Changes

|rating=43.5

|pages=320394

An old gypsy woman places a curse on guests at a ball, leaving the upper class revellers shocked. When, over the next few years, misfortune befalls several of the party-goers, potted -meat magnate Donald Wheelwright knows there's only one recourse left to him - to call Sherlock Holmes. It's a slightly different version of Holmes from that we've come to expect, though. The detective, far from being an emotionless man, is capable of feeling strongly for the right woman - could the detective find love as well as the answer to the mystery?

Holmes tells his cousin Henry Vernier - who along with his wife Michelle tells this entertaining tale - that Watson's portrayal of him was flawed in many ways. This 'new' Sherlock is perhaps more likeable than Conan Doyle's, and it's the blossoming of his friendship with Wheelwright's wife Violet which is the most interesting part of the novel. The mystery aspect is handled well enough but fails to stand out from the crowd of Conan Doyle imitators, and also rather overstays its welcome. I've always found Sherlock to work better in shorter works than in long ones, and nearly 400 pages is too much to sustain the suspense here. Adding to that is the somewhat confusing narrative, which switches from Henry to Michelle on certain chapters but never makes it clear who each chapter focuses on, leaving the first few paragraphs of several of them to be difficult to get to grips with.