Audiobook review: The Isolated Séance by Jeri Westerson
The Isolated Séance is a fun start to a promising new Sherlock-spinoff series. I enjoyed the character development of both Badger, a former Irregular, and Ben, a jack-of-all trades. Neither young man has the gravitas of their benefactor, but they are working hard to learn and better themselves.
Ben and Badger catch a break when Holmes sends a prospective client their way. Brent has been accused of killing his employer during a seance, but he insists he didn’t do it. Both detectives are inclined to believe Brent and set out on a twisty journey to solve the case.
Tim and Ben work well together, and I enjoyed watching them puzzle out the mystery of who killed Mr. Quinn. I liked that they made mistakes, but used the “Sherlock method” and never let wrong ways become dead ends. The mystery is clever and reminiscent of an old school Sherlock tale. I love that the great detective himself is part of the story, providing guidance and assistance to his protégés.
Miss Littleton, the self-made reporter, is going to be a problem, and I’ll admit, at first I found her incredibly annoying as she uses Badger. Like Tim, I got taken in, and now I’m not sure if I can trust that her change is genuine. She reminds me of Nellie from Little House – kind of a bully but maybe a good person under her petticoats. And based on the little bit we’ve learned, there will be a lot more to her story in the future.
Narration: the story is shared via the alternating POV’s of Tim Badger and Ben Watson. The narrator uses a mid-class accent for the narrator and changes dialogue for all characters. Butler does a fairly good job for raising the pitch for females, and has a solid grasp of accents based on socioeconomic class and place of origin. He also successfully alters based on age. At times, I found his narration a little animated, and his performance reminded me of a voice that narrates children’s cartoons, but overall, Butler turns in a solid performance.
I look forward to listening to more adventures in the Irregular Detective series.
My Ratings
Story: B
Narration: B+
Jen
About the Book:
Sherlock Holmes’s protégés Tim Badger and Benjamin Watson are catapulted into a tricky first case when a man is brutally murdered during a séance.
London, 1895. Former Baker Street Irregular Tim Badger is determined to follow in the footsteps of his great mentor, Sherlock Holmes, by opening his own consulting detective agency with his partner, Benjamin Watson. The intrepid duo are ready to make a name for themselves . . . if only they had clients!
Their luck changes when Sherlock recommends his protégés to Thomas Brent. Brent is eager to find out who killed his master, Horace Quinn, during a séance at Quinn’s house. What was Quinn desperately trying to find out from his deceased business partner, Stephen Latimer, before he was stabbed through the heart?
It seems that everyone in Quinn’s household had a reason to want him dead. Can Tim and Benjamin step out of Sherlock’s shadow to navigate dark secrets and unexpected dangers in their pursuit of a cold-blooded killer?
Author: Jeri Westerson
Narrator: Noah James Butler
Series: Irregular Detective series #1
Genre: Historical Mystery
Audiobook Release Date: Date
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Length: 8 hrs 28 min
Source: Publisher
Audio Speed: 1.25x
Purchase info:
Audible/Amazon (affilate link)
