The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.

In 1910, tuberculosis threatens the life of Dr. Watson’s wife, Juliet, in bestseller Meyer’s disappointing fifth Sherlock Holmes pastiche (after 2019’s The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols). Following medical advice, the Watsons travel to Cairo so that Juliet can be treated at a sanitorium in a drier climate. During a visit to a bar, Watson encounters Holmes, who’s in the city investigating the disappearance of the Duke of Uxbridge. The nobleman, an Egyptologist in search of treasure stored in a pharaoh’s unopened tomb, hasn’t been in contact with his wife for months, and there’s no sign of him at the hotel where he normally stays during his annual visits to Cairo. The ensuing inquiry, which the doctor eagerly joins in, soon becomes a murder investigation. The routine plot culminates in an action-packed climax out of an Indiana Jones movie, the mystery element is minimal, and Meyer touches on no larger themes as he’s done in the past. Fans of the author’s creative reimaginings of Conan Doyle’s characters will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary. (Nov.)