The Angel of the Crows
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- Create Date：2021-06-29 06:52:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Katherine Addison
- ISBN：0765387409
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Summary
Katherine Addison， author of The Goblin Emperor， returns with The Angel of the Crows， a fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London， where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming。
This is not the story you think it is。 These are not the characters you think they are。 This is not the book you are expecting。
In an alternate 1880s London， angels inhabit every public building， and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce。 A fantastic utopia， except for a few things: Angels can Fall， and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds。 And human beings remain human， with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent。
Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too。 But this London has an Angel。 The Angel of the Crows。
This is not the story you think it is。 These are not the characters you think they are。 This is not the book you are expecting。
In an alternate 1880s London， angels inhabit every public building， and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce。 A fantastic utopia， except for a few things: Angels can Fall， and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds。 And human beings remain human， with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent。
Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too。 But this London has an Angel。 The Angel of the Crows。
Reviews
Dagmar
，
One of my favorite writers does it again！ Addison's take on Victorian England and Sherlock Holmes'ian detecting is amazingly in-depth and fun to read。 Would dearly love more about JH Doylecs story AND Crow's story （please 🙏） One of my favorite writers does it again！ Addison's take on Victorian England and Sherlock Holmes'ian detecting is amazingly in-depth and fun to read。 Would dearly love more about JH Doylecs story AND Crow's story （please 🙏） 。。。more
Laura
，
Charming and clever and lovely。 Not quite the utter perfection of The Goblin Emperor， but highly enjoyable。
Ali
，
I came into this book cold， and by that I mean that for some reason I had failed to read the blurb and was totally unaware that this had started life as Sherlock Wingfic！ Having read much Sherlock fan fiction over the years I recognized it for what it was and settled in for a good yarn。 Ms Addison's spin on the original Conan Doyle mysteries in a Victorian steam punk world of magic and mayhem was enjoyable and cleverly done。 I loved her twist on all the characters along with her clever use of th I came into this book cold， and by that I mean that for some reason I had failed to read the blurb and was totally unaware that this had started life as Sherlock Wingfic！ Having read much Sherlock fan fiction over the years I recognized it for what it was and settled in for a good yarn。 Ms Addison's spin on the original Conan Doyle mysteries in a Victorian steam punk world of magic and mayhem was enjoyable and cleverly done。 I loved her twist on all the characters along with her clever use of the Unnamed as the Bow Street irregulars。 A very enjoyable read。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
I have no idea how to organize my thoughts on this one。 In short: I love it dearly。Yes， this is a Sherlock Holmes fanfic， but not directly， or rather， not in the usual way。 It isn't borrowing the characters and setting for new mysteries; it's borrowing the mysteries for an alternate setting and a new twist on the characters。 The references and parallels to canon stories are strong， transparent if you're familiar with them; but this time they're set in a supernatural London。 Since I'm here for ch I have no idea how to organize my thoughts on this one。 In short: I love it dearly。Yes， this is a Sherlock Holmes fanfic， but not directly， or rather， not in the usual way。 It isn't borrowing the characters and setting for new mysteries; it's borrowing the mysteries for an alternate setting and a new twist on the characters。 The references and parallels to canon stories are strong， transparent if you're familiar with them; but this time they're set in a supernatural London。 Since I'm here for characters rather than to be bamboozled by the answers to the mysteries， this suited me perfectly fine。Crow and Doyle are not Holmes and Watson， precisely。 Crow can sensibly be called "if Sherlock Holmes were an angel，" but I'd say rather that Crow is just based on Holmes。 He has all our favorite detective's eagerness and wiry energy， but he's much less of an ass。 Doyle could be "if Watson's war wound were demonic in nature and also， there's gender，" but Doyle stands out as an independent character。 