Caleb Carr takes on the challenge of writing a further adventure of the famous 19th century detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson. He follows a traditional format with the story starting in London at the Baker Street home of Sherlock Holmes with Dr. Watson visiting and Mrs. Hudson in attendance. Here Holmes presents Watson with a telegram from his brother Mycroft Holmes asking him to come to Scotland to work on a case.
It seems Holmes is being asked to investigate a real life ghost story that is said to haunt the HolyRoodHouse castle of Mary Queen of Scots. It seems that Mary's husband, suspecting her of infidelity with her Italian secretary, had the man pulled from her rooms while they dined and repeatedly stabbed by a group of assassins. His ghost is said to haunt the castle down to the present day.
In the story, Queen Victoria uses the castle as her official residence in Edinburgh, and has commissioned an architect to restore the Queen Mary's tower. However, the architect and his assistant are murdered in the same manner as the Italian secretary. The local people think the ghost is taking revenge on his murderers, but Mycroft, suspecting political intrigue and worried for the safety of the queen, calls on Holmes to investigate.
I enjoyed reading the book although I didn't feel that the author was able to capture the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the characters. An important detail for a book that adheres closely to the original author's format. He does write of the 19th century well and the plot is sufficiently interesting for a murder mystery. So, while I enjoyed the book, I do not think it one of the better additions to the works about the famous detective.
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