Sherlock Holmes Book Reviews - The Devil's Disciples
Posted by Steve Emecz on
David Stuart Davies
What is required in a new Sherlock Holmes story is a strong fidelity to the original characters and their ethos so that we are reassured that we are really encountering that magical duo of Conan Doyle’s imagination – and of course a clever and exciting plot. Richard Ryan provides both in spades in 'The Devil’s Disciples'. This surely is one of Watson’s tales extracted from the fabled tin despatch box. The background to this adventure concerns the Fenian bombings and the outrages perpetrated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the late Victorian period and Holmes is given the challenging task to capture the dynamiters. The author weaves a cunning scenario around these well researched actual happenings, placing Holmes and good old Watson at the heart of the dramatic occurrences. There is a wonderful freshness mixed with a comfortable familiarity in this intriguing new exploit of the Great Detective.
Matt Coyle, Anthony Award winner - bestselling author of the Rick Cahill crime series
"The game is afoot in Richard T. Ryan's engaging Sherlock Holmes tale, The Devil's Disciples. Ryan captures 1880s London so well you can feel the cobblestone streets beneath your feet as you read. His Holmes and Watson are spot on, and you can hear the literary voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle throughout the book. If you're a Sherlockian, you won't want to miss The Devil's Disciples".
Jack Sacco, pulitzer prize nominated author of Where The Birds Never Sing
"as riveting as it is clever"
The Devil's Disciples is Richard Ryan's eighth stand-alone Holmes novel and is available pre-publication via this website and pre-order via all good bookstores including:
In the early- and mid-1880s, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the forerunner of the modern IRA, waged a bombing campaign that terrorized the citizens of London for more than four years. Explosives were detonated in such places as the Tower of London, the House of Commons, Victoria station and at the London Bridge. The bombings were carried out in an attempt to secure Ireland’s freedom from England. The Fenians, as they were called, hoped citizens would put pressure on the government to resolve the dispute.
Implored by the government to end the reign of terror, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson take up residence in a doss house in Whitechapel, which would achieve even greater notoriety a few years later courtesy of Jack the Ripper, posing as dock workers in order to learn more about the shadowy group and ingratiate themselves with its members. When Holmes learns a new bomb-maker is on the way and the bombings will increase in frequency, he understands time is running out.
Despite proving his bona fides by bombing 10 Downing Street, Holmes is still held at arm’s length by the group’s leader Michael. As plans for the extensive new bombing campaign are formulated, Holmes realizes that he must act quickly in order to stop the terror. However, as clever as Holmes is, Michael is his match. The Devil’s Disciples pits Holmes against an adversary who is every bit as cunning as he – but far more ruthless.