Book Review: The Baker Street Translation by Michael Robertson (Baker Street Mysteries #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fast paced story and great characters

Cons: Beginning could have been a little tighter

The Bottom Line:

Another letter

Heaths in even more danger

Fun, hard to put down

Translation: Danger

What happens to the letters people write to Sherlock Holmes?  And could they possibly have hidden crimes in them?  That’s the premise behind a fun series from author Michael Robertson.  The Baker Street Translation is the third to feature Reggie Heath, a lawyer who just happens to have his offices at 221B Baker Street.  Part of Reggie’s lease is that he has to deal with the letters, a job he pawns off on his brother Nigel who happens to be living in Los Angeles these days.  Reggie hates them and is more than happy to not be bothered with them any more.

As this book opens, the only thing on Reggie’s mind is proposing to his girlfriend, actress Laura Rankin, hoping she will say yes and turn her back on her other flame, Robert Buxton.

But when Laura returns from her location shoot, things quickly go south.  Before Reggie can propose, he is called away to the scene of a crime and she is called upon by Buxton’s security guards.  What does all this have to do with the man writing Sherlock Holmes asking for advice on translating English idioms?

This book is fast paced, once it gets going.  I felt like things were a little slow right off the bat, which is ironic since there were a couple scenes that were supposed to give us a clue that something more sinister was coming.  Frankly, I felt the book would have been better off without them.

Anyway, when the mystery gets going, it moves along at breakneck speed and doesn’t let go until you reach the end.  I always had a hard time putting the book down, enjoying every page of the process.

The characters are fun as well.  I can identify with parts of all the heroes, so it makes it easy to root for them to come out on top.  They could use a tad more definition at times, but I think I’m being nit picky at this point.

Even though the book is set in London, it is written by an American.  As a result, I had no issues with the language whatsoever.  Instead, I sailed through the book in just a few days.

Which leaves me impatiently waiting for the next in the series.  The Baker Street Translation is certainly fun and will leave you wanting to know what happens to the characters next, too.

Once you get hooked, you'll want to read the rest of the Baker Street Mysteries in order.