I am a huge Sherlock Holmes (movie) fan so I was really interested in reading this novel. I love the set up too, that it's a collection of a number of different stories /mysteries. It made it easier to read in parts. And the mysteries were all very interesting, and as always I loved how intricate the details are that Holmes notices in order to solve his mysteries. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot and I'd recommend it if you like mysteries and specifically Sherlock Holmes!

Lyndsay Faye is a Sherlockian through-and-through, and she captures Watson's voice in these clever stories that fit in among the Canonical tales. Finally, the world is prepared!

Lyndsay Faye's new collection THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION: LOST MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (New York: Mysterious Press, 2017; 352 pp., $25.00) offers fifteen pastiches, two of them new and the others
reprinted from magazines and other sources, and they're nicely done indeed; she has done an excellent job of capturing the voices of Watson and Holmes, and in offering interesting characters and mysteries.

Although I enjoyed one or two of the tales, overall, I'm afraid that this collection did not work for me.

If you are a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock, you will love this book! The author manages to capture the spirit and (perhaps more difficult) the language of the original series. You will feel as though Doyle has been resurrected to write again. Great study of the original works must have gone into the research before this novel, because you can barely tell a difference. That being said, it is not an easy read. With the old language also comes a need for a sharp mind and a dictionary. I have often felt when reading the original Sherlock series the modern English language has devolved and we have lost so many wonderful words. This book brings them all back. Would highly recommend for any Sherlock fans!

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world! I would and have recommended this book to all my friends. Got a copy for a friend.

Part of the lost early years of Holmes - before he became "famous"..

Actually I could take it or leave it. I wanted to read it as I am an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, but I am finding that the modern-day take on Holmes is somewhat lacking. Just can't put my finger on it but, look I read it through, but would not really add it to my Holmes collection.

Lyndsay Faye is an absolute master of language and her skills are exemplified in this new book of short Holmes pastiches. Her grasp of Holmes and Watson is so spot on and her writing so closely matches ACD's narrative style, that she must have reread the original Holmes canon a million times before getting down to writing. And the stories themselves have all the perplexing and witty hallmarks of Holmes as well. If you're a Sherlock fan, get yourself a copy, for sure. And if you haven't read Sherlock yet, this is a great toe-dipper as well.

As with all her titles, this Lindsay Faye book really was un-put-downable. The richness of the characters and the detailed settings made it a delight to read.

As an avid Holmes fan, it's no small thing when I call a short story collection/pastiche one of the best I've read, but every time Lyndsay Faye writes about Holmes and Watson, she ends up on that list. The Whole Art of Detection is wonderful addition for any Holmes collection.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

I have read quite a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories written by authors than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Some good, some less than good. However, this collection is one of the finest I have ever read and the stories really feel like they were written by Conan Doyle himself.

The book's stories are both before he met Watson and both before and after his "death". All stories are high in quality and some are easier to solve than others. I especially like the dynamic relationship between Watson and Holmes. Sometimes, Watson is made out to be a stumbling buffoon, but in this collection is Watson more a fitting partner to Holmes. They work well together, and they are very good friends.

In this book, we meet damsels in distress, murders, thieves, etc. One story that comes to mind is one that takes place during The Hound of Baskerville because it's told through Holmes point of view, and also because it explains why Holmes stayed back in London while Watsons traveled to Dartmoor with Sir. Baskerville. And, that is just one story among many good.

It's a splendid collection, and now I want to read Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye!

I generally love anything to do with Sherlock, however I couldn't get into this one. I thought for sure I'd like it. The writing is clean, the characters seem to be mostly spot on. I just had a hard time getting into the story.

Being a fan of almost everything Sherlock Holmes, this book filled my cup and I love everything story. Great use of Sherlock Holmes tales--he lives!

I completed this title back in October. Though I enjoyed this take on Sherlock/Watson with its new stories and unexplored viewpoints,. the florid descriptions attributed to Watson became a little too much, particularly after Holmes accuses Watson of this style of writing in the Strand.

Happily, however, a new scientific treatise upon the art of detection will shortly make its way into the world, the quality of which I hope will balance out the endless stream of sentimentality flowing from the pens of loosely factual biographers and adventure authors alike.
In the authentic style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, Lyndsay Faye delivers a collection of short stories featuring the iconic pair of Holmes and Watson. Her revival of the voices of this dynamic crime duo is entertaining and the bite-sized length of each adventure provide frequent satisfaction throughout the book. The story follows a timeline from the pre-Baker Street on through to the late life of Sherlock Holmes and the personalities of each character and their relationship to each other are explored, providing access to those even the least familiar with the original stories.

