The Seven-Percent Solution

Well this was a real pleasure to read. In “editing” the reminiscences of Dr. Watson, Meyer perfectly captures the cadences of Conan Doyle's prose and the premise of the book is both original and intriguing. Positing that Holmes didn't fake his own death at the hands of Professor Moriaty at the Reichenbach Falls, Meyer instead spins a tale of a detective in the grip of Cocaine paranoia who is saved by the actions of the faithful Watson and none other than Sigmund Freud himself!

Set mainly in Vienna, this is supposedly a long lost case that Watson had promised not to reveal until all the protagonists were dead. It is brilliantly done, featuring not only Watson but also Mycroft and the real Professor Moriarty (who is quite different to Doyle's villain). Holmes's long road back to recovery involves both analysis by Freud and his stumbling upon a case that features kidnapping, Bavarian Aristocracy and a break-neck pursuit by steam train. All tremendous fun.

As an alternative history of a significant part of the great detective's life it is immense fun and certainly a better read than the more recent House of Silk, which was, in hindsight, pretty humourless and whose subject matter left a bad taste in the mouth.

I shall be tracking down Meyer's other two Holmes novels, because if they are half as good as this they will be well worth reading. Recommended.