Book Review: A Case of Royal Blackmail by Sherlock Holmes

In A Case of Royal Blackmail, the 24-year-old Sherlock Holmes recounts how he untangled the web of blackmail and deceit surrounding the ‘complex romantic endeavours’ of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, those of Lillie Langtry and her various suitors and the morass of scandal surrounding the Prince’s court of 1879.

In between times he also reveals how he solved the cases of Vamberry the Wine Merchant, Ricoletti of the Club-foot and His Abominable Wife and Oscar Wilde’s Amethyst Tie-pin.

Eighteen months before Sherlock Holmes meets Dr Watson and the duo of Baker Street is formed, Holmes is a 24 year old finding his feet as a consulting detective.

He soon becomes engrossed in not only recovering a stolen family heirloom for Oscar Wilde but is also looking to a case involving Royalty. Someone is attempting to blackmail the Prince of Wales.

Many people could be involved including Lillie Langtry and her various suitors. It’s real scandal that could rock Queen Victoria’s court in 1879.

Can Sherlock bring his growing number of cases to a satisfying conclusion or has he taken on more than he bargained for?

I love a good detective story and so this immediately appealed to the puzzle solver in me and Sherlock Holmes is one of the greats.

I love that it was written by him – like a case summary. I also liked reference to all the other historical figures – Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde especially as both these people fascinate me. I have always loved it when fiction gets mixed with history. Oh to be a fly on the wall of the real events.

Holmes himself is interesting. He’s maybe a little more naive than we know him to be but he shows his signs of brilliance just the same. I have to admit that I did struggle at times to keep up with who everyone was but this in no way ruined the overall story for me. I just went with it and still managed to know what was going on.

There really is not much else I can say without giving away huge elements of the plot which I don’t want to do. I don’t want to spoil it. I believe it to be a wonderful addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories. I hope they do another one like this.

The Case of Royal Blackmail is a great puzzle of a book that is perfect for anyone who likes a good mystery.

A Case of Royal Blackmail was published by Unicorn Publishing on 1st July 2021. Thank you to them for a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Click to view the book on Amazon UK. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.