The Outrage at the Diogenes Club tells a story of the retired Sherlock Holmes. the original stories, it is told from the perspective of Dr. Watson, and is written in a language mimicking the original stories, so fans of Sherlock Holmes will meet a familiar style.

Without writing spoilers, the story itself follows the “usual” format: we are introduced to the situation, then Sherlock Holmes vanishes to do his magic, and finally everything is revealed. Usually, the reader has no way of knowing what Sherlock Holmes does, but here there are quite a few clues given to the reader, so we can easily figure out some parts of what’s going on in the background.

I think the story is well-written and entertaining. It was a pretty quick two-evening read for me.

I have to mention the formatting of the book. I received a print copy of the book through a Goodreads giveaway, and I found quite a few issues with the formatting. The first thing I noticed when I opened the book, was the HUGE line spacing. It’s every second line is blank. The book could easily be half as many pages with normal line spacing. The second minor issue is the quotation marks. Sometimes opening quote marks are missing, sometimes closing quote marks are missing, sometimes there are two opening quote marks etc. (I’m not talking about when a quote is quoted. See page 139.) Sometimes a single quote opens the dialogue and a double quote closes it. (See page 109, 141.) Sometimes it’s not clear that we’re already reading a dialogue because there was no quote mark. Luckily this is only a formatting issue, and can be corrected in future prints of the book. The next formatting issue is the links in the back of the book. This is a printed book. I can’t click on the links. No need to make them a different color and underline them. :) In fact, I have no idea where you want me to go, so since I can’t click on the printed text, an actual link text or QR code would be nice instead of the different color. Speaking of different color, two parts of the book are for some reason printed in gray instead of black. Page 19 and page 124. The blank pages have page numbers. They should be completely blank. I’m talking about the blank pages right before chapters start. Pages 18, 46, 64, 78, 106, 118, 136, 146, 154, 158.

The biggest formatting issue, though, is the double spaces. This was VERY annoying. Sometimes there are two spaces between sentences. Not always. There should only be one space between sentences, not two or more. If I had to pick one annoying part of the formatting, then this is it.

Luckily these issues can be corrected pretty quickly, so future prints of the book may be a lot easier to read.

Because these issues should be easy to fix, I’m only concentrating on the story when giving my points. The story itself is entertaining and fun to read, so overall, I’m giving this book 5 stars.giveaways1 Thomas TurleyAuthor 9 books8

The Outrage at the Diogenes Club is another (if not the latest) book in Daniel D. Victor’s excellent American Literati series. It recounts the facts behind an unfinished novel by Jack London. The writer makes but a brief appearance in the story (an inconclusive interview with a stuffy Dr. Watson); his subsequent participation is through correspondence. London regales the doctor with a second-hand, fantastic story of an Assassination Bureau, which eliminates “corrupt rulers, crooked business magnates, vicious criminals, and the ” that it considers “enemies of the public good.” Watson is initially skeptical, and Holmes openly incredulous, although—having battled the vast criminal empire of Professor Moriarty—it seems odd that they would find an Assassination Bureau so preposterous. Years pass, and the famous names on London’s list begin to die, or almost die, with regularity. When the assassins target his own brother, Mycroft, Holmes is forced to take the idea seriously. Then comes the “outrage” at the Diogenes Club. A reviewer’s obligation to withhold spoilers prevents me from proceeding further. Suffice it to say that Jack London never finishes his novel, and the bureau’s last murder will have worldwide consequences. Throughout the book, Victor’s spot-on characterizations, historical accuracy, and proper Canonical style make for delightful reading. He seems thoroughly at home with all his authors, including Conan Doyle. My only complaint is that Dr. Watson’s limited lifespan will probably end this fine series before my favorite 20th-century writers can appear!sherlock-holmes Dale476 10

Perhaps Mycroft Holmes is a tad too predictable…

My thanks go out to Steve and Timi at MX Publishing for my copy of this book. Undershaw forever!

This is volume four in the Sherlock Holmes and the American Literati series.

Jack London makes contact with Watson during the time London lived in disguise in the East End getting material for his novel “The People of the Abyss.” He states that he has come across evidence of a crime syndicate planning a series of assassinations of public figures. He even has names.

London is in his street disguise and Watson is rather uncharitable, mentally insulting anything from London’s nationality to his intelligence. When Holmes arrives home, he and Watson share a good laugh over the very idea that London could have discovered something that Holmes doesn’t already know.

But then people on the list start dying…

Frankly, I found this book less interesting than the three books that precede it in this series. Where the others were expanded and retold versions of original Doyle stories, this one lacks that particular charm. For me, the story would work fine without the addition of Jack London. London is more of an opening gambit than a participant in the tale. The other stories benefit from the inclusion of American authors; this one is more “meh!”

I am not saying that Victor’s writing is any less than before, but this story misses the formula that made the other books so unique. The whole thing is just a major let down. I didn’t really it at all.

I will give it three stars…

Quoth the Raven…
mystery sherlock-holmes thriller Barry SmolinAuthor 6 books6

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