The Novel Approach

Kissing Sherlock Holmes by T.D. McKinney & Terry Wylis

Kissing Sherlock Holmes has everything in it a good mystery ought to have: treachery, treason, blackmail, murder, attempted murder, and most important of all, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson working the case.

It’s the spring of 1896 and Holmes and Watson have left 221B Baker Street to travel to Surrey, to Toddington Oaks to apprehend a spy in Her Majesty’s midst. There’s danger afoot every step of the way, especially for Watson, as Holmes poses as fiancé to one Miss Winnifred Farnham, daughter of Charles Farnham, twelfth Viscount Toddington, in order to apprehend the traitor to the crown. It seems a mere case of concentrating all Holmes’ deductive reasoning and detective skills on the one likeliest suspect. But as is usually the case, nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems and suddenly everyone becomes a likely suspect, as Holmes and Watson must re-concentrate their efforts on discovering the true identity of the treasonous subject.

With plenty of potential culprits now in the wings, but only one who will eventually take center stage, it becomes a race against time to find the key player in this intrigue because that person has Dr. Watson dead in their sites, in the most literal way, and there’s no way on earth Sherlock Holmes will stand for any more harm to come to the man he loves. Yes, that would be Watson. Who else did you think would be kissing Sherlock Holmes?

T.D. McKinney and Terry Wylis have pulled off a great coup, first in writing a believable romance between two of literatures most well know characters, but also writing this book so convincingly that there was not even a single inkling it hadn’t been written in 1896. As a dear friend put it so succinctly, “they NAILED the language,” and I couldn’t agree more. Why did I find the romance so believable? Largely because the self-professed misogynist, one Sherlock Holmes, convinced me he wasn’t entirely incapable of romantic feelings, merely that he hadn’t found the right person to direct those feelings toward until Dr. Watson gave him just the right clue to follow.

All the propriety, gentility, and customary underestimating of the women of the Victorian era are displayed to perfection in the narrative, and both Holmes and Watson are as authentic as they could possibly be, though re-imagined, obviously, as two men very deeply in love. Their affection for each other was ever present in Watson’s thoughts and Holmes’ knowing glances, even as they must hide the true nature of their partnership from everyone but those who’ve earned their trust.

The only potential distraction I could find with this book was that the identity of the true traitor became obvious a bit early, which only made the cat and mouse element more entertaining as the great Sherlock Holmes finally catches up to the reader.

If you’re a fan of the original Baker Street boys and don’t mind the idea of the two men professing their love for each other, give Kissing Sherlock Holmes a try.

Buy Kissing Sherlock Holmes HERE.