Elementary, Mrs. Hudson

Rating:
Summary: Good unchallenging read, but why the "spiritualism"?
Review: Most every other character in the Sherlock Holmes milieu seems to have series of stories written about them, so why not his landlady Mrs. Hudson?

This is the first of a series (last time I looked, four novels have been published) and represents Emma Hudson's first solo case as a detective. According to the book, she has made a number of suggestions about Holmes' cases before this book, but thus has been hushed up by Watson. (An aside: I found the name Emma a bit of a surprise, since most other authors name her Martha - but it appears she wasn't given a Christian name by Conan Doyle, so Emma will do.)

While Holmes and Watson are out of town, Mrs. Hudson receives a telegram from an old friend, seeking Holmes' aid in a matter. She immediately packs her bag and finds herself in the middle of a non-investigation of a murder at a country house. With the exception of her friend, Violet Warner, none of the occupants of the house believe Lady St. Clair was murdered (or so they say...), and it is not until a second murder victim is found that the police show the slightest interest.

Mr. Hosier has put together a decent mystery, and although I worked out whodunit (in regards the first murder) about two-thirds of the way through, I hadn't worked out all the details or how the two murders were actually connected.

My one complaint: Vi Warner's astral projections. To me, this is a lazy way of allowing characters to find out things without having to work for it. It allows the author to avoid coming up with ways for the detectives to gain clues. What role it plays in future books in this series I will wait to see, but I'm sceptical.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a way to relax with some mental stimulation, and will read others in the series in due course.