Sherlock Holmes Missing Years: Timbuktu

The copyright has run out on using the Holmes character, first invented by Arthur Conan Doyle, and the result is a slew of good, new Holmesian page-turners by others....Vasudev Murthy's Timbuktu is one of the new ones, and it's a blisteringly hot read, both literally and literarily; as the Sahara Desert is hot, so too is the plot of this book. This Holmes adventure (as told by Dr. Watson) is full of intrigue and risk, desert sun, sand, and scimitars.

Timbuktu imaginatively portrays what might have happened during the "missing years" between Sherlock Holmes's supposed death at Reichenbach Falls in 1891 and his return to London in 1894....The plot revolves around an ancient manuscript, torn in two by the great medieval world traveler Ibn Batuta, an concealed in two different locations to prevent the unworthy from learning its secret. Holmes, in possession of one half, travels in hot pursuit of the other, with the evil Professor Moriarty hot on his trail. A supernatural twist at the end is not consistent with the classic Holmes canon, but even purists should have plenty of fun getting there.

Yet another version of what the Great Detective was up to during the busiest period of his life: the three years when he was presumed dead. Murthy, who's already offered a quite different account of the Great Hiatus (Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years: Japan, 2015), now begs to differ with himself. Holmes wasn't in the Far East between 1891 and 1894 after all; he was in Italy and Africa in pursuit of a manuscript from the time of Marco Polo, half of which Antonio Rozzi, chief conservator of the Venice Museum, brought to Baker Street shortly before Holmes' disagreement with Professor Moriarty led to those greatly exaggerated reports of his death. Since the manuscript, once its two halves are united, promises the secret of everlasting life, the stakes are high. Nor is Holmes, disguised as a Polish priest with the implicit blessing of the Holy See, the only person who's looking for it. A Tangier secret society called the Guardian of the Letter, which has had custody of the second half of the manuscript for 500 years, has been so stirred up by a visit from Thalassery Vatoot Mohammad Koya, an Indian cinnamon merchant descended from its original author, that they've joined forces with Col. Sebastian Moran, Moriarty's right-hand man, to seize the Venetian half. If this sounds like a recipe for exotic adventure and canned history rather than crime and detection, that's exactly what it is, and Holmes, though he naturally excels as explorer and diplomat, has precious little to do - and Watson, who spends most of his time grousing about his companion's undying fondness for writing obscure monographs, still less - in the role that made him famous. Shame on you, says Watson, if you don't like the heroes in their unaccustomed new roles. Readers who expect Holmes and Watson to act like Holmes and Watson may want to think twice before taking this particular plunge.

A fine pastiche that will take its place in the ever-growing libraries of Holmesians around the world....A very worthwhile reading experience, indeed.

An intriguing fictional account of Sherlock Holmes' adventures after his, possibly staged, fight with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls and his disappearance....He seems to have been having great adventures all over North Africa....Vasudev Murthy's writing conjures images of an Africa long gone....A great addition to my Sherlock Holmes bookshelf.

...the supernatural element? Oh yes, it exists, and plays a major part in the book. If you are a Sherlockian who is only interested in rational explanations, you may find yourself frustrated by Timbuktu. But those readers who like the thrill of the mystical will find that Murthy is able to handle the unexplained and the spiritual with a subtle hand, deftly balancing it against the heroes and villains of the physical world.

First of all, and perhaps most important, is that Vasudev Murthy is a very good writer. In addition, he can write in several different voices in the same book. Most of Timbuktu is in the voice of Dr. Watson, but some is in the voice of Sherlock Holmes, some is in the voice of an eighth century Arab traveler and his letters, some is in the translated voice of Arabic poetry, and others. That is quite an art! The author also seems to have a precise knowledge of a wide variety of subjects (sound like somebody we know?)....it is a good read, well written and it will be part of my library. It is available from Amazon and other sources. And I guess I am sorry that I never had the chance to visit Timbuktu when it was possible to do so!

Fans of Sherlock Holmes cannot get enough, and this is an excellent pastiche -- with a very similar tone to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This is the second of Murthy's Holmesian pastiches and, like the first, which was set mostly in Japan, it provokes two responses. First, Murthy is one fine writer. Second, why ever is he hitching his wagon to Sherlock Holmes? Once again he's produced an excellent adventure. This one features a quest that takes our heroes to the Vatican for some sparring with the Holy Father, and on to a camelback trek across the Sahara, seeking a piece of parchment that may have magical powers. Readers can feel the heat, taste the wind-blown sand, and wish they were not in the company of Murthy's mock-ups. We have a snarky Holmes, a lamebrained Watson, and something worse: an undercurrent of mockery. Holmes writes a monograph on brick mud. Moriarty drops in to call Watson's readers lowbrow. The author, in Watson's voice, intrudes to say that if you don't like it, write the publisher. Murthy seems to be having it both ways, cashing in on Holmes while making fun of him. That will leave a bad taste for many Holmesians, but, still, there's some strong storytelling here.

While this novel doesn't feel exactly like a work penned by Arthur Conan Doyle, it is nevertheless and [sic] fun and adventurous story taking the reader across the globe and back through time on a journey they won't soon forget.