Holmes Book Review: "The Canary Trainer"

I'm hoping to start a series of related posts with this one; all relating to various published books about Sherlock Holmes NOT written by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are also known as "pastiches." So...yeah. I will write a few, and Grace is free to write a few too, I know she's read at least one or two of them (she recommended one to me :D).

This book is called "The Canary Trainer." The book jacket description is below in italics if you wish to read that without ANY minor (note the word minor) spoilers whatsoever. (yes, I did include a few spoilers but nothing major. You gather most of it from the book cover anyway :D)

It was written by Nicholas Meyer. Actually, take that back. It's directly from the memoirs or John H. Watson, M.D., and EDITED by Nicholas Meyer. (he claims to have found the original manuscript stowed away in a university library...)

So. It's a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes. But not just any pastiche. A really well-written, keep-to-the-original-facts pastiche. AND the best part is: Sherlock Holmes' brilliant mind is put to the extreme test against another of the most brilliant minds in fiction.

The Phantom of the Opera.

Alright, so the author had to take the liberty of pushing the story of the Phantom forward (by...10 years I think, not that much.) which he did, in a believable way, to make it fit in with the chronology. I didn't mind a bit. I didn't even notice, until I read the acknowledgements at the end, in which the author thanks Arthur Conan Doyle and Gaston Leroux.

The story really opens when Watson visits the retired Holmes at his home on the Sussex downs...keeping bees, of course. He has organized his notes and wants to know what exactly Holmes did during the three years he was supposed dead. (did you ever wonder?) Holmes first ignores the question, than faces it reluctantly, and the story is begun (narrated by Holmes but of course published by Watson.)

Holmes, after escaping death at Reichenbach Falls, as we know, took on the name "Sigerson" and posed as a Norwegian, which I believe was briefly mentioned in "The Empty House." He admits he decided to become 'someone else' for awhile - he dropped his detective work and immersed himself in the world of music - teaching violin in Paris, until his landlady (by no means as patient as Mrs. Hudson) threatened to kick him out. He then, after attending the Paris Opera, witnesses the resignation of a violin player for the orchestra (for the opera performances) and is informed that he may audition for the part the next day.

Holmes auditions, and of course gets the part - meeting the orchestra conductor, Gaston Leroux, in the process. He then learns that the man so eager to leave the opera the previous night did so because of fear - fear of the Opera Ghost.

Of course, this sparks Holmes' interest...he investigates this mysterious creature (of course, with an open mind - we all know he does not believe in the supernatural) on his own for awhile, interacting with such famous characters as Christine Daae, the star of the Phantom of the Opera; Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny; the bumbling managers Mssrs. Moncharmin and Richard; and eventually, in a final confrontation in his house under the Opera Garnier, the Phantom himself.

And of course, no trip to the Paris Opera involving Sherlock Holmes would be complete without adding the famous soprano: the topic of so much debate regarding their relationship, Irene Adler (which, I must admit, puts an ever-so-tiny bit of romance in there between the two...Mr. Meyer did a good job making it believable though.) right in the middle.

Overall, the author did supurbly keeping to the character of Holmes...he didn't change at all, from manner to habits and it was surprisingly easy to imagine Jeremy Brett as Holmes solving the case (which, so far, only the original canon has been able to do for me). And of course, the other characters were exactly the same as always.

This book was so much fun to read, as it combined the best of both of my favorite books: the Phantom of the Opera and Sherlock Holmes. I give it a 4 & 1/2 out of 5 stars...and recommend it to any Sherlock Holmes fan (or Phantom Phan, but in this case, it's more of a Holmes book. It reads like one of his original cases.)

(Book jacket description):

"Located by computer in the bowels of a major university where it had collected dust for over half a century, this missing manuscript by the biographer of Sherlock Holmes reveals for the first time a hitherto unknown episode in the life of the Great Detective.

"Holmes, master sleuth, was also an accomplished violinist. Following his discharge from therapy with Sigmund Freud (see "The Seven Per-Cent Solution"), we now learn that he journeyed to Paris and there found employment as a pit musician at the Paris Opera.

"The year is 1891, Paris is the capital of the western world, and its opera house is full of surprises. First and by no means least is the sudden reappearance of the great love of Holmes' life, an accomplished singer from Hoboken, New Jersey.

"Second is the series of seemingly bizarre accidents - each more sinister than the last - allegedly arranged by the "Opera Ghost," an opponent who goes by many names and is more than equal to Holmes.

"Alone in a strange and spectacular city, with none of his normal resources, Holmes is commissioned to protect a vulnerable young soprano, whose beautiful voice obsesses a creature no one believes is real, but whose jealousy is lethal.

"In this dazzling, long-awaited sequel to "The Seven Per-cent Solution," the detective pits wits against a musical maniac, and we are treated to an adventure unlike any other in the archives of Sherlock Holmes."

There you have it :D The first Sherlock Holmes pastiche review on the blog. I seriously think anyone should read it though - it's a great book. Did I mention I read it in one day? *wink*