The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

Paperback, 340 pages

English language

Published Nov. 13, 2019 by Ace.

ISBN:: 978-0-440-00133-1

(1 review)

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham finds himself drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called …

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham finds himself drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark.

But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas' stock-in-trade.

2 editions

Sally Strange reviewed The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

Queer Steampunk Fantasy Sherlock Holmes

5 stars

I swear every chapter of this could have been a full book on its own. The title describes the grand vision, but the details make it work. For example Shaharazade Haas' and John Wyndham's (the initials give away their roles) trip to an alternate dimension with definite 1984 vibes, except instead of Big Brother, there's a mind-warping demon-king who is mostly glimpsed in dreams. Haas is deliciously anarchic while Wyndham is adorably prudish yet nonjudgmental. His narration is frequently hilarious and also touching at times. It is a bit pompous and overwrought, but that fits with his character.

Everyone is gay and it's no big deal--the mystery our MCs are trying to solve involves the fate of an engagement between two women, whose main struggle is not whether society will accept their orientation, but whether their relationship will survive murder attempts by exes and/or the stultifying confines of a marriage …

I swear every chapter of this could have been a full book on its own. The title describes the grand vision, but the details make it work. For example Shaharazade Haas' and John Wyndham's (the initials give away their roles) trip to an alternate dimension with definite 1984 vibes, except instead of Big Brother, there's a mind-warping demon-king who is mostly glimpsed in dreams. Haas is deliciously anarchic while Wyndham is adorably prudish yet nonjudgmental. His narration is frequently hilarious and also touching at times. It is a bit pompous and overwrought, but that fits with his character.

Everyone is gay and it's no big deal--the mystery our MCs are trying to solve involves the fate of an engagement between two women, whose main struggle is not whether society will accept their orientation, but whether their relationship will survive murder attempts by exes and/or the stultifying confines of a marriage kept within the bounds of merchant respectability.

I said "No complaints" in my comment upon finishing the book, but that's not quite true: I wish there were sequels. I suppose I'll just have to keep reading the adventures of Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator.

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