SERIOUSLY?!

What is wrong with me?!  I've just been through my genres (i.e. "labels") and realized that I have only ever once mentioned the Alienist and its sequel, the Angel of Darkness.  I must be mad.  They are by Caleb Carr, the wonderful author who brought Holmes and Watson back to life so well in the Italian Secretary.  Both the Alienist and Angel, or the "Kreizler books" as I'll probably start calling them from now on, pre-date the Secretary and are by far superior.

The two books, if you have not read them, center on the adventures of Dr. Lazlo Kreizler and his friends and colleagues as they solve turn-of-the-century New York's most baffling serial crimes.  I shan't give away too much, because you must read them.  They are fast-paced, highly entertaining, and very thought-provoking.  I've read both repeatedly -- as in more than four time a piece -- and never tire of them.  Once I pick up the Alienist, and I cannot put it down until I have finished it.  READ IT!  You must!

HOLMES AND WATSON LIVE!

One of my favorite things to listen to lately has been the Sherlock Holmes radio play podcast in iTunes. The majority of the ones broadcast are the ones starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, which oddly brings a measure of believability to them. I enjoy them immensely. They have led me to read he Hound of the Baskervilles (I Break for Holmes), which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Normally, I am not one to read books by one authoring featuring another author's characters, but when it comes to author Caleb Carr, I'm willing to make an exception. He is one of the most thorough, masterful tellers of mystery stories I've ever read. His books on Lazslo Kreizler, the Alienist and the Angel of Darkness are two of my favorite books. I reread them repeatedly. My sister Ginna and I both reread them often. They are amazing. When I saw the Italian Secretary, it looked very interesting. I didn't read it right away -- I believe I was in the middle of the final Harry Potter.

I finally picked up the Secretary last Monday (and finished it on Thursday). Carr was faithful to the method Conan Doyle used to tell his stories -- Watson's point of view. Carr was once again masterful in his method of storytelling. I could almost hear Nigel Bruce telling this story, which for me, was like having Watson himself tell me. The story had an element of the supernatural that was never fully explained, which bothered me a little because I don't really care for loose ends. But this loose end had a purpose, and that purpose was for the reader, as well as Watson, to draw her one conclusions. It bugged me enough (not in a bad way) that I was thinking about it for days afterward, wondering what Holmes believed.

There was plenty of history, one of the things Carr, as a history professor, is wonderful at weaving into his stories. It takes place in Edinburgh, a city I have been able to visit, and that made a difference in being able to "be there."

If you like mystery and history, check this one out. Perhaps it will lead you to read the original Holmes stories, or more of Caleb Carr, both of which I highly recommend.

I BREAK FOR HOLMES

I recently took a break from Brooks to read some Holmes. Sherlock Holmes. I have never actually read any Conan Doyle, although I am a huge fan of the old radio plays with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (iTunes, people -- it's a wonderful thing). I'd always wanted to hear or read the Hound of the Baskervilles, but never got around to it. Till now.

I listened to a different radio play version of the Hound about a month ago and enjoyed the story. This week, I read the book finally. I didn't realize until about Sunday night that I had one of those skinny Dover Thrift Editions, and so when I saw it, I had to take it up.

And then I couldn't put it down -- except for work time. I was almost afraid to read it at night -- I live by myself, after all, and have a vivid imagination. Yet I did. As I read, I realized how much was left out of the radio play. There was still enough in the play that I didn't miss the gist of the story -- the wife/sister, the crazy scientist, the convict. But I didn't recall Mrs. Laura Lyons from the play at all. Which means I need to go back to my old adage of not viewing or listening to any adaptations before I read the literature. It was always something that was important to me when I was younger, and I've sort of forgotten that. However, if I hadn't neglected that adage even a little bit, I might never have read the Aubrey/Maturin novels, and they are some of my favorites.

Still, I loved the Hound! It was a fun read, especially since it, as all Holmes stories, is from Dr. Watson's point of view. I definitely sympathized with the doctor, especially when it was evident that Holmes had lied to him. Poor devil, as they both would say.