From the shelves of co-grandma Mimi, who died in February 2020.

I read The Alienist some time ago, or at least I think I did! My memory is that I liked it, but again I may be thinking of some other book. If I did read it it was before 2006, when I joined Bookcrossing. I thought I liked it so I decided to read this one.

Carr has chosen to create another Sherlock Holmes adventure. He's done some homework, but I think his goal here is to adjust Watson's style to reveal a bit more. Instead of a loyal oaf, Watson comes across as intelligent and thoughtful here, while Holmes's bad habits and at-times snarky ways are discussed openly.

The story: Holmes and Watson are called to Scotland, to the Queen's occasional castle there in Edinburgh, to investigate some unusual happenings in the castle. This is the castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, spent time in the tower. It is that tower that is in question. Holmes' brother Mycroft requests Holmes' help, and asks that it be kept secret. Thus the intrepid pair set out on a train that takes many hours and finally end up housed in a part of the castle itself.

The mystery involves the death of two men under suspicious circumstances.

In unravelling the case, Holmes and Watson meet a servant girl who turns out to be a key to the case. With much running around, the dastardly criminals are run to ground, or as near to it as is possible. Interestingly, Holmes does not do a sudden explication of the case at the end. More interesting, there are echos of the supernatural here, and Holmes is okay with that.

Now, Conan Doyle himself did get involved in spiritualism, but this was later, and he never let it intrude on Sherlock's stories. Holmes insisted on logic and always found a scientific answer to the puzzles. So this is a departure as well.

It's also a full-length book. The Holmes adventures are all short stories. To me, Carr indulged a bit too much in wordy explanations as well as overly wordy phrasing. Conan Doyle was more direct and straightforward.

I liked the story enough to finish it but I did not love it, and did not find it memorable.

On a table outside.