dashed off after so much buildup.

All in all, this is an interesting concept that ultimately left me a bit unsatisfied. I waffled quite a bit between 3 and 4 stars, but I had to round up just for the worldbuilding. If you enjoy Victorian-era adventure stories with literary characters, you may enjoy this one as well, but if you're looking for more of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche where he investigates and solves a case, this one is not for you.

Love the premise, and the fact that the Watson character was so involved. I never would have imagined that the worlds of Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes could be so expertly combined. The character of Sam was a wonderful addition, and the resolution was perfect.

This was fun! Not in a light-hearted and cheerful way, but in a clever and smart one. I really liked Mary - she was complex and real and resonant in a way that she has never been in any previous book, play or movie I have seen. I understand that Barrie"s original Mary is a product of her time (as he was), but as a mother myself I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the strength of motherhood play out in her quest to find her children. Even though the actual rescue felt a little rushed, the journey to get there was fabulous and original and engaging.

I also really enjoyed the supporting cast in this one, particularly Sam and John Watson. In many ways they were much more significant players than Sherlock and it felt to me like the dichotomy between Sherlock and Mary was oversold in both blurb and cover (Sherlock felt like a minor player at best here).

On the whole I enjoyed this - it was a cool spin on a classic tale with a lot of fair original elements that made it entirely its own story.

Review coming soon!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

Excellent pastiche of the Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes worlds by a fine Science Fiction/fantasy author, Pat Murphy. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale from the point of view of the Darling children’s mother, Mary Darling and as a reader of Sherlock Holmes stories of all kinds was amused by the less-than-flattering portrayal here. This novel had a very Victorian setting and style which was enjoyable to me also. I hope there will be more in this style and about these characters in the future.

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher, #tachyonpublications for this ebook ARC to read. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5

This was an incredibly unique way to write a retelling/inspired story. I genuinely can't say I've read another retelling/inspired story like this one, from unlikely perspectives and a combinations of source materials.

The gist of this story is that it is a Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes retelling. Mary Darling (the mother of Michael, John and Wendy - the children from the classic, Peter Pan) discovers that her children are missing and enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes to find her children.

Something about this writing style made it so easy to read (and to read quickly). But at some times it did feel a bit dragging. But it wasn't too bad, it never made me put down the book or let me get distracted.

If you're looking for a unique retelling that still holds the feel of the classic, I would recommend this. (Especially if you like mysteries.)

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy was such a good read! I loved every single second of it. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate.

It has been 6 years since Ms. Murphy's last new book. At least so far as I can tell.
The Adventures of Mary Darling brackets the story of Peter Pan by Mr. Barrie from the point of view of Wendy's mother Mary Darling.
Turns out Mary Darling is the niece of Dr. John Watson. I asked for an eARC before knowing that or anything else about the book except that Ms. Murphy wrote it.
When I got the copy and read the plot I admit I worried I would not be able to immerse myself in it as Peter Pan is not a favorite story for me. I was wrong. Finished the book in two sittings only being interrupted by the need to do my RL job.

I loved the idea of combining Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes in this world. It was everything that I wanted and was hooked from the first page. I loved that Mary Darling was able to take the spotlight in this story and was glad I got to read this. Pat Murphy wrote this so well and was glad I got to read this.

I have always been a passionate defender of Mary Darling in all media and so seeing the title of this book was like catnip. A story about Mary Darling, and one that gives her agency too! In this tale, Mary and her brother are from Australia and are taken to Neverland by Peter Pan—but that is only the very start of Mary’s adventures and not how the tale unfolds. The reader learns her story backward, as HER children go to Neverland and she is determined to go and bring them back—with the help of her uncle John Watson and his friend Sherlock Holmes.

I enjoyed this a lot, which means a lot coming from me. The book is primarily traveling interspersed with vignettes from the past, and I historically do not like “traveling” books. But the author’s voice and her interest in history melding with the fantastic really captures the imagination. I think the real world melded with Neverland in a fascinating way.

Fair warning—if you are a Holmes fan, he does get the short end of the stick by being the Logical Man in a story of the fantastic, but the inclusion of these other famous British literary characters gave the story a unique twist.

One thing I did quibble about was part of the ending. After what George does in the beginning, I think he should have groveled FAR MORE and paid for it. But this at its heart was not a romance in that way.

All in all this was a very fun spin on the classic Peter Pan mythos and I’m glad to see Mary Darling shine.