Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows: The First of The Cthulhu Casebooks
It is the autumn of 1880, and Dr John Watson has just returned from Afghanistan. Badly injured and desperate to forget a nightmarish expedition that left him doubting his sanity, Watson is close to destitution when he meets the extraordinary Sherlock Holmes, who is investigating a series of deaths in the Shadwell district of London. Several bodies have been found, the victims appearing to have starved to death over the course of several weeks, and yet they were reported alive and well mere days before. Moreover, there are disturbing reports of creeping shadows that inspire dread in any who stray too close. Holmes deduces a connection between the deaths and a sinister drug lord who is seeking to expand his criminal empire. Yet both he and Watson are soon forced to accept that there are forces at work far more powerful than they could ever have imagined. Forces that can be summoned, if one is brave – or mad – enough to dare…
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Community Reviews
Sherlock/Lovecraft mashups are not uncommon and this is maybe the fourth or fifth one I've read. Because the two mythos are very much at odds (Sherlock is grounded in sanity, empirical thought, and reason, whereas the Cthulhu mythos are all about insanity, things beyond understanding and reason, and creatures and event not in line with rules of nature) they cannot occupy the same space without sacrificing something of one or the other. In this case, the Sherlockian universe is transposed into that of Cthulhu and the reality we know as canon of Sherlock Holmes is presented as a front for his actual cases. I thought this was well done and that Lovegrove adroitly handled the meshing of the two genres with eldritch flair. It was a fun read, and if you enjoy both Sherlock and Lovecraft and are willing to accept that the two cannot coexist without some sacrifice on either side, this is definitely worth your time.
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