The Reichenbach Problem ~ Review

The Reichenbach Problem
by Martin Allison Booth

Have you ever wondered about the man behind Sherlock Holmes?
Well, Martin Allison Booth has done more than wonder with his The Reichenbach Problem.

Struggling to deal with his unexpected fame with the creation of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle takes a solitary holiday on the continent in search of the peace that he needs.  But in the peaceful Swiss village he instead finds a Holmes fan determined to have him solve a crime that is worthy of the great detective that he has created.

With a cast of characters from the across the continent who each seem to have their own personal demons that they are dealing with Doyle has his work cut out for him.  But was the death of a fellow guest an accident or was it murder?

The Reichenbach Problem will take you on a journey of discovery about Conan Doyle as he discovers himself for who he truly is in relation to his characters.  Is he more Holmes or more Watson?  Or is he a combination of the two?

This is the first book in a trilogy fictionalizing Conan Doyle's life and I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out on the page.  And I'm hoping that the next books will also deal with his life on his home soil.

I was provided a copy of this book by Kregel in exchange for my honest review.


About the book:

Arthur Conan Doyle is on the run from his own fame. Taking a much-needed holiday, Doyle escapes to a picturesque village in Switzerland nestled beneath the imposing Reichenbach Falls. There he hopes to find anonymity, but even in this beautiful rural setting, peace eludes him when he finds himself immediately recognized and involved in the investigation of the mysterious death of a fellow traveler.

All too soon, Doyle's somewhat unwilling, gentle probing into the case causes the finger of suspicion to turn toward him. But can the creator of the famous detective actually do the sleuthing himself? As Doyle learns more and more about the famous character he penned, he finds he is less like Sherlock and more like his sidekick, Watson. Can the "sidekick" see enough of the picture to solve the case for once?

Sherlock Holmes has fascinated readers since he first burst into fiction, over one hundred years ago. In this novel, the first in a trilogy, we meet his author and discover the difficult relationship between them.