The Surrogate Assassin

Rating:
Summary: Interesting in Spite of Flaws
Review: As a supreme Booth family armchair scholar, I moved mountains to find this book and would you believe it, in my curiosity to see how many pages it had, I saw the name of the "surrogate assassin" on the last page before I had even started reading the book! So as I read it, I could see the clues. Still, I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to anyone with even a slight interest in mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, the Lincoln Assassination, or the Booth family.

Rating:
Summary: A spellbinding novel that is instantly a classic!
Review: Leppek knows his stuff! Not only is the story credable in it's facts it is fast paced entertainment. I can only say words of praise of this book-- it a must read for both Sherlock fans & historical alike!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read, authetic in every respect.
Review: One of the best latter-day Sherlockian works I've read--and I've read a lot of them. The author does a masterful job of portraying the Holmes and Watson we've grown to love, while placing them into a completely alien environment--the United States. Many have tried this and failed, but Christopher Leppek does a near-perfect job. The plot is appropriately dramatic and, while historically unlikely, it's skillfully constructed and has a definite ring of authenticity. It's pure fiction, of course, but a good author can persuade his reader not to care-- and I found Mr. Leppeck to be a very good author.

Rating:
Summary: Holmes looks into Lincoln's assassination
Review: Sherlock Holmes is approached by his estranged cousin, the actor Edwin Booth, regarding a series of attempts on his life. Edwin is the elder brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth, and it is his story that Holmes must investigate to resolve the mystery of the assassination attempts on his cousin's life.

Covering some of the same ground as Barrie Roberts' 'Sherlock Holmes and the Royal Flush', I ended up reading these two book in a fairly close period of time. This allows me to compare how the two authors put facts from John Wilkes Booth's life and death into their books. The problem is - it would be a dead giveaway on their plotlines to do so! Suffice to say, 'The Surrogate Assassin' takes the issues in a more active and head-on way.

I found Christopher Leppek's writing style quite readable, and his portrayal of Holmes and Watson well within my view of how the characters should be written. However, I did find some of the facts a little contradictory with the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes' creator. For instance, he makes casual reference to Mycroft Holmes, who Watson would not even know of for several years to come! Mind you, Doyle was pretty careless about such things as well (for instance, Moriarty's appearance in 'The Valley of Fear') so one shouldn't be too harsh.

Rating:
Summary: Holmes looks into Lincoln's assassination
Review: Sherlock Holmes is approached by his estranged cousin, the actor Edwin Booth, regarding a series of attempts on his life. Edwin is the elder brother of the infamous John Wilkes Booth, and it is his story that Holmes must investigate to resolve the mystery of the assassination attempts on his cousin's life.

Covering some of the same ground as Barrie Roberts' 'Sherlock Holmes and the Royal Flush', I ended up reading these two book in a fairly close period of time. This allows me to compare how the two authors put facts from John Wilkes Booth's life and death into their books. The problem is - it would be a dead giveaway on their plotlines to do so! Suffice to say, 'The Surrogate Assassin' takes the issues in a more active and head-on way.

I found Christopher Leppek's writing style quite readable, and his portrayal of Holmes and Watson well within my view of how the characters should be written. However, I did find some of the facts a little contradictory with the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes' creator. For instance, he makes casual reference to Mycroft Holmes, who Watson would not even know of for several years to come! Mind you, Doyle was pretty careless about such things as well (for instance, Moriarty's appearance in 'The Valley of Fear') so one shouldn't be too harsh.

Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining
Review: Skip the intro with the usual lost manuscript bumpf and dive into what must rank as the best Holmes pastiche of recent years. Leppek presents his readers with an intricately plotted and well researched story. More importantly <g> he recreates the authentic feel of the characters. The dialogue between Holmes and Watson rings true, a rare feat in the world of the Holmes pastiche. Finally a Holmes in America novel with all the right elements! Read on...

Rating:
Summary: Interesting in Spite of Flaws
Review: This book is less an adventure of Sherlock Holmes than it is a re-examination of the Lincoln assassination and the role of John Wilkes Booth. The author uses Holmes (and utilises every horrid, tired cliche' in doing so) as a vehicle to put forth his own theory regarding the assassination. There are significant flaws in the reasoning he forces through Holmes to reach his conclusion (for instance, there is a key error of fact which no educated Englishman, particularly Holmes, could possibly have made). Overall, though, the writer does an admirable job of breathing life into this period of American history. The historic people and places who hitherto have been mere names are vividly drawn and can be clearly seen and heard by the reader. Although I won't give it a place of honour on my shelf of Holmes pastiches, it is still worth reading for entertainment.