Much darker than the first book. I was surprised at some of the shenanigans and going s-on.. Definitely feels like a bit of an homage to Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Not what I'd call light reading at all.

Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.

Those with more than a passing familiarity of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are aware of his interest in the supernatural. Perhaps mostly famous is his publication of the Cottingley Fairies photographs.  Aside from theosophy, he also sought out mediums, ever hopeful that the dead can speak to those still living and perhaps he could reach out once more to his father, his wife and his son.

This novel is completely fiction, but is based on Doyle’s own leanings. The author imagines a case in which the outcome of a seance convinces Doyle of impending murder. In order to prevent the crime, he ventures to the country house with his unlikely friend Oscar Wilde (The two really were friends).  It is a Thraxton Hall that there is to be a meeting, a symposium of the best minds in paranormal research.  And it is here that the murder is supposed to take place.

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