Background and Story Info
Even though I’m a big fan of mysteries and thrillers, I haven’t read many books by bestselling author James Patterson, who is unquestionably one of the most successful mystery and thriller writers of all time.
I think I’ve read three or four books by him. I enjoyed each of them a lot, though. If that was the case, then why haven’t I read more by him? Well, that’s a good question that I’m not sure I’ve got a good answer to — other than that maybe I’ve found the sheer volume of James Patterson’s works to be somewhat intimidating!
For example, what if I decide to dive into his Alex Cross series and I end up loving it? There are currently over 30 novels in that series, plus novellas and a spinoff series. That’s a very, very big commitment to make as a reader!
I’ll probably do it at some point, but I’m not quite there yet. However, I got excited late last year when it was announced that Patterson (with co-writer Brian Sitts) was going to soon be releasing what appeared to be a stand-alone novel called Holmes, Marple & Poe.
The title instantly intrigued me. Was this book going to be a new story featuring Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary Sherlock Holmes character and Agatha Christie’s also legendary character Miss Jane Marple? If so, that could be great, but how would Edgar Allan Poe come into it, since he was a writer and not a fictional character like Holmes and Marple?
Also, the cover of the book alluded to them as “The Greatest Crime-Solving Team Of The 21st Century.” What exactly did that mean? Were the characters and the writer somehow existing now in the 2020s — or was this story going to possibly be about their descendants?
Or was it all maybe about something else completely different than those two possibilities?
I was very curious about it all, so I pre-ordered the novel, which was released on January 3, 2024.
Here is the description of Holmes, Marple & Poe from the site of the book’s publisher, Hachette Books:
Crime! Murder! Who are you going to call?
In New York City, three intriguing, smart, and stylish private investigators open Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. Who are these detectives with famous names and mysterious, untraceable pasts?
Brendan Holmes — The Brain: Identifies suspects via deduction and logic.
Margaret Marple — The Eyes: Possesses powers of observation too often underestimated.
Auguste Poe — The Muscle: Chases down every lead no matter how dangerous or dark.
The agency’s daring methodology and headline-making solves attract the attention of NYPD Detective Helene Grey. Her solo investigation into her three unknowable competitors rivals the best mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Edgar Allan Poe.
And, if that’s not enough for you, here is a trailer for the book from the official YouTube page of James Patterson:
My Review
Right from the beginning, this story was very fast-paced and compelling. Readers are immediately thrown into a case that Holmes, Marple, and Poe are investigating and it’s very exciting.
After the case is quickly resolved, the pace of the novel doesn’t slow down. It’s not very long until the trio is involved with multiple other cases and mysteries they need to solve.
As I said above, it’s all incredibly fast-paced. As is the case in most of James Patterson’s books, from what I understand, the chapters here are all very short. Most of them ended with some sort of hook that made me want to keep reading right into the following chapter.
However, even though I was enjoying the story, there came a point (maybe around a quarter of the way into it) when I was hoping that the action would slow down a little bit so that I could learn more about the three main characters— Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple, and Auguste Poe.
Everything I’d been reading up to that point had been primarily focused on their cases. While they were certainly compelling and cleverly constructed mysteries, I started to become impatient for there to be more of a focus on who these three investigators were. One-fourth into the book, I still felt as if I knew almost nothing about them.
The above blurb from the novel’s publisher asks, “Who are these detectives with famous names and mysterious, untraceable pasts?” So, yes, that’s one of the many mysteries that are going on in this novel — and I probably should have been a bit more patient.
What can I say, though? I liked these characters and wanted to know more about them!
Were those mysteries eventually fully answered? Did I learn enough about Holmes, Marple, and Poe to make me happy?
Well, unfortunately, I can’t tell you that without giving away too much about the story.
Sorry!
I’ll say this, though — after finishing this novel, I was very happy to learn that there is going to be a sequel to it and it will be published in early 2025.
Whether or not I learned the answers to all of the mysteries surrounding Holmes, Marple, and Poe in this first book (again, I’m not saying), I’m intrigued enough about the characters that I want to get to know them even better in the next book — and also see what other exciting adventures are in their futures.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced story containing some very clever and entertaining mysteries, I highly recommend Holmes, Marple & Poe to you.
This review was originally published on Medium.
Buddy Gott 