What's important is that the dynamic between them is just right。 I love them both and love them even more together。 I could have read about them forever。 They love each other， okay！！！What else to say？ It's a character-focused delight。 It's Victorian with acknowledgement of the biases of that time。 It lovingly gives texture and depth and life to all its side characters。 The supernatural lore is delivered nicely。 Nothing is explained all at once， so you understand concepts and distinctions over time。 The love and humanity from The Goblin Emperor are here， too， and just as heartwarming。Like The Goblin Emperor， there wasn't much in the way of overarching plot。 It focused on shorter mysteries， with Jack the Ripper as a distant， ongoing conflict。 I don't hate that， and the endling was clear， but I'm left a little unsatisfied。 Maybe just because I want more？ I certainly wanted so much more Moriarty than I got。 （He was incredible。。。！ Bring him back！） Or maybe because the thin main plot was wrapped up so quickly？ To be honest， this almost lost the book a star。 I was so， so in love the entire time， and then I felt a little let down when it was all over。 But I'm granting it five stars on how much I adore it all， and on the hope that we will get a sequel later。 。。。more
Julie Bird
，
This was a fun alternate version of Sherlock Holmes。 Well done！
Tara Webb
，
1000% yes！ This is Sherlock Holmes turned mystical and it is fantastic！ I loved reading how the author shifted the story to the more fantasy side while keeping it all very realistic！ Truly truly a gift to read！！
Al
，
Holmes is just so tired right now。 Throw in werewolves and vampires too？ It's overdone cliche conglomeration with no energy。 Holmes is just so tired right now。 Throw in werewolves and vampires too？ It's overdone cliche conglomeration with no energy。 。。。more
Kendall Culbertson
，
Based on the other reviews I've glanced at， my saving graces here were that a） I am not familiar at all with classic Sherlock Holmes cases， and b） I have not yet read The Goblin Emperor。 I found this book to be a delightful fantasy love letter to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock， with many welcome socially progressive updates。 Since each mystery was new to me， I found the novel compelling throughout。 My only real complaint here is that I wanted more worldbuilding and more story about the Fallen ang Based on the other reviews I've glanced at， my saving graces here were that a） I am not familiar at all with classic Sherlock Holmes cases， and b） I have not yet read The Goblin Emperor。 I found this book to be a delightful fantasy love letter to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock， with many welcome socially progressive updates。 Since each mystery was new to me， I found the novel compelling throughout。 My only real complaint here is that I wanted more worldbuilding and more story about the Fallen angels， but that's a personal preference and clearly wasn't the author's aim。 I loved Addison's beautiful writing style， and I found her protagonists to be both interesting and loveable。 The Goblin Emperor is sitting on my nightstand， and now I'm even more excited to read it！ 。。。more
David Bishop
，
A remix of Sherlock， true-crime， and magic， written as a series of vignettes （some epistolary） there are twists and turns and character growth aplenty。 Without going into spoiler territory I’ll say the ending didn’t quite “land” for me， though it didn’t spoil the book （see my four star rating！）。 But it felt rushed and not as satisfying as I would have hoped。 Still: recommended。T/W: lots of （mostly offscreen） violence to women。
Deirdre Lohrmann
，
I just started this book today and six chapters in a realized this is "Study in Scarlet" by Doyle。 The question is " Do I want to keep reading this？" Not sure just yet。 It is a good read so far， but not really original。 Its a twist on a classic investigator and his comrade Dr。 Watson （ Dr。 Doyle）-leg injury and all， and Lestrade is shown。 I just started this book today and six chapters in a realized this is "Study in Scarlet" by Doyle。 The question is " Do I want to keep reading this？" Not sure just yet。 It is a good read so far， but not really original。 Its a twist on a classic investigator and his comrade Dr。 Watson （ Dr。 Doyle）-leg injury and all， and Lestrade is shown。 。。。more
Gail
，
