A Case of Witchcraft – A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
by acaseofwitchcraft
My debut novel is a tale of witchcraft in the Northern Isles, in which some long-concealed secrets are revealed — concerning not only the Dark Arts but also the Great Detective himself.
The mystery is set in the year 1899. Although it begins and ends in Baker Street, most of the action takes place in the Northern Isles, in the days leading up to Hallowe’en. My novel is not (strictly speaking) a pastiche, as it is not written in the style, or from the viewpoint, of Dr. Watson; instead, I have attempted to explore some aspects of Holmes’s character which remain obscure in the Doctor’s narratives: his intellectual and philosophical interests, for example, and the riddle of his sexuality. Watson’s role of assistant in this story is taken by the young Aleister Crowley.
The book comes out on the 5th September and is already selling well on Amazon UK, Amazon Kindle, Amazon USA and iBooks (iPad and iPhone).
A Case of Witchcraft 
On the ‘Holmes Purist’ spectrum (in regards to pastiches), many would place me extremely far on the ‘As Close to the Canon as Possible’ side; that is, I like my pastiches and AV adaptations as period perfect and canonically exact as possible. Rigid as this stance may seem, I do allow myself a modicum of flexibility which enables the discovery and enjoyment of the rare gem of a book such as Joe Revill’s ‘A Case of Witchcraft’. This is not to say Revill’s novel is period not-perfect or canonically not-exact; to the contrary, it’s obvious a tremendous amount of time/place research went into the background writing. What I was initially alarmed about was the potential for, in my opinion, the number one Sherlock pastiche mistake: the use of the supernatural as a causal agent in the narrative; not a characters’ belief in the supernatural, but the actual existence of the supernatural as a force which interacts with the physical world. Thankfully, Revill’s book completely avoids this mistake. So that leaves me worrying about a few odds and ends: the treatment of sexuality (Holmes’ in particular), extended use of philosophical/religious dialogues/diatribes (usually a reflection of the writer’s opinions and not Holmes’) and/or the radical deviation from standard canonical practices (e.g. Watson replaced by a different companion). Without revealing any of the plot, it’s exactly these ‘odds and ends’ which make A Case of Witchcraft not only a successful novel, but somewhat unique in the vast library of Holmes pastiches.