Book Reviews - Mrs Hudson Investigates
Posted by Steve Emecz on
Book Reviews - Mrs Hudson Investigates by Susan Knight.
Sherlock Holmes Society of London
“I believe this is Susan Knight’s first collection of stories about the investigative abilities of Sherlock Holmes’s esteemed housekeeper, Mrs Martha Hudson. And a triumph it is too. The book contains seven tales, all told with great clarity and affection. Not all are full-blown investigations, but each has its place in helping us to understand the character — and hitherto unrecognised talents — of dear Mrs Hudson. Throughout the volume we have occasional glimpses of “the doctor” and “Mr H”, but it is Mrs Hudson who rightly remains centre stage. This is an extremely humorous book that shines a light on the domestic arrangements at 221B which we rarely get the opportunity to read about. Let’s hope the author has further stories planned.”
Wendy Heyman-Marsaw, author - Memoirs from Mrs. Hudson’s Kitchen
"Although Mrs. Hudson is the 3rd most recurring character in the Sherlockian Canon, we know very little about her. But Susan Knight gives us a fully realized portrait of her in the seven short stories in Mrs. Hudson Investigates. Her stories are steeped in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s originals and provide the reader with credible and skillfully written plots.
Mrs. Hudson encounters her mysteries in plausible ways. She may be sought after by women in delicate situations that require a female’s involvement or plunged into a mystery that she encounters whilst venturing out on her own holiday. Inevitably, Mrs. Hudson relies on her understanding of her famous lodger’s methods of deduction and her own gifts of great common sense and clear, insightful intelligence. And like Sherlock Holmes, she even metes out in one case a higher justice than what the constabulary would.
The first story sets the tone of the book. It is replete with ingenious plot twists that will challenge and delight the most sophisticated mystery buffs. The other stories take Mrs. Hudson from the posh country homes of titled gentry to the slums of Victorian Edinburgh and the world of psychic phenomena.
Susan Knight has crafted a compelling character and her stories are an edifying read for both Sherlockians and mystery lovers alike. I sincerely hope this is but the first instalment of the adventures of her Mrs. Hudson."
Mrs Hudson Investigates is available from:
The Strand Magazine (special offer)