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Rating: 
Summary: Tolerable But Not Exceptional
Review: As Holmes pastiches go, this particular book isn't too bad. But neither is it very gripping. It's just sort of...there. Out of the dozen or so installments that I've read in the continuing non-Doyle adventures of the Great Detective, this little outing does little to distinguish itself.We get no real insight into the Holmesian character, and certainly none into the often-overlooked Watson. (In truth, a lot of the recent pastiches use this duo only as an excuse to introduce other historical or fictional characters that the author is far more interested in investigating.) The antagonists are singularly bland, and the supporting cast is not altogether memorable. The key cryptographic puzzle is rather intricate, though, so much so that several diagrams are required in order for the reader to make any sense of the whole thing. It's fairly clever. However, the denouement is just ludicrous and the fulfillment of Holmes' plan requires that everyone involved should unwittingly act out their part by undertaking the most irrational actions. The whole climax feels forced. My biggest complaint? The villains are threatening Holmes' client from the moment he sets foot in England and wish to prevent him from going to a certain place, when, in fact, they have no evidence that he ever intends to go there, nor that anything he might do would in the slightest way be disadvantageous to them. In fact, as it all turns out, the bad guys have no way of solving a riddle without his assistance in the first place, so they would've been better advised to have duped him into acting on their behalf. But perhaps I quibble. In any case, it's a quick read for those who absolutely must have a Holmes fix, and the notes at the end of the book are not without interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Holmes/Watson pastiche I've read in ages!
Review: Crackling adventure from the first chapter, with an authentic ring to the Holmes and Watson relationship, character details and dialogue, this pastiche suceeds where many have failed - both as exciting entertainment for anyone loving a good mystery/thriller, and for Holmsian purists - in presenting an authentically brilliant series of deductions. Holmes delights and surprises us here just as Conan Doyle wrote .... what terrific fun!!!!!! Great blend of action and deductive brilliance - with Doyle's sense of theatricality faithfully reproduced. This author really understands Doyle'e unique talents and is a credit to his mentor. Strongly recommended for purists and mystery buffs alike! More, more, Mr. Roberts!
Rating: 
Summary: Oh my god it's another lost Watson story!
Review: Dr. Watson must have rented 221A Baker Street just to hold all the manuscripts never published in his own lifetime. But Sherlock Holmes and the Devil's Grail is a lot better than most. The story itself brings together a number of previously used plot lines; a remenant of Moriarty's gang; a mysterious artifact called the Devil's Grail hidden amongst the stone circles of England and Wales; clues hidden in the Abbey at Glastonbury. However what makes this well worth a read is the fresh and entertaining way all these elements are brought together with one of the more credible attempts at creating the feel of a Conan Doyle original. Well recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my god it's another lost Watson story!
Review: Dr. Watson must have rented 221A Baker Street just to hold all the manuscripts never published in his own lifetime. But Sherlock Holmes and the Devil's Grail is a lot better than most. The story itself brings together a number of previously used plot lines; a remenant of Moriarty's gang; a mysterious artifact called the Devil's Grail hidden amongst the stone circles of England and Wales; clues hidden in the Abbey at Glastonbury. However what makes this well worth a read is the fresh and entertaining way all these elements are brought together with one of the more credible attempts at creating the feel of a Conan Doyle original. Well recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: In a word, boring!
Review: Here's yet another Sherlockian pastiche off the presses. I buy 'em all, hoping to come across another Sam Siciliano's Angel of the Opera or another Laurie R. King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Or at least a Jan Walker's Singular Case of the Duplicate Holmes, but my advice for you who've arrived to this page and are considering buying this book is "Keep on going. Nothing to see here."
Rating:
Summary: In a word, boring!
Review: Here's yet another Sherlockian pastiche off the presses. I buy 'em all, hoping to come across another Sam Siciliano's Angel of the Opera or another Laurie R. King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Or at least a Jan Walker's Singular Case of the Duplicate Holmes, but my advice for you who've arrived to this page and are considering buying this book is "Keep on going. Nothing to see here."
Rating:
Summary: Fine up to a point...
