aargh. If the author would stick to one plot instead of trying to do so much in the short amount of space he has, I'd be grateful. The main plot of this novel was good -- Sherlock Holmes is called upon by a stage magician who had the honor of performing for his majesty King Edward VII at Sandringham House. While there, a theft of a valuable Rembrandt painting occurred, and even though the magician has been cleared of the theft, he worries that his reputation will suffer if word gets out. So he asks Holmes & Watson to help him. The magician has been invited to return to Sandringham House to once again perform, and wants Holmes & Watson to accompany him & investigate the theft. Now that is a good plot, but instead of trying to flesh that out somewhat, we have two other plot lines that muddy what could have been a good story. -sigh-

If you're planning on trying this as your first Holmes pastiche, don't. Try some others, then come back around to this one -- it's not as enjoyable as others I've read. ( )