It has long been a dictum of my internationally celebrated friend Sherlock Holmes that work is the best antidote to sorrow. As his biographer, therefore, I have been given occasion to wonder whether the almost superhuman effort he himself expends over his cases is relevant to this credo.When at work, he is an indefatigable automaton: dashing hither and thither consulting all relevant parties, weighing the value of data to hand provided by the police, and more often discovering clues everyone else has overlooked. When idle, however, he is a listless creature, hollow-eyed to a degree which ever causes me the deepest sympathetic consternation.
Faye does an exceptional job writing as Doyle writing as Waston writing about Holmes and we are still able to fully understand the complexity of Waston's and Holmes' character throughout their entire career together.
My earliest relations with Mr. Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street were rendered much the more intriguing due to the fact that I spent an inordinate amount of time— or more than I believe to be usual with fellow lodgers, for I know of no other men who reside with independent consulting detectives— deciphering which aspects of his peculiar character were innate and which adopted due to his singular choice of profession. As with every individual, some of his tastes must have been bred from the cradle, while others surely were cultivated to grant him greater chance of success in his field.
It is easy to forget that the crimes to be solved were not penned, in their entirety, by Doyle himself. Faye is a well studied Sherlockian and exceeds at her undertaking. Holmes and Waston have risen again in The Whole Art of Detection.

Sherlock Holmes fans will enjoy this book of short stories, told by the author in the manner of the original Holmes tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Other readers may find them a little ho hum. While the author is talented, especially in her imitation of Doyle's style, the stories lacked suspense and the mysteries' solutions seemed obvious to the reader who is paying attention.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I don't think I know enough about Sherlock Holmes for this book. It was well written and I'm sure well researched and filled with nods for Sherlock afficiandos, but I just didn't know enough about the chronology and minutiae of the series to be able to get the most out of it. Which made me sad because I loved Jane Steele.

*4 Stars

I first came across Lyndsay Faye's work in 2012 after reading The Gods of Gotham, the first in her Timothy Wilde series, and completely fell in love. Her writing wrapped itself around me and fully transported me to mid-19th century New York City in a way that few historical fiction books can accomplish. Accurately capturing the dialogue of these classic characters is one of her strongest skills and sets her apart from other historical fiction authors. Her newest anthology is no exception, and I jumped at the chance to review this one.

The Whole Art of Deception is a collection of Faye's original short stories based upon the canon of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The anthology is broken into four sections: Before Baker Street, The Early Years, The Return, and The Later Years. This division allows the reader to really get a full perspective of Holmes' and Watson's characters, particularly the stories that take place before the two met when each solved mysteries on their own. I thought that the story An Empty House was quite heart-wrenching, but gives a powerful glimpse of Dr. Watson's profound grief after the death of his wife Mary.

Overall, the variety of stories presented was great! A handful of them were in the form of diary entries from both Holmes and Watson. The entries from Holmes were particularly insightful as they give a look into his mind's inner workings and how he views those around him, especially Watson. I gained a better understanding of the degree and strength of their friendship, which is an area at which Faye excels. While accurately mimicking Doyle's writing style, she manages to capture how much these two frustrate and irritate one another while still displaying how true their friendship really is. A story that stands out is a retelling of the Hound of the Baskervilles but from Sherlock's perspective as he is called away from the main action in the original. There are many little tidbits for those who are serious fans of Doyle's canon.

While I haven't read all of Arthur Conan Doyle books, I am a fan of the Sherlock Holmes character in his many different forms from tv to film to books with Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal being one of my favorites. His is the image I had in my head as I read through each story, and I think it helped increase my enjoyment overall. There was a good mixture of story composition types as some were longer and others were mere snippets while some stories were either complex or a more straight forward deduction. The simplicity of the stories really stood out to me though, in a positive way. Faye focuses more on the cases and character quality than trying to recreate a perfect, historically accurate setting that many times winds up bogging down a story with excessive details.

The anthology format makes this collection easy to pick up and put down at a leisurely pace without the feeling of fragmentation. Many of these stories have been published in other places, but it's nice to see all of them together and with the addition of two new tales. This one is highly recommended for fans of either Lyndsay Faye's previous works or fans of Sherlock Holmes.


*I received this book as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.