The Defaced Men (Sherlock Holmes) by Tim Major

The Defaced Men (Sherlock Holmes) Reviews

• 
  Stephen Robert Collins

  This set around a zoopraxiscope a special camera invented by Eadweard Muybridge in 1850s. I goodled this and when you see pictures of Muybridge you not stop laughing across between ZZ Top, Santa Claus and Charles Darwin a bread so long it goes to his waste in V shape.
  Muybridge is villain he got away with murder. Yet Holmes is helping him even though he does not like him.
  Set around early photos and moving pictures. You could say Muybridge started porngrahic movies.
• 
  Connie

  This isn't the first Sherlock Holmes book that I've read from this author. I read The Back to Front Murders, and I really enjoyed it, but this one just didn't hit the spot, unfortunately. I found it dragged at points, and when the story went off in a different direction, I felt a bit confused, much like Watson did.
• 
  Ghostly_pale26

  CAWPILE 6.14
  
  My first Tim Major Sherlock story, I quite enjoyed the writing style and it read quickly, the pages flew by. I didn't particularly like Eadweard Muybridge's character so I didn't feel much sympathy for his trials and tribulations but the story worked out well and I did enjoy the twists and turns.
  Would read more from Tim Major in the future.
• 
  P.A.

  This book was well researched, based on actual events and people of the late 19th century. The story was engaging and written close to the Canon. I enjoyed the natural dialogue of the characters, but the Holmes/Watson relationship felt strained. The way one partner felt about how he was treated, but also the other's tenacious actions—let’s just say, I’ve seen many a marriage dissolve for less. This story is set in 1896, which means since their relationship began in 1881, Watson’s patience qualifies him for sainthood.
• 
  Annarella

  I liked other Sherlock novels by this author but wasn't a big fan of this one.
  There's an interesting character, Eadweard Muybridge, and I liked the well researched parts about the moving pictures and what was before Lumiere invented cinema.
  After an intriguing starts the plot drags and becomes a bit too confusing as it adds subplots and clues.
  I wanted to understand what was happening but i struggled to end it.
  I can't say I disliked it but it was ok.
  Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
• 
  Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews

  When I spoke to Tim Major following the release of his previous Sherlock Holmes book, The Back-T0-Front Murder, he hinted at both another Holmes book to come, and a part of what the story would be about, film. and thus, after a long wait that book is finally here in the form of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men.
  
  This adventure begins as all decent Sherlock Holmes stories does, with a client coming to call upon the detective and his partner in their home at 221B Baker Street. Whilst most people coming to ask for help from the worlds greatest detective come with a story this client, Eadweard Muybridge, comes with something of a visual presentation. Muybridge is an expert in film cinematography, using the fairly new technology as an aid for studying anatomy, and answering academic questions.
  
  During his recent tour he's been using his photographic plates to show off his findings to his audiences; but in his latest show something usual happened. Muybridge projects the plate for Holmes and Watson to reveal footage of himself that has been defaced, with his face scratched out, and the words R.I.P. above him. Muybridge also tells them that someone recently tried to hit him with a cab, and that he's now begun to fear for his life.
  
  Intrigued by the case, Holmes agrees to take it on, and at the next show on Muybridge's tour some more unusual events happen, and another defaced plate is revealed to the audience. As Holmes begins to investigate the case his journey takes him to a house fire that claimed the life of a man; but how is it connected to Muybridge?
  
  The central mystery of The Defaced Men feels like it should be a simple one. Someone is gaining access to the slides before they're projected and is making alterations to them. It feels like the kind of case that Holmes should have wrapped up pretty quickly. But as the book goes on it becomes clear that there's a lot more going on than first appears, and that threats and extortion are far from the worst crime being committed.
  
  I loved the way that Major was able to take a simple set-up and spin it out into something much bigger and complex in a way that didn't feel like it was being forced, or where certain reveals and revelations were so strange that they derailed the plot. Whilst where the book ends up is very different from how it starts it feels like a natural conclusion, and that these incidents could very clearly lead into each other.
  
  It's clear that Tim Major did a lot of research for this book, particularly into the realm of early cinematic techniques. Film is one of those areas where I had no idea what the early technology was like, or how it evolved; so getting to see some of that here, getting to learn how these early techniques were employed and how they were developed was hugely interesting.
  
  One of the things that I liked about the book was how well Major managed to capture the characters voices. Holmes can sometimes be a hard character for folks to get right, and can on occasion be made too aloof, or too rude; but here he feels like a decent, natural Holmes that's very much in line with the Conan Doyle original. Watson is done similarly well, and there are a few moments with the character that elicit a chuckle or two because Major has managed to make him charming and funny without resorting into making him a buffoon.
  
  The new characters are also very well crafted, and Muybridge is one of those characters who you end up kind of disliking very quickly. He's not a bad person, and is very much a target of a criminal mind, but there are times where he comes across, for lack of a better term, as a dick. He needs Holmes' help but is still kind of rude, kind of annoying. It's nice to have a 'victim' in one of these stories that isn't someone who's a shrinking violet, or who's so desperate that they're at the end of their rope. Holmes is there to help him but he's still kind of the worst, and I really liked that.
  
  The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men is an interesting new mystery story that introduces something new that the detective hasn't really had to deal with in his adventures before. It has decent depictions of the characters, and a plot that will keep you guessing throughout.
• 
  Calvin Daniels

  A 2.5
  
  The 'New Adventures' collection is a bit of an up and down one and this was certainly down with a lot of dry/tedious detail about early moving pictures that made it a rather boring read even at just 250 pages.
• 
  Muji B

  Loved the suspenseful mystery element of this. Sherlock Holmes novels are a classic and it never fails!
• 
  Christopher Lutz

  Tim Major does a great job with Sherlock and Watson, but his plots can meander somewhat which makes the overall story a bit mediocre.
• 
  Jim Benton

  Even as a fan of the history of photography, this one is a bit stiff. Authors need to excise the "Watson is an idiot" trope going forward.