Fog is foggy in the end. Yes, I said it. But it does not take away form the read. It is still a recommended series, but I’ll be dropping it from here.
My reasons are simple. As soon as a piece of work crosses a line I cannot believe or acknowledge for a character, they lose me. In this book, the end is where it happened.
"The Devil's Grin" (A. Kronberg #1) by A. Wendeberg
Rating: 4/5
I picked up this story on bookbub – I was hardly going to say no to a free pastiche. Since I got it on a whim there wasn’t any time to form many expectations, so I can’t say whether it met them or not. I think even if I had come across it in a shop I would have been intrigued, though. Some sections will contain spoilers; I will say when.
Canon: The story takes place in 1889/90, which means it is shortly before The Final Problem. There is very little reference to the canon because most of the story, even those parts featuring Holmes, are focused on Kronberg. There are details such as the keeping of tobacco in the slipper etc. but little in the way of events. Irene Adler’s photograph is used to good effect to develop Holmes and Kronberg’s relationship and to give us more insight into both characters. I enjoyed this moment because Kronberg specifically deduced that Irene was “not someone [Holmes was] fond of” and I have always been sceptical of the persistent assumption that Holmes was in love with her, especially as it usually seems to come hand in hand with the idea of her as a villain or at least very questionably moral, which does not bear much relation to her canonical actions at all. (He certainly respected and admired her, but does that have to mean he was in love? And she was certainly strong-willed and played the part of antagonist in ‘her’ case, but villain?) Anyway, this is not the place for an essay of Holmes and Adler’s relationship. Suffice to say, I like the conclusion drawn here that he was not in love with her, but raised an eyebrow at the suggestion that she was his “weakest spot”. There was also a very sad story about the Irregulars, and Holmes refers to them more than once as being active in this case but they do not play a large role.
Characters: [CONTAINS SPOILERS] Very few canonical characters make appearances. Mycroft, Lestrade, and the Irregulars are all mentioned and play ‘backstage’ roles, but none actually have any lines, so to speak. Watson only appears in person two or three times, but seems characterised fairly well. He is married to and living with “his new wife” – presumably Mary Morstan – at this point, and does not play a significant part in most of the case.
I very much liked the characterisation of Holmes in this pastiche. It is interesting to see him from a different point of view than Watson, but I would question the opening statement that Kronberg wishes “to paint a different picture” of him. I gather the idea is that he appears more vulnerable in this story than he generally does in the canon, but his vulnerability/his “great heart” are hardly unknown in the canon. In any case, though, I very much liked the way he was written and I enjoyed the progression of his relationship with Kronberg.
I should probably at this point get to the spoiler part. Kronberg is a woman in disguise as a man; Anna lives as Anton during the day in order to follow her desired career as a doctor. I warned for spoilers, but this would probably crop up after any small amount of research into the series (it did for me) and is revealed within the first chapter anyway. Anna herself is an engaging, intelligent and caring character who nevertheless – and here comes another similarity with TBA – is a little hypocritical. The hypocrisy – as with Mary in TBA – comes in writing style. She accuses Watson of being overly romantic in his writing and says he uses unnecessary descriptions (such as of wallpaper, hair, and eye colour) but fails to see what is important… etc. etc. She writes with as much descriptive flare as he does and often more. Like Mary though, this is an observation on her character rather than a complaint. It would also be very difficult to write a story from the point of view of a character who dislikes description; description is necessary, or it is more of a play than a novel.
She is the “best bacteriologist” in London and she knows it. Even Holmes acknowledges and appreciates her intelligence, and also respects her as a person. She is caring to the point of frequently putting herself in danger. She is also… well… quite badass. She was once assaulted and later confronted the attackers and told them she would “shoot off their testicles” if she “ever heard they touched a woman without her consent”.
Much of what we find out about both Anna and Holmes is through their own changing perceptions of each other; they both make assumptions, and many of these assumptions are later proved wrong. I have mentioned several times their “developing relationship”. I will say now, I enjoyed it. I really did; it progressed well and believably and I liked both characterisations. I was very torn when it came to the “romantic feelings” however. On the one hand, I rather liked it; like I said, it was believable, it was not overdone, and part of me was pleased because I had seen it coming. On the other hand, it was predictable and a little disappointing. It doesn’t take anything away from a female character to have her fall in love, of course, and I will have to read the rest of the series (which I intend to) to judge how much it changes her character, if at all… but I do wonder if it was really necessary. A lot of my decision on this front (I have not made it yet) will depend on what happens in future books, i.e. is she still her own character or is she going to become a love interest and little else? It worked well enough that this is still only a fairly minor qualm, though.
Story: This pastiche sticks to the very common theme of opening with a paragraph or two about how different and “outrageous” this case was, which is found in numerous canon stories as well. The story is gripping but did not have me on the edge of my seat – although it is quite short and I read it in about two days. I was particularly intrigued by the medical theme. I studied the history of medicine for my GCSEs, and one of my favourite periods to study in general is the Victorian era. I enjoyed the placement of the story in these terms, and was interesting in the historical references. I was also very interested in the difficulties faced by a woman wishing to pursue a medical career in this time. The story is not especially fast-paced, but it is not slow either; there is a lot of undercover work to be done and several tense and dangerous moments. I think it could have been ‘tighter’ in some places; the goal of either criminal or investigator could have been made clearer, but it came through eventually and perhaps it is just me. The mystery only lasts for around half of the book; after that it is a matter of catching, rather than finding, the perpetrators. I get the feeling this is not quite finished yet, and I look forward to a continuation/conclusion in further books.
Lastly… a quote from the end of the case: “Someone is at the centre of all this. We will find him in due course.” – Do I detect a hint of Moriarty, here?
And (spoiler): Anna leaves at the end for a “cottage” which is “far away from London”. I have my suspicions about where this cottage might be, and I can’t decide whether I hope I’m right or wrong. I suppose it depends on how it develops.
Conclusion: An interesting and enjoyable read with well-written original characters. Some small nit-picks but overall highly recommended.
