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Book Review: Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird

I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was a kid. My parents got me The Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle one Christmas, and I was hooked.

My enjoyment of the character spread to his various film and TV incarnations. If I had to pick a preferred version of the great detective... I couldn't. I like them all for different reasons, which would make a great article of its own one day...

I know other authors have tackled Holmes and Watson, and kept their literary adventurers alive and well, but I never bothered picking one up until I came across Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird. I didn't believe anyone could continue what Doyle did in book form. Fortunately, when it came to Ms. MacBird's work, I was wrong.

Art in the Bloods reads a lot like Doyle's stories, with Watson continuing to narrate some "lost cases" he and Holmes embarked on. This one has to do with art theft, a series of murders, and a child's disappearance.

The story gets dark -- real dark -- but MacBird maintains the narrative style we've come to expect from Watson, so nothing is too gruesome or out of character for these stories. This is a fast paced and thrilling adventure in the style of the originals (just like it says on the back of the book) but trust me, as a long-time fan, this is very much the real deal!

If you've read Doyle's work, this will feel like a welcome reunion with old friends, right down to the prose MacBird incorporates to tell the tale. She's got the tone and style down, and I respect her for it.

Art in the Blood is a Good, and highly recommended for fans.

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