You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and his London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard

By: Marcia Wilson

Narrated by: Dominic Lopez

"Mr. Holmes is an amateur, Hopkins." Lestrade was smiling around the stem of his pipe as he spoke. Hopkins could hear it. "Not a man who works well in teams, he. He still trusts Dr. Watson not to lie to him...and Dr. Watson's pulled some whoppers to save his skinny neck in the past." Lestrade was still smiling. "Not that that's not the most interesting thing about those fellows. I could tell you some stories about them, Stanley...oh, I could tell you stories..."

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...

©2015 Marcia Wilson (P)2016 MX Publishing

Great view beyond Sherlock Holmes

What made the experience of listening to You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and his London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard the most enjoyable?

This is a wonderful journey into the world around and beyond Sherlock Holmes. The story is rich with detail while it explores a mystery from the perspective of Dr. Watson and Insp. Lestrade. It is a unique perspective on the world usually only seen through Watson'c chronicles of Holmes.

What does Dominic Lopez bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well read with clear characters and an accent that is atmospheric without being distracting to my American ears.

A Bit of Respect for the Working Detectives!

Would you consider the audio edition of You Buy Bones: Sherlock Holmes and his London Through the Eyes of Scotland Yard to be better than the print version?

This was my first exposure to the novel, but I can't imagine the voice in my head being any more enjoyable than listening to Dominic Lopez reading this! The narrator is spot on!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lestrade! In many adaptations (and some of Conan Doyle's own work) Lestrade gets underplayed as a foil for Holmes. But here, Lestrade comes off as an admirable man. I never would have guessed that Lestrade could be interesting as a lead character, but Marcia Wilson made him a hero in his own right!

What about Dominic Lopez’s performance did you like?

Mr. Lopez has a voice that is infinitely easy to listen to. Also, he gives each character his/her own "voice", but this never becomes distracting. The switches between characters and narration flow seamlessly, until you reach the end of yet another chapter and you look at the time and realize you need to go to bed eventually.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There are several moments that moved me, but when the detectives find Watson's notes and realize that he is writing a book about Holmes, and the way each of them reacts -- particularly Lestrade -- felt like a revelation! It felt like Marcia Wilson had figured out how to remain true to Conan Doyle's original vision, but also flesh out the world believably, and add a certain humanity (and likability) to characters whom we have never before bothered to consider in any depth.

Any additional comments?

I was a bit skittish about this concept. I feared that the author might be trying to rewrite or ret-con Holmes and his world. But I was quickly reassured that Wilson loves Holmes and his world just as much as I do, and surprised at just how much she was able to make me love ancillary characters I had always taken for granted!

Watson and Lestrade

very enjoyable story, askew or parallel opens the door to even more . Really Loved it , hope for more.

Not really a tale of Holmes at all

This was an interesting premise, looking at Holmes through others eyes (principally Lestrade). But Holmes was more of a cameo or a spear carrier in this story than a main character. The story revolved around Watson and Lestrade, with a few others in supporting roles.

It was certainly interesting to see Dr. Watson from the outside. The author took the tack that Watson downplayed his achievements and abilities in the stories he wrote, to keep the focus on Holmes. But we see a great many things that make Watson a more interesting and full-fledged character (without support from the Canon, naturally, but this IS a pastiche). I enjoyed seeing Watson and Lestrade help close some very cold cases for the Yard.

So those were the good bits. Now my issues with the story. First, it begins with Lestrade and another inspector in disguise near Stonehenge, working with Holmes on a presumably tricky case. However, after the first chapter or two, it becomes a long reminiscence or flashback on a very early encounter between Watson and Lestrade. The initial story is never resolved, or even mentioned, again. Quite frustrating. In a like vein, Lestrade enters a pool among the inspectors at the Yard on how long Watson will stand for being Holmes' roommate. The consensus is fewer than thirty days. Lestrade enters, and takes the "indefinite" option. We never get to see him collect his winnings.

In addition, there are references to bits of back-story in both Lestrade's and Watson's families, but very little detail is provided. I had the constant feeling that I was reading the second or third book in a series, a book that kept referring to events in the previous books. Indeed, when I visited the Kindle store, I saw that this was the third book in a series, though there is no indication of that on Audible. Given that this is the only audiobook by this author available, it would behoove the editor (or the author herself) to provide a brief prologue, outlining what had come before, that might be referenced in this book.

I have some minor nits about the author misusing words, but I'll pass over them. There were, however, some non-period words and phrases used, that had me saying, "Wait, Victorian English did not have that word, or that colloquialism." But I am admittedly an old curmudgeon, so take that into account when you are considering my review.

