Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'Sherlock Holmes: The Voice of Treason'

 

Writer(s):   Cavan Scott & George Mann

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   Nicholas Boulton/Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

 

Summary: Investigating a crime seemingly unconnected to the Royal Family, Holmes & Watson uncover a conspiracy to kidnap Queen Victoria and destabilise the British Empire. With a ticking clock to her next public engagement, Holmes and Watson must discover who is behind the plot and locate her majesty, while Mycroft tries to keep the monarch’s disappearance a secret from the British people. To rescue the Queen, Holmes must team up with a surprising ally. This is an Audible Original Drama, with a cast of over thirty and lasting eight hours.    (Alongside the drama is a free Alexa Skill 'The Great Game', a murder mystery story where the power lies in your hands, which acts as a prologue) 

 

Review: I so wanted to enjoy this, having previously enjoyed Sherlockian (and 'Doctor Who') stories written by Scott and Mann. However, it just went on for too long, and there were too many characters, meaning that in several scenes I entirely lost who was speaking or even exactly who was present in a scene. Large portions of the plot also seemed to have been extracted from the film "Victoria and Abdul". However, the real disappointment was Holdbrook-Smith's Watson, who seems to be concentrating so hard on his gruff tone that he forgets to infuse Watson with any humanity. I found myself wishing that Don Gilet (who was playing Watson's formerly alcoholic brother) was playing the part. Boulton's Holmes had his moments, but the only stand-out performance for me was from Frances Jeater as Queen Victoria. I would also have welcomed more of Greg Page's Mycroft Holmes. With a heavy heart I am unable to recommend this drama to anyone. However, 'The Great Game' is worth a little over an hour of your time.

 

 

Rating:    (2/5)  

 

Link to audio:  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Voice-of-Treason-Audiobook/B084C5WCKN

Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective'

 

Writer(s):   David Stuart-Davies

 

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   David Stuart-Davies/Jeff Leasley

 

Summary:  A dramatization based on the works of Arthur Conan Doyle  ('The Speckled Band'/'A Study in Scarlet'/'The Final Problem'), adapted by and starring David Stuart-Davies, and taking us from the Battle of Maiwand to the Reichenbach Falls.

 

Review: This short audio play (55 mins) is an excellent dramatization of one of Holmes' most famous cases 'The Speckled Band', bookended by the first few chapters of 'A Study in Scarlet' and a condensed 'The Final Problem'. The cast includes Maggie Ollerenshaw as the client, Helen Stoner. Already a big fan of Stuart-Davies having seen his one-man Sherlockian show 'The Game's Afoot', no less than three times, I thoroughly enjoyed his take on this classic tale, put in context by the start and 'end' of Holmes and Watson's working relationship. I would welcome a sequel with a post-Reichenbach case, preceded by an extract from 'The Empty House' explaining Holmes' resurrection.

 

Rating:    (4/5)  

 

Link to audio:  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sherlock-Holmes-Audiobook/B01MYNXCZG

Sherlockian Audio Reviews - 'You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and his London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard'

 

Writer(s):   Marcia Wilson

 

Narrator/Holmes & Watson:   Dominic Lopez

 

Summary:  Meet Sherlock Holmes through the eyes of his fellow lodger once again... and meet both through the eyes of the Yard - especially those who saw them the most: Inspectors Lestrade, Gregson, and Bradstreet. From Montague Street to a supposedly straightforward case of smuggling in Cornwall, Scotland Yard saw more than the disconcerting and dazzling private detective: it also saw an admirable and steadfast British soldier who shared their need for justice. Doctor John Watson may call himself unremarkable, but the Yard would disagree...

 

Review: This audio comprises a few short stories to set the scene, then the novella, 'You Buy Bones'. The focus is on the Scotland Yarders, Lestrade and Bradstreet in particular, as well as the underappreciated Doctor John Watson. Sherlock Holmes is very much a secondary character in these stories, with the focus being on character pieces involving those who orbit him in the original stories. For a story that intends to show Watson (and to a lesser extent Holmes) through the eyes of the Scotland Yarders, I found it strange that it was written in the third person, rather than being a first person account by Lestrade, and Dominic Lopez's narration was a little one-note, but these were minor quibbbles.

 

Rating:    (3/5)  

 

Link to Audio:  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/You-Buy-Bones-Sherlock-Holmes-and-his-London-Through-the-Eyes-of-Scotland-Yard-Audiobook/B01JN9FV8O