Sherlock Holmes: The Labyrinth of Death

In Lovegrove’s middling fifth Sherlock Holmes pastiche (after 2016’s Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows), Sir Osbert Woolfson, a judge, consults the Baker Street duo after his beloved 29-year-old daughter, Hannah, disappears. Given Hannah’s awareness of his depression following the death of his wife, Sir Osbert refuses to believe that she vanished of her own free will, but the absence of any demands argue against foul play on the part of someone seeking money or revenge. Holmes finds a cache of letters that Hannah received from a friend, Sophia Tompkins, who has become involved with the Elysians, a mysterious group devoted to ancient Greek myths and rituals. The Elysians gather at Charfrome Old Place, a huge estate in the country. Holmes and Watson travel to the area to see whether Hannah went to Old Place in search of Sophia. The plot thereafter veers into territory reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie. Lovegrove does a convincing job of capturing Watson’s voice, though he overdoes the doctor’s emotional involvement in the case. He also uses clichés that Conan Doyle would never have used (“I’ll have at the blackguard”). (June)