Product Description

] "Watson, do you believe in ghosts?"
With this question, Sherlock Holmes shatters the calm of a quiet evening in their London flat and, with Dr. John Watson at his side, embarks upon a particularly strange case. Holmes has received a request for aid from Lord Charles Cary, whose family is seemingly being threatened by ghosts in and around the family manor. The manor is Torre Abbey, a twelfth-century monastery in Torquay, Devon, and it has a long history of hauntings. While skeptical of the supernatural, Holmes does believe that the Cary family is in danger-a belief which proves to be horrifyingly accurate when, shortly after they arrive at Torre Abbey, a household member dies suddenly, mysteriously, and seemingly of fright. As strange sightings and threatening apparitions become almost commonplace, Holmes must uncover the secrets of the haunted abbey and the family that lives there if he is to have any hope of protecting the living and avenging the dead. In a case that taxes his wits, and seems beyond the reach of his usual methods, Holmes must grapple with his most deadly and unforgiving foe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #994512 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In her second attempt to capture the spirit of Holmes and Watson, Bugge is more successful than in her first, The Star of India, but nonetheless the novel is marred by a mawkish sensibility not present in the original series. This time the Great Detective and his sidekick return to the site of The Hound of the Baskervilles, where they confront a strange household haunted by another figure out of legend--the ghost of a monk decapitated in the 14th century. Situated in Devon, the Torre Abbey monastery was converted in the 17th century into the manor house of the aristocratic Cary family. Three family members--siblings Charles and Elizabeth and their recently widowed mother, Marion--still live there with their small staff: a cook and her bastard son, a chambermaid and a butler. Lord Charles entreats Holmes to visit after he and his fragile sister see a ghost. Holmes quickly ascertains that everyone in the small household has a secret, but he and Watson must still conduct a seance, a foxhunt and a walk on the moor to uncover the human agents behind apparently supernatural events and a very real murder. Once again Bugge's careful period descriptions capture the trappings and incidentals of Conan Doyle's novels, but readers will find her version of Holmes a bit more sentimental and not as sharp as the indelible original. Agent, Susan Ginsburg at Writer's House. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Lord Charles Cary contacts Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to seek their help in protecting his mother and sister from the ghosts that haunt the Cary manor house--formerly a monastery--in the resort town of Devon. Holmes and Watson arrive just in time for a murder, but before they can solve the crime, they must sort out the guilty secrets held by Cary, his family, the servants, and the neighbors. In her fourth novel, Buggedoes a compelling and realistic job of bringing Holmes and Watson back to life. She offers a complicated plot, the appealing atmosphere of the Victorian resort, and much fascinating information on ghosts, seances, and medieval English history. Her brisk plot and concise prose are a welcome relief from many Holmes re-creations, which too often collapse under the weight of excessive period detail and unwieldy language. Suggest this one to Holmes buffs who liked Nicholas Meyer's take on the sleuth in the deerstalker hat. John Rowen

About the Author
Carol Bugge is the author of the novels The Star of India (St. Martin's, 1998), Who Killed Blanche Dubois? (Berkeley, 1999), and Who Killed Dorian Gray? (forthcoming). Also a playwright and short story writer, she lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

"A Wonderful Mysterious Atmosphere"
From the first time Holmes and Watson enter the ancient monastery, now family manor, you feel the chill that permeates the stone walls. Carole Bugge' has created an ambience that suits two of literature's most beloved fictional characters perfectly. She has given us a ghost, a seance, well defined mysterious characters and, certainly not least, Holmes and Watson together again. I found myself caught up in finding out what was "really" going on in the secretive family of Lord Charles Cary. I felt a part of the author's well described Victorian, dark abbey on the moors atmosphere. The characters are interesting and all have you looking at them for more answers than they are ready to divulge. I enjoyed Holmes and dear Watson as the author lovingly guides them from page to page.I did not purchase the book to compare Ms. Bugge's style of writing to Sir Arthur's. I will always know exactly where on my bookshelves I can find the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and can revisit them whenever I want. I wanted to read a new book that brought Holmes and Watson to the moors again and to an intriguing place called Torre Abbey, which possibly hosts a ghostly presence. I wanted to delight again as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in the midst of another case which, perhaps, was not as it seemed to be. I wanted to read a well executed and enjoyable mystery ....and, I did in The Haunting Of Torre Abbey!

Another great book
The first book I read by Carole Bugge was "The Star of India", and I liked it so much that I was happy to see that she was coming out with another Holmes novel. "The Haunting of Torre Abbey" is great--suspenseful, full of intriguing characters, and it has a good plot. I read it all in one day, because I wanted to see what happened next. If you like her Holmes novels, you'll probably also like "Who Killed Blanche DuBois?", which I also recommend.

The Singular Affair of the Missing Voice of the Master.
I am not altogether sure why this book has received theaccolades it has. While certainly not a horrible or wasted effort, andalthough it thankfully does not stray into non-Holmes territory (likeHolmes having a wife, or that sort of thing), the book just didn't do it for me.

As with many new Holmes stories, the "voice" of this book is too obviously set in the present day, rather than the turn of the century. Little things jar the reader out of the late 1800's. An English Lord telling the background history of a child born out of wedlock says "what horrible creatures we men can be," This does not strike me as a late 19th Century male perspective. While I can't totally disagree with the sentiment, it makes the story momentarily sound modern. While superior to Larry Millet's "Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders", the very same problem with the "voice" of that title shows itself here.

Also, like that book, Holmes is almost entirely at the mercy of events, as opposed to being able to define, predict, or control them. He runs around a lot, but that's about all. At least there are better examples of Holmes brand of deductive reasoning in Bugge's book.

The character of Holmes is much more defined here, and Bugge deserves credit for that. Even so, his character still seems rather off the mark, even more "touchy-feely" than you may be used to.

Another problem with this book is the constant abuse heaped upon poor old Watson! He's knocked out, he's deathly ill, he's falling off horses, and seemingly doomed to whatever disaster can be imagined. Why, I half expected he would accidentally shoot himself with his trusty service revolver!

The identity of the villain will be obvious to anyone who has read any Sherlockia with even a mild detachment. It was certainly no surprise to me, and I don't consider myself to be a master of Holmes and Watson lore, or Holmes' methods.

The book is okay, and kept me reading, but it is hardly an eclipse of the Master. If you want a present-day take on Sherlock Holmes, than this book will fit the bill. If you want an approach more akin to Doyle, you will no doubt find this book "nettlesome" to say the least.