Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell

I'm going to paste in my Amazon review here, simply because I think you need to know if you're the right audience for this book or not:

First off, there is a reason this book (as I write this) has reviews for 1, 4 and 5 stars, but no 2 or 3. It simply will not appeal to everybody. So let me start with a quick guide as to whether you should read it or not:

1. You are a Holmes fan, but you don't like horror or Clive Barker:
Under no circumstances read this book. You will hate it and it will be a waste of your time and a poor review for the author. If you want a "pure" Holmes book might I suggest the other one I've just finished reading ([b:The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Murder at Sorrow's Crown|25241994|The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Murder at Sorrow's Crown|Steven Savile|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433516680s/25241994.jpg|44961397]). That is well worth the read.

2. You're a horror / Barker fan, but not really into Holmes
Maybe you'll like it, but it depends on whether you think you could read a Holmes story or not, as it's a little while until the book gets to the hellraiser section (see later in the review for more details). If Holmes really isn't your thing then it's likely you'll give up on this before you get to the Cenobites.

3. You love both Holmes and horror / Barker
This could well be for you, but one very important question. Are you a Holmes "purist"?
Yes: You probably shouldn't read it, the crossover element may upset you.
No: Pretty sure you will love this book.
Being a Hellraiser purist shouldn't be an issue, as that slots nicely into pretty much any time period.

Right, that said, on with the actual review! There may be some minor (very general) spoilers here, but I've done my best to avoid giving anything significant away.

The story is set after Holmes has revealed himself to Watson following his "death" at the hands of Moriarty at the Reichenbach falls. He is in search of something, though he doesn't really know what. Part 1 is Watson's account of Holmes around this time, weaved into a few cases that Holmes takes because they are part of his wider search.

Part 2 is told in the third person (unusual (unique?) for a Holmes story, which are always related by Watson), and tells us what happened with Holmes after Reichenbach. Other than this though it's still mostly in the vein of a "normal" Holmes story, though it's more obvious to the horror fan where it's leading, and it's towards the end of this part that the 2 worlds meet properly.

Part 3 is told in alternating chapters - Holmes then Watson - and I won't say anything about this, as I really can't think of what I would say that wouldn't be a spoiler.

If I have any complaints, it's that I found the change from Holmes story to Hellraiser story a little abrupt, even if I knew it was coming. I'm also not entirely sure about some of what occurs in the final part, though I think that's purely subjective. There were some nice little nods there though that I didn't realise until the end (the names of some of the characters, for example, which meant nothing in a Holmes context, so I didn't think twice about it until I got to the end).

Overall, as a fan of both Conan Doyle and Barker, I loved reading this and stayed up far too late to finish it. 4.5 / 5, rounded up to 5 for sheer enjoyment!