Title: Song for Someone
Author: KD Sherrinford
Genre: Historical Mystery
Book Blurb:
Charlotte Sapori has led a wonderful life safely tucked in the bosom of her family. Her mother, Irene Adler, is a renowned opera singer, while her father, Lucca Sapori, does important government work that frequently takes him away from them, Charlotte is close to her brother Nicco, and they are both doted on by their parents. All is well until her mother is given an unexpected diagnosis, which shakes the family to its core.
Knowing herself to be dying, Adler confesses to Charlotte things that have long been kept from her, telling her to find and read her diary. A distressed Lucca Sapori tells her to read his as well. And by the way, Lucca Sapori is not his real name. In fact, she may have heard of him-he is actually the world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
Charlotte finds both diaries and plunges into the hidden world of Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes as she discovers what brought them together and how they managed to stay together for thirty years despite having to battle the odds.
My Review:
This technically is not considered plagiarism in some schools of thought but from the Department of Health and Human Services on HHS.gov states, “Don't plagiarize. Express your own thoughts in your own words…. Note, too, that simply changing a few words here and there, or changing the order of a few words in a sentence or paragraph, is still plagiarism.”
Fan fiction is a tried-and-true genre that celebrates works by great authors that legions love. While this book is a credible ‘what if’ piece, it is dragged down by the regular usage of very familiar lines for anyone who is a student of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have quoted the exact section that brought me pause while reading.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Adventure of The Blue Carbuncle
p.224 The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volume 1
“I am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies.”
K.D. Sherrinford – Song For Somone
location 3351
“The police don’t retain me to supply their deficiencies.”
On the whole this book oft reminds me more of the holodeck recreation that Geordie creates by asking the computer to come up with an original Holmes story based on all the Holmes stories on file. There are so many times a reader who has read every Doyle work or watched the incomparable Jeremy Brett episodes a dozen or more times will go – oh that is from ‘that episode’. At one point I awaited a red-headed person to make an appearance.
In the end, I cannot recommend this book. In my personal view, this would not pass the standards I accept for wholly original work. If I was grading this work in a scholastic format, it would get an F.
3.25 stars for not meeting the standards I find acceptable for authors to use.
My Rating: 3.25 stars
Buy it Now:
Author Biography:
KD Sherrinford was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire, and now resides on The Fylde Coast with her husband John and their two children. An avid reader from an early age, KD was fascinated by the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She read the entire Doyle Canon by the time she was 13.
A talented pianist, KD played the piano from age six, and the music of some of her favourite composers, Beethoven, Schubert, Stephen Foster, and Richard Wagner, are all strongly featured in her novel.
KD had a varied career working with racing greyhounds and thoroughbred horses, she and her husband won the Blackpool Greyhound Derby in 1988 with Scottie. Then, to mix things up, KD joined Entwistle Green, Countrywide, where she was employed for over 20 years and became a Fellow of The National Association of Estate Agents. Retirement finally gave KD the opportunity to follow her dreams and start work on her first novel. She gained inspiration to write "Song for Someone" after a visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum in 2019. It has always been a passion of mine to write about the iconic character Irene Adler." Song for Someone" was published in November 2022 by Extasy Books, awarding it The Editors Gold Seal." Song for Someone" is a Semi-Finalist at The Chanticleers International Book Awards for Romantic Fiction- The Chatelaine, described by The Historical Fiction Company as " An evocative masterpiece, and a tale that stands out in Contemporary Literature.
A further two books in the Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler Mysteries were released last year, " Christmas at The Saporis" and " Meet Me in Milan." The trilogy was recently longlisted at The Ciba's Series Book Awards for Genre Fiction. Book 4 in the series " Nicco Sapori' 's Abduction is a WIP.
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Reviewed by: Mr. N