Review: Right up until the end, this is one of the best Holmes pastiches I have read in years. Holmes and Watson are depicted pretty much bang on, there is plenty of authentic local 1895 color in various British Isle locales, and there are some interesting characters for Holmes and Watson to interact with, plus an ancient, secret message for Holmes to decode. But at the end, things fall apart. First, Holmes' preposterous plan for dealing with the three villains would, in real life, have led to a mass grave covering the bodies of Holmes, Watson, their client, his son, and a number of Baker Street Irregulars! Second, the nature of the "Devil's Grail" itself is a huge, huge letdown. But right up to these final pages, things move along well, and the entertainment value of the proceedings is unquestionable. I do have one other reservation about the novel, but it is a reservation I have about fully half of the hundred or so novel-length Holmes pastiches I have read over the years. Namely, the villains act exactly contrary to their revealed motivations. They want to find the secret hidden in the ruins of Glastonbury, but they spend half the novel preventing the one man who can find the secret for them from going there! All they have to do is wait until Col. Harden takes his photos, then steal them. But instead they are involved in a hundred pages of nonsensical foolishness to PREVENT Harden from getting the info they need. Then, with Holmes on the case, all they need to do is to wait until Holmes finds the Grail and take it, but insead they interfere constantly for another 70 pages. Of course, the answer to the paradox is that the author could not fill his pages with action unless the villains behaved this way! But I wish more authors would try to find another way to keep the reader's attention besides having the villains act like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Fine up to a point...
Review: Right up until the end, this is one of the best Holmes pastiches I have read in years. Holmes and Watson are depicted pretty much bang on, there is plenty of authentic local 1895 color in various British Isle locales, and there are some interesting characters for Holmes and Watson to interact with, plus an ancient, secret message for Holmes to decode. But at the end, things fall apart. First, Holmes' preposterous plan for dealing with the three villains would, in real life, have led to a mass grave covering the bodies of Holmes, Watson, their client, his son, and a number of Baker Street Irregulars! Second, the nature of the "Devil's Grail" itself is a huge, huge letdown. But right up to these final pages, things move along well, and the entertainment value of the proceedings is unquestionable. I do have one other reservation about the novel, but it is a reservation I have about fully half of the hundred or so novel-length Holmes pastiches I have read over the years. Namely, the villains act exactly contrary to their revealed motivations. They want to find the secret hidden in the ruins of Glastonbury, but they spend half the novel preventing the one man who can find the secret for them from going there! All they have to do is wait until Col. Harden takes his photos, then steal them. But instead they are involved in a hundred pages of nonsensical foolishness to PREVENT Harden from getting the info they need. Then, with Holmes on the case, all they need to do is to wait until Holmes finds the Grail and take it, but insead they interfere constantly for another 70 pages. Of course, the answer to the paradox is that the author could not fill his pages with action unless the villains behaved this way! But I wish more authors would try to find another way to keep the reader's attention besides having the villains act like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: The legacy of Moriarty
Review: When the American inventor of a stereoscopic camera comes to Britain to photograph historical buildings, he is the subject of anonymous threats. Holmes soon recognises one of the lieutenants of the late Professor Moriarty as the hand behind the actions, but how does this tie in with the strange religious ceremonies they encounter? Barrie Roberts turns out a good Holmesian pastiche, but this one misses the mask for me. The storyline ties in with British history, Arthurian legends, sites of historical interest and more. As such, I felt curiously uninvolved - the story proceeded without me finding a strong handle on which I could grab hold. Because the subject matter is outside my areas of knowledge, I can't say how impressive the deductions of Holmes are, and so the story also fails here for me. The depiction of Holmes and Watson seem quite true to their original portrayals. I think the book works fine, but it may be more suitable to readers other than me.
Rating:
Summary: The legacy of Moriarty
Review: When the American inventor of a stereoscopic camera comes to Britain to photograph historical buildings, he is the subject of anonymous threats. Holmes soon recognises one of the lieutenants of the late Professor Moriarty as the hand behind the actions, but how does this tie in with the strange religious ceremonies they encounter? Barrie Roberts turns out a good Holmesian pastiche, but this one misses the mask for me. The storyline ties in with British history, Arthurian legends, sites of historical interest and more. As such, I felt curiously uninvolved - the story proceeded without me finding a strong handle on which I could grab hold. Because the subject matter is outside my areas of knowledge, I can't say how impressive the deductions of Holmes are, and so the story also fails here for me. The depiction of Holmes and Watson seem quite true to their original portrayals. I think the book works fine, but it may be more suitable to readers other than me.
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