The Angel of the Crows

Thank you to Rebellion and Netgalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed this fantasy steampunk Victorian Sherlock retelling! :D

Imagine the original Sherlock, but the names are changed, so Watson is now Dr. J. H. Doyle, and Sherlock is an angel called Crow. This Victorian London also boasts of werewolves, vampires and other supernatural creatures, mostly living in peace. Not only that, but they're also investigating Jack the Ripper!

I really enjoyed the angel lore in this universe, it was completely different to anything I've read before! It was great reading about the various categories, and always wanted Crow to share more information, especially about how he didn't really fit with either group.

Embarrassing, but I don't remember a great from the original Sherlock stories, so I can't say how well they were utilised here, but they all had mysterious and supernatural elements. Well, except the Jack the Ripper case, which showed what Scooby Doo has always told us, that sometimes humans are the real monsters!

There were two small things I didn't like; one - the novel could be just a slightly bit shorter (no need to describe in detail the return trip if it's not relevant to the plot), and two - the relationship between Crow and Dr. Doyle. Listen, I thoroughly enjoyed the gender non-conforming (I think I fist pumped at one of the reveals), but I feel like this relationship stagnated, when clearly, CLEARLY, they would not be averse to more, especially Crow, I think (there were quite a few hints from him). Yes, they become best friends and know each others secrets, and are detective partners, but there was definitely subtext at more.

One more note from me: Dr. Doyle has a great, subtle sense of humour, and I found myself snickering several times! Also loved all those Easter eggs (like one of the stalkers being called John Watson XD). Love those things!

All in all, a cool fantasy Sherlock rewrite with gender non-conforming characters, and awesome angel lore!

There are some mixed reviews on Goodreads and I can see why some readers were disappointed in this. The description doesn't really give you much of an idea of what it's actually about and I think some went into it thinking it would be on the same level as the Goblin Emperor. However I went into knowing it was originally a Sherlock Wingfic and as a big Sherlock Holmes and fanfiction fan I was excited to read this one, so much so that I read it even though I have 4 arcs that I should be reading first.
I ended up enjoying this a lot. I even liked the changes she made to Crow's (Sherlock) personality, Crow is much sweeter and caring than the original and actually giggles (adorable) a few times. Doyle (Watson) is much grumpier as well and I think they make a great pair, my favourite parts were when they were between cases and were just finding out about each other. We, through Doyle slowly find out more about Crow and angels in general so it doesn't come across as info dumpy.
I'm not as big a fan of vampires and werewolves as I used to be so I liked that other creatures like ghouls and hellhounds were also added to this world. I also liked the politics involved in humans and supernatural creatures living in (relative) peace along side each other.
There are problems I had with it, I really think it would have been better if she had either focused on the retellings of the original cases or the Jack the Ripper case. The way it's described in the description you would think that it was all about catching Jack but his case is pretty much just a subplot that is briefly covered between the retellings and sometimes mentioned in passing during them. There were a couple of other real-life crimes mentioned but they don't really go anywhere (sequel material maybe?). The closing of the Jack case is anticlimactic in my opinion with how much build up there was. I think she tried to cover too much, I would have been happy with the retellings and parts between being a time to explore the differences in the world and developing Crow and Doyle's relationship. I was also slightly disappointed that Crow and Doyle's relationship didn't turn romantic but their friendship is pure sweetness so I'm not too disappointed. I'd be more than happy to find out this was going to be a series, I'd love to read more.
Overall as long as you pick this up knowing what you're going into you'll enjoy it for what it is.

I devoured this book as fast as my other commitments would let me- this has become one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes retellings. it's compassionate and witty with writing as precise and satisfying as the tick of a clock. Set in an alternate Victorian England where magic and the occult are regular parts of everyday life, The Angel of the Crows uses its fantastical elements to breathe new life into the Sherlock Holmes stories, making this not simply a retelling but a wonderful story in its own right. If you enjoyed Aliette de Bodard's fantastic The Tea Master and the Detective, you'll enjoy this.

I really loved the idea of combining Fantasy (Angel’s) with 19th century Sherlock Holmes. It really brings the characters alive and makes them so much more interesting.
This is a great take on some of Sherlock Holmes most famous cases with the introduction of Vampires and Hellhounds and keeps you wanting more till the very end.
I would love to read more stories with Crow and Doyle.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Rebellion Solaris for eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Angel of the Crows’ by Katherine Addison in exchange for an honest review.