Fun， interesting story in which the Angel of Crows is a winged Sherlock Holmes and Dr。 Watson is surnamed Doyle， and has been clawed and damaged by a Fallen Angel。 I enjoyed reading it， but disappointed that the mysteries followed the Holmes stories so closely。 The angel universe is unique and interesting， and deserved its own plot， even if the characters were fashioned after Holmes and Watson。 Although the story did wrap the Holmes mysteries around the Jack the Ripper mystery and used the mysti Fun， interesting story in which the Angel of Crows is a winged Sherlock Holmes and Dr。 Watson is surnamed Doyle， and has been clawed and damaged by a Fallen Angel。 I enjoyed reading it， but disappointed that the mysteries followed the Holmes stories so closely。 The angel universe is unique and interesting， and deserved its own plot， even if the characters were fashioned after Holmes and Watson。 Although the story did wrap the Holmes mysteries around the Jack the Ripper mystery and used the mystical bits to solve it， more or less。 I enjoyed the story。 It was easy to read rather than being dense and impenetrable。 Good read。 。。。more
Primrose
，
Did not finish， not what I expected。
Scott Lee
，
I feel compelled to admit right away that I've only ever experienced Sherlock Holmes indirectly--through re-inventions like Disney's The Great Mouse Detective when I was a kid， the two Robert Downy， Jr。 films， and the BBC's marvelous modernized interpretation with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman。 So I cannot speak to this sparkling novel's transformation of the basic elements and a number of the classic tales in a comparative authority， and won't attempt to do so。 Instead I just want to I feel compelled to admit right away that I've only ever experienced Sherlock Holmes indirectly--through re-inventions like Disney's The Great Mouse Detective when I was a kid， the two Robert Downy， Jr。 films， and the BBC's marvelous modernized interpretation with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman。 So I cannot speak to this sparkling novel's transformation of the basic elements and a number of the classic tales in a comparative authority， and won't attempt to do so。 Instead I just want to gush and gush and gush about what Addison has done as a world-builder and storyteller。 The fantastic alternate world that she's created， particularly in Victorian London itself， is absolutely fascinating。 She's incorporated nearly every type of folkloric fantastic creature I can think of， Ghosts， Angels， Fallen Angels， Demons， Vampires， Werewolves， Jenny Greenteeth， Hell-hounds， witches， augurs/seers， etc。 all in a deftly layered absolutely believable package that nevertheless manages to capture the feel of those Victorian novels I have read such as Dickens， the Brontes， etc。 in a manner that captures a distinct British manner and style and yet cements layer upon layer of deeply lived in fantasy as well。 I love that I was still discovering layers of her world well-into the novel， the way one does when living in a place， there are layers and layers of culture， experience， etc。 to be learned/explored etc。 And this novel captures that feeling in its world building in a spectacular manner， while also preserving much of the cultural flavor and milieu of those classics I mentioned， a balancing act that deserves the highest praise。 The only book I've read that achieves the same balance in an alternate history fantasy is Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell。 Then， oh， the characters。 Addison's Holmes and Watson analogues the angel Crow， and Dr。 J。H。 Doyle， both capture enough of the classic characters to be obvious homages/adaptations， while standing entirely on their own。 And like good friends that one knows well but can still be surprised by， Addison is able to bring surprise twists to these characters in a manner shows the same balance between adaptation and innovation that she achieved in her world building。 Crow is simultaneously the ultra-rational， ultra-observant Sherlock analogue but is also startlingly ignorant of some human questions as an angel rather than a man。 Dr。 Doyle is very much the intelligent everyman that John Watson plays in the adaptations of Sherlock Holmes I've been privy to， but with plenty of twists and changes that make the character captivating in whole new ways。 Finally the story itself/themselves are fantastically well-written and superbly entertaining。 Addison has structured the novel as a series of cases， mostly standing alone with characters and their relationship as a through-line。 There is the Jack the Ripper case which is present throughout the novel which adds a single other plot element that stretches the length of the book。 Still， I never felt like I was reading something choppy or broken up--the character's growing understanding of each other， and their continued adventures always kept me anxiously reading whether a given case was ongoing， or they had finished and moved on to another unrelated case that presented itself。 It keeps the focus on the characters themselves quite squarely， which I feel is a strength。 In any case， I used to review here all the time， but had been so busy I'd fallen out of the habbit。 However， I've written three reviews today because I had to get back on here and rave about this book。 Absolutely wonderful piece of work。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Just about perfect。 I never really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes mysteries but this reimagining was hard to put down。 I love Dr。 Doyle and Crow is fantastic。
