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James Lovegrove is now firmly established as the right and proper custodian of the ongoing ‘new’ adventures of Conan Doyle’s Great Detective. Lovegrove isn’t concerned with reinventing Sherlock Holmes – no two-fisted Robert Downey-style wisecracking here and, mercifully, none of smug, self-satisfied posturing of the BBC’s 21st century incarnation. A few diversions into Lovecraftian/supernatural territory aside, Lovegrove, at his best, writes proper, rich, full-blooded authentic Victorian era detective fiction virtually guaranteed to delight Holmes afficionados and casual readers alike.
In this raucously-enjoyable follow-up to last years ‘Christmas Demon’ the author has dared to pen a sequel to perhaps the most celebrated Holmes story of all – ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (ironically the story that keeps Holmes off-stage for much of its narrative) – and leads us into a deliciously-atmospheric romp involving an exsanguinated murder victim, sightings of a giant blood-sucking moth prowling the cold, remote moors around Baskerville Hall all topped off with a race-against-time journey across the Atlantic and into the steamy jungles of Costa Rica. Holmes and Watson spring into action when an old army friend of Henry Baskerville visits Baker Street and reports on the tragedy that has befallen his old friend in the five years since the events of ‘The Hound’. Lovegrove cleverly inverts the structure of the original book by leaving Watson, unnerved by his previous experiences on Dartmoor, in London while Holmes sets off to investigate this latest mystery, narrating the events of his visit upon his return, but eventually the two are reunited and forced to return to Baskerville Hall when a mystery apparently solved by Holmes leads to ever deeper, darker deeds thousands of miles away.
It’s a brave author that dares to revisit a beloved literary classic, but Lovegrove has more than done justice to the original and its characters here and his Holmes and Watson are beautifully characterised in a style Conan Doyle himself would surely approve of. The Beast of the Stapletons is a ripping yarn told with style and gusto, embellishing upon a story first published nearly 120 years ago yet managing to remain utterly respectful and true to the tone and nuance of the original. Brilliant.
