Sherlock Holmes in Japan by Vasudev Murthy

​"Sherlock Holmes in Japan" by Vasudev Murthy writing as Akira Yamashita- The lost years! 

This book is published by HarperCollins in 2014 and has 288 pages.

Everyone, including Watson, has presumed Sherlock dead. One day Watson gets a letter from Japan with a ticket and a short note from Sherlock. On the boat ride to Japan, his cabin partner is murdered. There is an attempt on Watson. Another murder.

Where will Sherlock meet Watson? What is he doing in Japan? What was he doing for last almost three years? Who is trying to stop from reaching Japan?

It’s a different kind of plot. Yakuza, Japanese equivalent of American mafia has penetrated Japanese foreign service and Sherlock is investigating. What’s different? One, there is hardly any investigation and deduction. Two, most of the story is narrated by a character after the events have happened. Three, a lot of time is spent in travel leaving less time for real detective work. 

They travel from England via Alexandria, Vladivostok,  Aden, Bombay, Calcutta, Angkor Vat, Saigon, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Tokyo. Something happens at each sojourn. Someone is on their trail, some agent of Dr. Moriarty. In Calcutta they meet Prof. Jagdish Chandra Bose. Sherlock develops interest in the Indian and Japanese music. 

This is a Sherlock Holmes novel written years after the original set of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is Holmes’s adventure during ‘great hiatus’. It’s period between May 1891 and April 1894, between supposed death of Sherlock at Reichenbach Falls and his reappearance. 

Author doesn’t copy writing style of Arthur Conan Doyle but still retains similarities with it. Since the author is an Indian, a lot of story unnecessarily happens in India. It’s a slow story. Shaving a few pages off may have been good for it. 

Why did I read this book? Title, cover.

What I didn't like? Lack of detective work.

What did I like? Attention to detail. 

Sherlock Holmes fans can try it, not a must read for others.