A Puzzle of Poppies (A Sheerwood and Jarvis Novella), by Renee Edwards
16 Jan 2025The Book
Synopsis:
He expected magic. What he got was murder.
Following a disastrous stint in Her Majesty’s army, Dr. Wilfred “Wilf” Jarvis finds himself jaded and directionless. Hoping for a fresh start, and perhaps a bit of the storybook magic he’d yearned for as a boy, he accepts a diplomatic posting among the Fair Folk of the Seelie Court. When he arrives, however, he is drawn into a web of political machinations and bitter grievances that prove just as disappointing as his other pursuits - until the body of a British soldier is discovered in Folk territory.
Before he realizes exactly what’s happened, he’s enlisted by Honoria Sherwood, a brilliant half-Folk, half-human polymath, in a worryingly high-stakes murder investigation. With tensions mounting between the Folk and the British Empire, the two must track down the killer or lose their only chance to see true justice done.
My Review
A Puzzle of Poppies is the first novella in the Sheerwood and Jarvis series, a mystery gaslamp fantasy proposal written by Renee Edwards. Pitched as a retelling of A Study in Scarlett, we have an interesting genderbent Holmes analogue, the fae and their machinations and a competently written murder mystery.
A noir book that presents us doctor Jarvis, who is sent to the embassy Britain maintains with the Fair Folk; however, apart from the political machinations tied to the place, life is relatively uneventful, until the corpse of a British soldier is discovered in the Folk territory. Together with Honoria Sheerwood, a brilliant half-Folk and half-human investigator, he will investigate who is behind the murder, in order to ease the tensions between the Folk and the British.
Edwards chose to use an epistolary style to narrate her story, using the doctor Jarvis as the main character, giving his voice an excellent nuance, presenting even the professional deformation that comes with his job; Sheerwood is a great genderbent Holmesian figure, with certain limitations that add another layer of complexity to the story (especially about discerning if somebody is telling the truth). They complement each other relatively well.
I didn't find the epistolary style to work as well in terms of pacing, as the first quarter of the novella feels extremely slow; the prose is agile and competent. The setting is well described, and the mix between gaslamp and magic from Fair Folk was quite intriguing, which worked greatly for this reimagining of A Study in Scarlett.
A Puzzle of Poppies is a well written murder mystery novel; if you are looking for a detective story, this can be a great choice for you. There's much potential in the Sheerwood and Jarvis pair, so I'm curious to see how the author continues with them!
Disclaimer: This review represents my personal opinion. Score and review from the whole team might vary.