Basia
，
4。5？ 5？ Idk， I just enjoyed this a whole lot and wish there was more of it。
Readelf
，
I loathe Sherlock Holmes inspired fiction。 I ended up reading this book anyway。 As one of the blurbs said， it isn't the book you think it is。Riffing off the Sherlock Holmes stories gave a good framework for the exploration of a truly fascinating world。 I would like to learn more about this setting and love to see a work which explores it in more detail I loathe Sherlock Holmes inspired fiction。 I ended up reading this book anyway。 As one of the blurbs said， it isn't the book you think it is。Riffing off the Sherlock Holmes stories gave a good framework for the exploration of a truly fascinating world。 I would like to learn more about this setting and love to see a work which explores it in more detail 。。。more
Fred Longenecker
，
I not much into fan fiction， but I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed Katherine Addison's Goblin Emperor。 What made this interesting was having many of the characters be "occult" individuals。 Holmes is an angel and Watson， is very different from what I expected。 I enjoyed her interesting retelling of several Holmes mysteries as well as the involvement in the Jack the Ripper murders。 I not much into fan fiction， but I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed Katherine Addison's Goblin Emperor。 What made this interesting was having many of the characters be "occult" individuals。 Holmes is an angel and Watson， is very different from what I expected。 I enjoyed her interesting retelling of several Holmes mysteries as well as the involvement in the Jack the Ripper murders。 。。。more
Trike
，
A Fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes， with an angel named Crow standing in for the Holmes character and Dr。 J。H。 Doyle playing the Dr。 Watson part。 Moriarty is a vampire， and the overarching story concerns Jack the Ripper， but Addison hits all the Holmes highlights along the way， including the Hound of the Baskervilles。It’s a solid pastiche， and Addison mixes things up just enough that knowledge of the original stories doesn’t tip you off， and she cunningly plays with your expectations if you ar A Fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes， with an angel named Crow standing in for the Holmes character and Dr。 J。H。 Doyle playing the Dr。 Watson part。 Moriarty is a vampire， and the overarching story concerns Jack the Ripper， but Addison hits all the Holmes highlights along the way， including the Hound of the Baskervilles。It’s a solid pastiche， and Addison mixes things up just enough that knowledge of the original stories doesn’t tip you off， and she cunningly plays with your expectations if you are familiar with Doyle’s work。 She throws in some interesting twists for the characters as well， including the fact that （view spoiler）[Doyle is a woman masquerading as a man （hide spoiler）]， and these twists are integral to the tale。I did this one in audiobook， and the narration by Imogen Church is excellent。 。。。more
Selby
，
So， 3 stars， why？ The world building and character development is interesting， and particularly on the character side really improves in the latter half of the book。 Some of the takes on the individual stories are also reasonable。 I think it’s partly that I’m not huge on the Sherlock Holmes fanfic side of it， and that the first half get slow paced
Matt
，
Normally fan fiction is an attempt by amateur authors to extend the universe that they love by telling the stories that they imagine happen outside the confines of the original authors work。 A relevant example of this might be the 'Mary Russell' series by Laurie R。 King， which deftly uses another author's character to create original stories。This is not that sort of fan fiction。 This is simple plagiarism。 Even though Katherine Addison continues to demonstrate that she can write good prose， I'm n Normally fan fiction is an attempt by amateur authors to extend the universe that they love by telling the stories that they imagine happen outside the confines of the original authors work。 A relevant example of this might be the 'Mary Russell' series by Laurie R。 King， which deftly uses another author's character to create original stories。This is not that sort of fan fiction。 This is simple plagiarism。 Even though Katherine Addison continues to demonstrate that she can write good prose， I'm not sure that there is anything in this book to justify it being published。 Only the professionalism of the writing saves this from being a one star review。For some reason， Addison felt it necessary to plot point by plot point simply retell the most famous Author Conan Dole 'Sherlock Holmes' stories like 'A Study in Scarlett'， 'Hound of the Baskervilles'， 'The Speckled Band'， and so forth only with Holmes as some sort of Angel and Dr。 