David Stuart Davies can be counted on to create a satisfying Sherlock Holmes adventure and this one proves out nicely. The Tangled Skein is the story of Holmes defying the supernatural schemes of Bram Stoker's monster vampire Dracula is a rousing yarn filled with monstrous encounters and plenty of derring-do.
Unlike the Loren Estleman version of the dramatic encounter, this one puts Sherlock and Watson front and center in the struggle against the designs of the Transylvanian demon, and forgoes attempting to graft too much from the Stoker novel. Freed of that obligation, the story here can take twists and turns which are truly unexpected.
In fact if anything, this is story is sequel to the Arthur Conan Doyle masterpiece The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'll say very little so as not to spoil a wonderful mystery, but the classic tale of a false supernatural menace on the moors gives way to a true one in this story which...ahem...catches you by the throat and doesn't let go.
Davies is so steeped in his Sherlockian lore that he doesn't feel the need to prove himself and allows it to blend into the background of the story, giving the whole a feel of a truly lost adventure.
I give this one a hearty recommendation.
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