The Night Calls

The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes

By: David Pirie

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

As a young medical student, Arthur Conan Doyle - the creator of Sherlock Holmes - studied under the pioneering forensic investigator Dr. Joseph Bell. Critically acclaimed author David Pirie has created an engrossing series of novels that pairs the two as partners in criminal investigations in the dark underworlds of Victorian England.

The Night Calls chronicles a most frightening and disturbing case: their encounter with the man who prefigures Holmes's arch-nemesis Moriarty. This literary tour de force takes Doyle and Bell from the heart of old Edinburgh to the depths of London's most violent streets, where they confront this villainous reprobate who is as brilliant as he is merciless.

©2002 David Pirie (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ranks with the best of the Doyle canon." (Times Literary Supplement)

Enjoyable

An enjoyable listen. I liked the background twist on Sir Aurthur. Now to find the sequel.

Didn't Knock My Socks Off

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but The Night Calls simply did not get any traction with me. I wanted so much to love this book, but I found it tedious and - as another reader wrote - "annoying." This said, if you are looking for Dickens-like detail, this is probably a book you would enjoy. The writing is excellent, BTW, just not my cup of tea. I suggest anyone read the reviews on Amazon before purchasing this book, so you know what you are getting into.

Ends on a Cliffhanger

I know it's a matter of personal taste, but when I buy a novel, I'd like to think I get a full story. I give this novel four stars because it's an excellent novel: The style matches the time period, the plot is interesting, and I like the way the characters are portrayed. What I don't like are novels that end on cliffhangers in a cheap attempt to sell the next book in the series. I'll buy the next book in the series if the one I'm reading is any good. At the same time, this cliffhanger was telegraphed about as much as possible. So I don't knock off a lot for this, but the use of a cliffhanger does keep this novel from getting five stars from me, which I think it would otherwise do quite easily.

As for the narrator, Ralph Lister does fairly well, but not as well (IMHO) as the narrator for the first volume in this series (Richard Matthews). When Ralph Lister does the voice for Dr. Bell, he ends up sounding a bit like Dr. Van Helsing, as if English isn't Dr. Bell's first language. I know Joseph Bell was from Edinburgh, but the accent doesn't ring true for me, At the same time, I appreciate the experience Ralph Lister brings to the table. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but the narration was a bit off for me. It was solid but not enough for the full five stars.

Annoying

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Different narrator

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More complexity. More red herrings, even.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator's accents were atrocious. The Scottish sounded like Romanian (or something), the American/Canadian was all over the place. And why did he have to yell every time one of the Scots spoke? It was distracting, to say the least.

Any additional comments?

I'm 3/4 of the way through and may not be able to finish because I can't really pay attention to the story with all the ridiculous accents being hurled at me.