Got to page 260 but had to stop - graphic description of an experiment on a live animal was too much for me, and I felt it was totally unnecessary. Also, there is a story within a story with this book, and the bulk of it doesn’t involve Sherlock or Watson, which is disappointing. I loved the first book in this series, but definitely not the second.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable mash-up of Sherlock Holmes with the horror tales of H. P. Lovecraft.

Dr John Watson is a ‘tired, frightened old man’ who sees his life ebbing away. He writes these stories because he wants to unburden himself of secrets long held. Holmes has been dead for years, and Watson feels it’s time to write ‘the truth of the matter’. He doesn’t expect these scribblings to be published or seen by the public.

Lovegrove has had a lot of fun with this pastiche of Sherlock Holmes. He has also done a sterling job of replicating the tone of Conan Doyle’s writing and story telling. From the get-go, he turns the original stories on their heads, but keeps enough of the originals to make it familiar.

All our favourite characters are present including Mrs Hudson, Mycroft and the Diogenes Club, not to mention the hallowed rooms at 221B Baker Street.

Holmes and Watson find themselves embroiled in a case that has less to do with scientific deduction work, and more to do with malicious supernatural beings. Old Gods that have been lurking around the dark for millennia, are summoned to grant power to a mastermind of crime. History has taught us that this will not go well!

This is great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are four books in total, and I will be seeking out the next in the series: Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities.