An Unethical Protocol

THE ADVENTURE OF THE PECULIAR PROTOCOLS
Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D.
Nicholas Meyer
St. Martins Minotaur
October 15, 2019



I'm a died-in-the-wool Sherlock fan, but not a purist, so I am always on the lookout for a good Sherlock pastiche. Especially from the talented Nicholas Meyer, author of The Seven-Percent Solution. One of the many agents of Sherlock's brother Mycroft was murdered while delivering a copy of the anti-Semitic tract known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Mycroft is desperate to find the original and its author. Oddly, the murdered agent still had the document on her person, written in Russian. Mycroft fears the effects of its distribution in England. Sherlock enlists Dr. Watson's sister-in-law to translate the text. They also meet with an American couple, William English Walling, and his Russian Jewish wife, Anna Strunsky. The Wallings are on the way home from Russia. The 1905 Revolution has just been brutally suppressed, and the Wallings have a good idea where the document came from. It's a surprise that Anna Strunsky will accompany them posing as their translator, at least to Dr. Watson. They travel across Europe on The Orient Express, and into danger in the Ukraine, Budapest, and Russia, with unknown pursuers. 

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is a rollicking adventure based on real historical events and persons. The Wallings were co-founders of the NAACP along with W.E.B. DuBois, and I had never heard of them. I had also heard of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion but never knew its long history. Based on lies and plagiarism, it is responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of Jews. It plays on the worst human prejudices and continues to rear its ugly head. For example, Henry Ford had 500,000 copies printed and distributed through his newspaper in America. There are colorful descriptions of the great cities of Europe through which they pass, as well as the general squalor of Eastern Europe. The funicular railway in Budapest makes an appearance, which I particularly enjoyed, having ridden it several years ago.

I highly recommend The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols, both for Sherlock Holmes fans and those who enjoy historical fiction that can teach the reader a thing or two! Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an advance copy. The opinions are my own.

RATING- 4.5 Stars