Now let's get to the narrator. I will address the thing that will probably bother most listeners more than anything, his pronunciation of Lestrade. He gives it a long A, as in "play," rather than a short A, as in "ah." This, I at first thought was an error. But upon further research, it appears that there is an approximately equal split between both forms. In fact, it is reported that ACD preferred the long A. So if you are one of the people, like myself, who have always pronounced, and heard it pronounced, with a short A, just prepare to grit your teeth every time his name is spoken, and carry on.

But that is not the reason I am criticizing his narration. No, that is down to, as it always is for me, misreading and mispronouncing words. For example, he called it Hardian's Wall, rather than Hadrian's Wall. But that was only one of far too many. And while I have already admitted to being a curmudgeon, this is more than a case of "you kids get off my lawn." Every time a word is so obviously misread or mispronounced, it yanks my attention away from the narrative, and back on to the narrator.

Ideally, the narrator should be transparent. The story should feel as though it flowed straight from the author's pen, or keyboard, into my speakers. I don't want to be aware of the narrator, and I only am when said narrator is being too visible. Any fiction written more than about 50 years ago, or most science fiction and fantasy fiction, features many words and phrases that are not in common parlance today. And if you don't know those words, and their correct pronunciation, it will be quite obvious (and therefore visible) to those of us who do (which tends to be most of the people who read that kind of fiction).

So please, if not for me, then for the children, if you see a word you don't know, LOOK IT UP! Sounding it out just doesn't work for those words. Thank you, very much.

So over all, this was a bit surprising a story. Not what I expected, but interesting naetheless.

A new favourite author

Well, I was by less than half the book when I went searching for the author's page and see if there were more books by her, that should say you something :P

I simply fall in love with the story and yes, part of it is the fact that Watson has a large role in it, as he is the one who discovered the clues of the murder, but it was also because of the Scotland Yard's characters.

There are reflections about the differences between what Holmes, as a private citizen can do that Yarders can't, about how social differences sometimes affect their chance to investigate or pursue a crime, and about how sometimes is simply impossible to investigate something in particular when there are so many crimes happening all the time. Scotland Yard's politics, friendship and rivalry between the copers, all of it create a rich tapestry where the story grows.

There is not a lot of Sherlock Holmes in this book and yet, I did not miss him, I was too enthralled in the tale to do it; that's how good the story is.

This is a tale set early into Holmes and Watson acquaintance, just after 'A Study in Scarlet' and it's fun to see the Yarders betting about how long would take for Watson to move out *laughs* But I also enjoyed being witness to their respect for the good doctor. I really liked Lestrade and Bradstreet in this story, their friendship is deep and rooted in respect and a shared thirst for justice. They become real persons, not a plot device to advance it or shone an even better light on Holmes' brilliance.

It's also fascinating to see this Watson; deeply troubled by his suspicions and his relationship with the suspect, haunted by the memories of war and still suffering from his wounds which aren't healing as well as he wished, but determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

The mystery itself is absorbing not because we are in search of the culprit but because we need to find proof of his horrific crimes. And in doing so, it submerges us into the less than palatable practices by some of the most respectable members of the medical profession and the world of the graverobbers.

Strong and powerful characterization, amazing writing, great plot, amazingly detailed setting and sense of place and time, what else could we ask from a story?

I liked the narration by Dominic Lopez but a little bit of editing to avoid repeated lines and long silences would have been nice.

Absolutely Love it!!

I thought it was a Sherlock Holmes mystery but it was more Watson this time but I didn't feel slighted at all. Watson did his own superb job of it!

Bones not Holmes

Any additional comments?

If you were dying for Sherlock Holmes as the featured character you will be sorely disappointed. The book mainly features very damaged, recently returned war veteran, Major/Doctor John Watson as seen through the eyes of Lestrade, Bradstreet and the yard. The stories are different but the narration is not the best. There are lines repeated, words mispronounced and a most of it delivered in a droning monotone that was annoying. I am not a fan of Dominic Lopez. I did like the in depth characterization of Watson as I have a soft spot for him. Don't waste your credit on this one.

Great Original story

The early days of Holmes and Watson are presented from the perspective of inspectors of Scotland Yard. Workplace politics and rivalries abound and the characters are fleshed out. They even take bets on how long Holmes’ new roommate will last with him. The title novella is absolutely riveting. Watson returns from a medical conference feeling uneasy about what occurred there. Watson and the Scotland Yard detectives are investigating a case where murder, grave robbers and legend appear to overlap with the medical society. Watson wants tread lightly so Holmes is left out. I throughly enjoyed the Watson-centric adventures. The narration was excellent. I received a free audiobook code for my honest review.