Watson as some sort of transgender werewolf who just might be one of the most egregious Not Like Other Girls trope abuses of all time - she's a girl but not like other girls， who is a werewolf that is not like other werewolves， who is friends with an angel who is not like other angels。Over the course of the story "Holmes" becomes increasingly useless， invisible， and turns into the John Nash character in 'A Beautiful Mind' feverishly collecting paper clippings but solving nothing， leaving all the heavy lifting and useful work to be done by "Dr。 Watson" - because of course she does。All of this might be tolerable if only there was anything original going on here。 If you've read the original stories， there will be pretty much zero mystery here with these pale but winged imitations。Ms。 Addison's publisher: "You really need to publish something。"Ms。 Addison: "But I have writers block。 Can I maybe just get you to edit this pile of Sherlock Holmes/Angel fan fic I wrote when I was 17？"Ms。 Addison's publisher: "Sure。 Just as long as it has your name on it。 Your fans will buy anything。" 。。。more
Tanya
，
“Crow is better since your advent。 More。 。 。 I hesitate to use the word ‘human，’ but less like a machine devoted to murder。” He looked at me， his gaze steady and his eyes very blue。 “Less like someone who might Fall。” [loc。 8155] London， 1888。 A doctor returns from service in Afghanistan， wounded and without purpose。 A friend introduces him to an unusual individual who is looking for someone to go halves on a flat in Baker Street。 A partnership is born。 Perhaps it's not the partnership you're expe “Crow is better since your advent。 More。 。 。 I hesitate to use the word ‘human，’ but less like a machine devoted to murder。” He looked at me， his gaze steady and his eyes very blue。 “Less like someone who might Fall。” [loc。 8155] London， 1888。 A doctor returns from service in Afghanistan， wounded and without purpose。 A friend introduces him to an unusual individual who is looking for someone to go halves on a flat in Baker Street。 A partnership is born。 Perhaps it's not the partnership you're expecting: the doctor's name is J H Doyle， and the person looking for a flatmate is a black-winged angel named Crow， an angel without a dominion， prone to describing himself as the Angel of London。 Doyle's secrets， revealed only gradually to the reader， are like an open book to the angel。 And London is peopled by vampires， hellhounds， werewolves and ghosts， as well as the angels both named and Nameless （but not Fallen -- the Fallen destroy whatever they touch） who protect their dominions and largely tolerate Crow。 Steampunk London， familiar cases given new twists （Addison's transformation of The Hound of the Baskervilles is especially divergent）， and the case that Conan Doyle's Holmes never tackled: a serial killer in the East End， murdering and mutilating prostitutes。 It'd be easy to read this as 'casefic'， like the original sequence of Holmes and Watson stories: the detective solves a case with flashes of brilliance， while his loyal sidekick acts as an intermediary to the mundane world。 But that reading would miss a great deal of the charm of this novel: the growing respect， affection and cooperation between Doyle and Crow， and the ways in which their natures and secrets interact with the old stories to produce something new。 This Crow is gentler and kinder than Holmes: this Doyle has more （and also， in a way， less） agency， and more independence than Dr Watson。 The prose is measured and old-fashioned: not quite Conan Doyle's style， but a pleasing riff on it。 Perhaps there could have been more exploration of the world Addison's built: airships， an America without the United States， the hive-mind of the Nameless， the involvement of the Fallen in human wars 。。。 But the focus is on the evolution of Doyle and Crow's relationship， and that was thoroughly satisfying。 I had already decided that The Angel of the Crows owed as much to the TV series Sherlock as to Conan Doyle's original canon: I was pleased to read the author's note in which she confirmed that it began as Sherlock wingfic。 。。。more
Poptart19 （ren）
，
