The Italian Secretary

Another “read aloud with my husband” book done, and we are somewhat glad that it is finished.

The Italian Secretary, as said in the sub-title, is an expansion to the Sherlock Holmes universe, where Holmes and Watson go to Scotland where they need to debunk a ghostly legend. To be honest, I have not read any of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock stories, but I do have a big ‘ol volume raring to go. I would think that the originals would have more… gusto… than this. At least I am hoping they will.

My husband was frustrated with reading this; when asked, he said that it was incredibly heavy with the attempt to write in the old English style when it does not have a whole lot of substance to go off of.

I think the storyline had the potential to do better, but I agree that perhaps it was just too simple for our liking. The cast of characters were many, where perhaps it felt like there was filler needed to get Holmes and Watson from point A to point B, so someone was brought in to push them in a direction. For instance, Mycroft: I was hoping he would be more present, but he reminds me of bookends that signal the beginning and ending of the read, or like parents that go on date night and they introduce the babysitter to the house then leave on their date so that they come later to find that the house is peaceful and safe. I was not a huge fan of Miss Mackenzie, she was thrown in as your damsel in distress where all she did was be hysterical and attempt to be a part of the investigation. There was nothing there for me.

I probably would not read this again. If anything, this was a book I could have read in high school to get the page quota for my English class. If you would like to check The Italian Secretary out, because in the end it is your own opinion that counts, it is available here.

5/10