Book info

• Title Dead Man's Land
• Author Robert Ryan
• Year 2012
• Genre Mystery

Deep in the trenches of Flanders Fields, men are dying in their thousands every day. So one more death shouldn't be a surprise. But then a body turns up with bizarre injuries, and Sherlock Holmes' former sidekick Dr John Watson - unable to fight for his country due to injury but able to serve it through his medical expertise - finds his suspicions raised. The face has a blue-ish tinge, the jaw is clamped shut in a terrible rictus and the eyes are almost popping out of his head, as if the man had seen unimaginable horror. Something is terribly wrong. But this is just the beginning. Soon more bodies appear, and Watson must discover who is the killer in the trenches. Who can he trust? Who is the enemy? And can he find the perpetrator before he kills again?

Thoughts

There’s a natural nervousness that you feel when reading a book that uses much loved characters from previous works, and this book gave me that feeling. I needn’t have worried though. It’s a book that follows Dr Watson on his travels to France during the First World War, after his adventures with Sherlock Holmes.

It’s very well written, reminiscent of the style of Conan Doyle, and it gets across the horrors and ravages of war incredibly vividly. There’s a war going on, but a crime to be investigated as well, and despite his reluctance, Watson is drawn into it from the very beginning.

I enjoyed the book, particularly as there are references to Sherlock Holmes and then appearances from the great man himself, but never overshadowing the main event. For once, Holmes’ great mind takes a back seat because there is a bigger battle being fought.

Rating: 4 / 5