4。5 starsI absolutely loved this！ It’s an urban fantasy take on Holmes + Watson， with delightful characters， decent creativity， & lots of plot。 I sincerely wish it was a series！[What I liked:]•Crow is delightful！ I haven’t liked a character I’ve read so much for awhile。 He’s intelligent， perceptive， socially awkward， driven， kind， & just really fun to read about。 His excitement is infectious！•There are lots of interesting side characters， like Madame Silvanova， the various other angels， the Mori 4。5 starsI absolutely loved this！ It’s an urban fantasy take on Holmes + Watson， with delightful characters， decent creativity， & lots of plot。 I sincerely wish it was a series！[What I liked:]•Crow is delightful！ I haven’t liked a character I’ve read so much for awhile。 He’s intelligent， perceptive， socially awkward， driven， kind， & just really fun to read about。 His excitement is infectious！•There are lots of interesting side characters， like Madame Silvanova， the various other angels， the Moriarty clan， etc。 Even the bit players are memorable & distinct。•I’m not the most familiar with the Sherlock Holmes universe， but I could still appreciate the nods to the canon: a character named Moriarty， police detectives Lestrade & Jones， the hound of the Baskervilles， Watson reimagined as a doctor named after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle， etc。 It’s all creative & it’s own thing， not a tired recycling of the same old。[What I didn’t like as much:]•There is some world building that needed fleshing out。 What exactly is the registry， & what happens to registered people？ Are vampires & werewolves registered？ What the heck are necrophages & hemophages？ How do they come to be？ How does falling happen？ How does dissolution happen？ Why are angels tied to locations & who instituted the system？ Why does being touched by a fallen angel make you a hell hound？ What exactly is a hell hound， & does it make you immortal？ Why are angels without memory & agency until named， & why does losing a habitation send them back to a nameless state？ What’s the difference between a regular vampire & a master， & how does a master “turn” a regular vampire into a master？•Some of the plot twists are far fetched， but not completely unbelievable。 I forgive them though， because the characters are so good。•The book is very long。 The pacing isn’t the issue， but I think it would have made a good series instead of trying to cram so much into one book。 The structure is episodic in nature， with smaller several mysteries being solved by Crow & Doyle in succession， while there is an overarching plot point of the Jack the Ripper case that carries on throughout the whole story。 It works， yet it feels cluttered。CW: discrimination， murder， assault， mild gore， mentions of racism （particularly anti-semitism） 。。。more
Anjali （bookstersisters）
，
Angel of crows came with a lot of high expectations as Katherine Addison’s Goblin Emperor became one of my top ten reads of all time this year plus it was a paranormal retelling of my favourite Sherlock Holmes。 It didn’t quite meet all of my expectations but I did enjoy reading this book。 The retelling was made unique by the differences the author brought to it in the form of the characters and also by adding a magical twist to it all。 This is a world inhabited by angels and other magical creatu Angel of crows came with a lot of high expectations as Katherine Addison’s Goblin Emperor became one of my top ten reads of all time this year plus it was a paranormal retelling of my favourite Sherlock Holmes。 It didn’t quite meet all of my expectations but I did enjoy reading this book。 The retelling was made unique by the differences the author brought to it in the form of the characters and also by adding a magical twist to it all。 This is a world inhabited by angels and other magical creatures including hell hounds。 The setting and the genre the story is set in reminded me a bit of The Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clarke。 It was interesting and I enjoyed the changes it brought to the original Holmes stories。 The characterisation of Holmes or Crow， an Angel， in this case was also something I loved 。 Crow was a more humane version of Holmes。 Not so cold and clinical but filled with this child like curiosity to decipher the mysteries made them a lot more endearing than the original Holmes。 I also somewhere felt like they were overtaken by the counterpart of Watson in this retelling and not in a way that I liked。 It made the figuring out the mystery seem like an afterthought rather than the main point of the story。 I also had a problem with how the author made the various mysteries too close to the original。 It took away the mystery aspect completely as I was already familiar with culprit and the motive and the only thing left to figure out was the method in this alternate paranormal world。 It took some of the thrill away from reading a mystery。 All in all a good effort but too close to the original in terms of plot to make it exceptional。 If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes retellings， give this a try but if you are looking for something remotely like Goblin Emperor， this is not for you。 。。。more
Vinnie Stellar
，