I was charmed from the outset by this paranormal historical mystery. As soon as I realised this and as it had just been published, I bought both its ebook and audiobook editions and so embarked upon an delightful immersive reading experience. I didn’t want it to end.

I don’t want to stray into spoiler territory, so will keep plot details short. Our narrator Dr J. Doyle has just returned from Afghanistan and takes up lodgings in a flat in Baker Street with the eccentric angel Crow, who describes himself as a consulting detective (“the only one in the world”). Familiar? Well, yes and no.

The Angel Crow only takes on cases that interest him, though sometimes he is called upon to work with Scotland Yard. Here Crow and Doyle investigate a series of fascinating cases that includes vampire nests and spectral hounds. They also assist Inspector Lestrade in his investigation into a series of horrific murders in Whitechapel. We are aware that Doyle holds a dark secret about his past and that Crow is also an enigmatic being.

This was ridiculously good fun. I loved Katherine Addison’s late Victorian London with its resident angels alongside other supernatural creatures. Doyle and Crow are a great team and there was plenty of witty banter.

I have my fingers crossed that Addison will write more adventures for this delightful pair in the future.

Highly recommended.

The Angel of the Crows is probably the most thorough reworking, yet also the most authentic reworking, of the Sherlock Holmes stories that I have seen.

The book adapts several of the original stories, including novels (A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four and of course, The Hound of the Baskervilles) and short stories (The Copper Beeches, The Speckled Band, and more) into a magical, alternate 19th century. The two friends - a Dr Doyle (of course) recently returned injured from Afghanistan, and the eccentric, brilliant Crow - share rooms at 221b Baker Street. Gregson and Lestrade still appear, as (in slightly different guises) does Moriarty. The Baker Street Irregulars are replaced by Crow's reliance on a corps of undifferentiated angels... did I mention that Crow is an angel?

We also meet vampires, werewolves, Hellhounds, Haemophages and countless other supernatural creatures, in a world familiar - if not always at ease with - mediums, aetheric disturbances and the Fallen (but you don't REALLY want to meet one of them). You might think all of this would detract from the logic and induction which is supposed to be at the centre of the original stories, but it really doesn't. First, Crow is formidable at sifting through the data and inferring what is going on (and Doyle is no slouch either, he's not a limited Watson). Secondly, those original books were unashamedly sensationalist and The Angel of the Crows gleefully echoes that, whether in a pursuit of a suspect across London carried out with the help of a Cerberus automaton, a fight between Hellhounds on Dartmoor or an expedition into a vampire lair.

Most importantly, this book is not simply derivative - it reinterprets and develops its subject matter, giving it a genuinely new and different sensibility that is much more than mere Victorian pastiche. In the course of these adventures we come, for example, on a character here who isn't conforming to this society's gender expectations, and have to consider the consequences of that. The novel also confronts the legacies of Imperial looting and of racial diversity in London, that most cosmopolitan of Victorian cities.

All this is done while maintaining an exciting and intricate storyline, weaving together its chosen episodes with new adventures and twists on the familiar (look for the reference to "The Sherlock Arms"!)

My only reservation is, in the 1888 set novel, to the background of the (real) Whitechapel Murders. It's hardly original to set the Great Detective and sidekick (though Doyle is more than a sidekick) against that killer and I did wonder if there is really any more that can or should be said here. This was a real killer and the crimes described are real crimes. In discussing them The Angel of the Crows provides plausible analysis and, within the framework of the story, a satisfying conclusion, but on the whole I preferred the properly fictional elements in this book. And those parts certainly deliver a lot, from the thrill of a client arriving with a new case, to the sinister atmosphere of the Great Grimpen Mire to the emerging and troubling position of Crow within the hierarchy of angels in London - almost an outcast, a subject of suspicion, a cause for worry to his friends.

The audio version of the book is excellent, Imogen Church's narration inhabiting a dizzying array of characters and always evoking just the right nuances of language and disposition. Just when you think she can't possibly conjure up another one, there it is - from the slightly babbling enthusiasm of Crow to the stolid Doyle, the Irish of Moriarty and the stiffness of the London police.

I have hopes that this may be the start of a series - there are threads here which could clearly be taken forward - and I hope that is the case. Would definitely recommend.