Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell

Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell

My rating: 4.44 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Less Than Three Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike many reviews I’ve attempted recently, the start of this one is easy: Why did I read this work here? Because it involves Sherlock Holmes, it’s a short story, it’s a mystery, and I like all three things. Plus it might be interesting to read what a female Holmes might be like, with a female Watson. I do not go in knowing if they are supposed to have a relationship or not, just that the two main characters have been ‘regendered’. The work was in the LGBT section, though.


I’ve never read the author before, though, and no one else has read and reviewed this work. So I’m a risk-taker. *nods* That’s why I requested the story, though, what I said up there. It looked interesting.

Was it?

Well the opening was weird. About a dream, the dreamer dreamed they were a stingray swimming around the ocean. At the time of reading the opening for the first time, I had had no clue who the dreamer might be, though it becomes clear later.

The second noticeable thing, after the weird dream, is that the police person Holmes tended to talk with (I’ve the vague idea this is the case) has also been regendered. Is everyone in this story female? Well the homeless woman lying dead at Lestrade’s feet is also female. So . . . yes? More information needed (ah, Holmes makes reference to an imaginary male police detective as the stand-in for the average police investigator, therefore, there be males on this world, question answered; a male in the flesh finally appears – Mycroft remains male in this universe).

Right, let’s stop with writing about each word, sentence, and paragraph.

Why was Holmes called in for the death of a homeless woman? Holmes name was carved into the body.

Holmes doesn’t seem as outwardly all-knowing in this universe.

Ah, wonder why it took me so long to realize why things felt ‘off’. Everything is from Holmes point of view, not Watson’s. It’s odd being in Holmes head, though other stories have done it.

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This is set in modern times, based on well-hidden clues, like mobile phones.
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Eww, kissing.

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That’s what my reviews become with short stories: Random thoughts with Lexxi as she reads (oops, I admit now, I’m writing this as I read).

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There’s a nice buzz/vibe to watching Holmes investigate, but . . . I can’t say as it’d be spoiler-y.

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The mystery plot-line was interesting, though there was that issue I can’t mention for spoiler-y reasons. The romance plot-line was . . . different. Well, not really – romance has popped up in Holmes stories before and tends to be weird/different than the norm. As it is/was here. So I guess, in that sense, the romance plot-line meshes with my idea of Holmes, for being weird. Heh.

All-in-all this was an interesting story. On one hand, making this be a Holmes story adds a certain tension to things, at least to me, to my reading of the story. Needing to watch closely at this interpretation of the character. On the other hand, this story probably works . . . better as a Holmes story, at least one set in modern times like the modern television series are. Better as there are added layers already built into the story – like I knew about Holmes drug issue, the connection to Watson, Lestrade, Moriarty, and Mycroft. And to boxing. Oh, and the vague not-clearly-stated asexual vibe of the character.

There were only two things really missing from this story: I might have preferred it set a century ago for . . . reasons; and there was no connection to music like Holmes’s love of listening to or playing music in the original stories (or was that a later addition?). At least I do not think I noticed music. Was there music? Hmms. I don’t think there was. No matter.

Rating: 4.44

June 23 2018




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