I had no idea that this was a Sherlock Holmes/John Watson inspired tale。 The description on the back of the book doesn't give any hints to it， only that we're dealing with a magical Victorian era London。 It was a delightful surprise and so well done。 Neither of the characters are actually Doyle's characters， set in a different world， they are merely expys and are their own personalities and have their own goals and interests。 No "if Watson was a werewolf" here。 I had no idea that this was a Sherlock Holmes/John Watson inspired tale。 The description on the back of the book doesn't give any hints to it， only that we're dealing with a magical Victorian era London。 It was a delightful surprise and so well done。 Neither of the characters are actually Doyle's characters， set in a different world， they are merely expys and are their own personalities and have their own goals and interests。 No "if Watson was a werewolf" here。 。。。more
Laura
，
I enjoyed the familiarity of the Sherlock Holmes of it all， with the confidence that the author would make significant， interesting changes that made the stories feel new。 I love the way she introduces supernatural elements in an offhand， matter-of-fact way。 Some of the terms she uses were unfamiliar to me so I had to wait until the characters explained what they were talking about， which was both momentarily frustrating， and engaging。
Christina England
，
Sherlock Holmes， as never seen beforeThis book was clever， surprising and inventive。 The plot wove around well known Holmes stories and the White Whitechaple murders， set in a beautifully realized alternate world。 There were constant surprises that led weight to wonderful characters。 What made it all so special to me was that everything was so logical， each action made sense and had meaning。 I rank this book amongst my all-time favorites， and I've bought it several times for friends and family。 Sherlock Holmes， as never seen beforeThis book was clever， surprising and inventive。 The plot wove around well known Holmes stories and the White Whitechaple murders， set in a beautifully realized alternate world。 There were constant surprises that led weight to wonderful characters。 What made it all so special to me was that everything was so logical， each action made sense and had meaning。 I rank this book amongst my all-time favorites， and I've bought it several times for friends and family。 。。。more
Rebecca
，
3。5
Southern Today Gone Tomorrow
，
I WANT THE NEXT ONE GAHAHAHHA。I really enjoyed this novel and how it bent so many things in this Sherlock re-telling。 Honestly， I just want a sequel in my hands。
Paul
，
3。5 stars: Having been pretty disappointed in my recent reading of "A Study in Scarlet"， I found this book to be a pretty big improvement upon the original Sherlock Holmes source material， from which I recognized that entire lines and passages had been replicated。 It occupies a strange territory in that respect though， as it is clearly faithful to its source material while simultaneously being cavalier with changes to Doyle's racist， boring， unscientific， and otherwise problematic canon。 Most ha 3。5 stars: Having been pretty disappointed in my recent reading of "A Study in Scarlet"， I found this book to be a pretty big improvement upon the original Sherlock Holmes source material， from which I recognized that entire lines and passages had been replicated。 It occupies a strange territory in that respect though， as it is clearly faithful to its source material while simultaneously being cavalier with changes to Doyle's racist， boring， unscientific， and otherwise problematic canon。 Most hardcore Sherlock fans will likely hate this book， and most of the people who might enjoy it probably don't like the original stories enough to want to slog through a fantasy reimagining of them。 Even with Addison's changes， a lot of the original mysteries are actually fairly dull （or just bizarre）。 An investigation of the Jack the Ripper murders is also weaved throughout all the stories to tie them together with an overarching plot， which was。。。 an interesting choice。 There is a gritty， journalistic detailedness to those parts that is somewhat at odds with a lot of the hand-wavy Sherlock "crime-solving"， but in general I liked it。 Overall， the world-building is what really stands out， and I would have loved to learn more about this supernatural Victorian London in a way that wasn't artificially bound to Sherlock Holmes plots and tropes。 。。。more
Catherine Holloway
，
The first 2/3s of this were interesting， but once it hit the retelling of the "hound of the Baskervilles"， it became a slog。 The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably the worst of the Sherlock stories。 The first 2/3s of this were interesting， but once it hit the retelling of the "hound of the Baskervilles"， it became a slog。 The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably the worst of the Sherlock stories。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Angel of the Crows
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Angel of the Crows&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft