A Case of Madness

Wow, this book was AMAZING! I love everything Sherlock Holmes, and after the most recent BBC series, I've come to expect a level of sass, indulgence and humor from Sherlock Holmes books and stories and this book ABSOLUTELY delivered! (Which is quite funny, because the main character hates this adaption but I think he and the BBC Sherlock would probably get along in an enemies to lovers sort of way!)

The main character is a grumpy professor whose attitude could be exhausting and annoying if written incorrectly instead comes off as witty, engaging and had me frantically turning pages to try and get more and more from him. Then our little sunshine love interest is just such a ray of light in the story. I read this entire book in one night because I just couldn't put it down.

Then there was the LGBTQ+ rep throughout the book and many of the scenes of self-discovery, coming out and general acceptance were so beautiful I teared up. The book was educational without being preachy, and I just can't recommend it enough!

Big thank you to Yvonne Knop and Netgalley for the ARC.

Got this book from NetGalley, and I've enjoyed reading it. Whilst it did take me a few pages to get into the story, I eventually understood Dandy Andy and the world he hides himself in.

The story was easy to follow, the characters believable and fun to read about. Will definitely be keeping an eye out on the future released by this author.

4.5⭐️

“People like you keep me alive. Without you, I would only be a figure pressed between yellowed pages. I owe you my life.”

CW: Suicidal thoughts, homophobia, hate crimes, terminal illness, addiction

This book is so many things wrapped into one. It’s a book for Holmes lovers, it’s a romance, it’s a ghost story, its heavy, and it’s about becoming your true self. The characters were rich and well developed. The plot was easy to follow while also being surprising and intriguing. I truly enjoyed reading this.

We meet Andrew during a mid-life crisis, when absolutely everything is going wrong. But Sherlock Holmes shows up to help him solve the case of himself.

I enjoyed that even the side characters were well developed. Despite the book only being from Andrews pov, you still get a really strong sense of all the cast. I really enjoyed the plot too: the mystery of the note, the romance subplot, and everything that Andrew deals with. If you’re wondering, the romance came into play heavily about 40% in.

I did find the dialogue hard to follow at times, it felt like I just didn’t understand the discussion, but for most of the novel this wasn’t an issue.

Overall, if you enjoy Speculative Fiction, coming of age, a mid-life crisis, or romance sub-plots, I think you should give this book a try!

Thank you to NetGalley, Improbable Press, and Yvonne Knop for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Andrew is having a rough go of it. He’s just lost his job, he’s got cancer, and he’s deeply closeted which is causing other issues. And oh yeah, he keeps getting visits from Sherlock Holmes.

Throw in a chance encounter with Matt, first knocking him off his feet, and then saving him from an attack, his life gets thrown onto a trajectory he cannot escape.

I loved this! All of Andrew’s messiness, his little (and major) quirks making him an entertaining character. Throw in his best friend Mina, who i would love to have in my life, and you can only imagine the adventures they’d have!

While I know this is mainly Andrew’s story, I would have liked to dove more into Matt as a character as I feel that there were things in his past that would have fleshed out the story.

Overall, this was a fun read, and I hope there is more Andrew and Matt to come

A Case of Madness is a MM romance like no other!

Peep the blurb:
Andrew Thomas just got sacked. He's permanently drunk. He's got cancer. Is inescapably gay. Was hit by a bus. And he's fallen in love with a stranger whose life he saved.

As a newly-unemployed Sherlock Holmes scholar, Andrew knows only Holmes can help him untangle the madness his life has become, but Holmes isn't real. Except he absolutely appeared in Andrew's house, told him he's in love with a man he just met…and then in a fit of pique Andrew sent him away. Sure Holmes is probably a hallucination or a specter or a ghost, but now Andrew desperately needs his help. So to find the answer to his case and the man of his dreams, Andrew takes to chasing a fictional character through London with his very own Watson.

This book has everything: London, free pens, hallucinations, London, falafel shops, did I mention London?

While I can’t think of a single character I didn’t like, the MC, Andrew was a delight. Although dark his thoughts and personal antics will seem relatable to many neurodivergent people (I LOL’d when he told that story about ripping a pen from a child’s hand and throwing it over a balustrade, because he hates repetitive noises. Honestly, same. I also enjoyed the part where he stuffs his pocket with free pens while the volunteer is talking to him. I just realized these are both scenes involving pens. I LOVE PENS.)

There were so many variations of queer representation in this! And lots of imagery of London that now makes me want to go back. I’m also a big fan of star-crossed lovers, love at first sight, and HEA, and boy did this book deliver!

Rating: 4.5/5 rounded to 5 on NG
This book is out now!

I LOVED IT. The sass Andrew had and the struggle he faced regarding coming to term with being gay is truly heartwarming. I was a bit disappointed by the ending, I don't know what I was expecting, but totally enjoyed Mina and Andrew going through London in search of a hallucination while high👌🏻

Thank you to NetGalley and Yvonne Knop for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I should start with saying i haven't read any Sherlock before (however i have seen their stories in other media) but after reading this story it has definitely got me interested in checking out the original stories themselves.

Back to this book though, i had a very good time reading it and was surprised by how deep it managed to reach me. The characters were endearing and felt like real people you would meet and as a gay man, the struggles with identity and love felt all too real. I would be very interested in checking out future work by this writer.