The Women of Baker Street by Michelle Birkby

First Line: I am lying so still.

Just as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return from their famous Hound of the Baskervilles case, Mrs. Hudson falls ill and finds herself in bed in a private hospital ward. As the days pass, she learns that all of the other women in the room seem to have more than their fair share of secrets... and it may be her imagination, but a higher number of deaths seem to occur in this ward, too. In fact, on her very first night, Mrs. Hudson could swear that she witnessed a murder. Or was it the effects of the pain medication?

Meanwhile, Mary Watson has heard about young boys disappearing all across London, and she's determined to find them, save them, and reunite them all with their families. What the two women don't expect is that their separate investigations are going to collide in some very surprising ways.

My love affair with this series continues, and now I'm impatiently waiting for book number three. The House at Baker Street and now The Women of Baker Street are for all of us who just knew that there was more to Mrs. Hudson than met Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle's eye. Michelle Birkby's imagination is a delight. Holmes and Watson are supportive but stay out of the women's way. Mrs. Hudson is extremely observant and filled with common sense while Mary Watson is intuitive and impulsive. We get to know more about the Baker Street Irregulars, and who knew that it would be so hard to find good help, what with all the crooks trying to plant spies in Sherlock Holmes' residence?

Birkby is very adept at pacing, as well as ratcheting up the tension and suspense (and the occasional creep factor, too). Her misdirection is excellent; she had me fooled even though I'd deduced the importance of a specific location within a certain room. Yes, the mystery-- and how it is told-- is excellent, but it's what Birkby does with Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson that really wins me over. Holmes trusts his landlady so much that she's the only one in whom he confides his secrets about Jack the Ripper, and Dr. Watson tells her, "Make sure you solve it... It's good for him to have rivals." There are even flashes of humor that make me laugh out loud-- especially the bit about Mrs. Hudson contemplating the demise of a pair of knitting needles.

Even though I can't begin to conceive of crime fiction without Sherlock Holmes, I've never particularly liked him. However, there are so many wonderful series now that add to the Holmes canon by taking a closer look at characters Conan-Doyle kept in the shadows, and Michelle Birkby's is one of the best. I look forward to many more investigations conducted by these two indomitable women. Hats off to Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson!

The Women of Baker Street by Michelle Birkby

ISBN:  9781509809738

Pan Books © 2017

Paperback, 347 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Mrs. Hudson & Mary Watson mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Book Depository 

The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby

First Line: It started with champagne and promises on a sunny afternoon.

Mrs. Hudson is a 48-year-old widow whose only child is also dead. Instead of withering away in the country, she decided to become the landlady of one of the London properties she inherited from her husband. 

Sherlock Holmes has been her tenant for a few years now. Mrs. Hudson knows his habits, has cleaned up all of his messes, and she's upped his rent accordingly. She's also learned a thing or two by sitting beneath the air vent in the kitchen listening to Holmes and Watson solving their cases. 

When Holmes is particularly churlish in turning away Mrs. Laura Shirley, she and Mary Watson unanimously agree to help a fellow woman in need. They'll investigate Mrs. Shirley's case themselves. It doesn't take long for them to realize that Laura Shirley is not the only woman at risk. With the help of the Baker Street Irregulars and Irene Adler, Mrs. Hudson and Mary Watson find themselves untangling a dangerous web of blackmail, libel, extortion, and murder-- a case worthy of the great Holmes himself.

I immediately came under the spell of Mrs. Hudson's voice in Michelle Birkby's wonderful mystery, and when I read the scene on page twelve in which she listens to Holmes through the air vent in her kitchen, I got a smile on my face that never completely went away the entire time I read The House at Baker Street. 

I've never been a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Of his logic and deductive capabilities, yes, but not the man's attitude and behavior toward others. For decades, I've also wanted to know more about Mrs. Hudson. I knew that she could not be a mere Victorian stereotype of an older woman. Just think of all she's had to put up with from Holmes-- and she's never once run screaming into the night. Birkby took all of my questions and suppositions (and much, much more) and turned them into a delightful mystery that is very difficult to piece together. Yes, a book with a pitch-perfect setting, marvelous characters, and a tough mystery to solve-- isn't it great?

Perhaps my favorite quote from the book is this:

I had to prove it, I insisted.

Prove wot?

That I'm not a silly old woman who's only fit for baking cakes! I shouted.

That one quote alone will strike a chord with many readers if I'm not mistaken. The House at Baker Street grabbed me quickly and would not turn me loose. It made me feel a wide range of emotions-- from laughter to dread to fear to sorrow and even anger. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book-- and I won't be waiting for the US edition either. Speaking of which, this will not be released in the US until the end of October. Put it on your wishlist now, but don't worry-- I'll be jogging your memory about it in a few months' time!

 

The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby

ISBN: 9781509807222

Pan Books © 2016

Paperback, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Mrs. Hudson & Mary Watson mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from The Book Depository.