MRS. HUDSON AND THE SPIRITS' CURSE may be author Martin Davies introductory offering of mystery with the eminent Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper as the protagonist, but as a reader and fan of that great English detective's stories, I hope there is more to come with Mrs. Hudson as the focus.

The story is told through the eyes of one young waif, Flotsam, or Flottie, an orphan whose life would surely have been squandered on the streets of London had she not had the good fortune to be taken under the wing of Mrs. Hudson. Mrs. Hudson was a “domestic” true enough, but due to her common sense, her personal warmth, and her skills in running a household, she was well- respected and much sought after by the best families in London. Being befriended by a woman of Mrs. Hudson's caliber changed Flottie's fate for the better and began her on a set of adventures the street-wise urchin could have never imagined.

When the owner of the house where Mrs. Hudson was employed died, all the servants were left to find new jobs and the house was to be sold. Through the plump woman's acquaintance with her late employer's solicitor, Mr. Rumbelow, she came to learn of Holmes's and Watson's need for a housekeeper. Learning that Flottie, too, would be welcome sealed Mrs. Hudson's decision to work for the two men whose sleuthing abilities preceded them. Although used to running a complete house rather than the several rooms the two men were moving into on Baker Street, Mrs. Hudson nonetheless saw her many talents and skills would be put to use. Never one to walk away from a challenge, Mrs. Hudson agreed to work Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

It wasn't long after Flottie and Mrs. Hudson settled themselves into the Baker Street, London apartment before intrigue came to visit. One night, Flottie answered the door to a mysterious messenger dressed in black and sporting a scar from ear to eye socket, because no eye remained, and thrust an envelope and dagger into the adolescent's hand before disappearing into the damp, black night.

From the moment Sherlock Holmes opened the envelope and shared its content not only with his partner, Dr. Watson, but also with Mrs. Hudson and Flottie, the two females were enmeshed in the mystery of a man who claimed to have been cursed by Sumatran natives. This man stated he believed the curse only reluctantly, but had seen with his own eyes the devastating and unexplainable death of another man while yet in Sumatra, a man whose eyes were gone from his head when his body was found in a locked room, a victim of the same curse placed now on the storyteller and his two business partners. While Holmes and Watson went actively about getting to the bottom of the man's story, and the curse, Mrs. Hudson and Flottie worked behind the scenes to gather information as well. The solution to the mystery was found using the combined efforts of these four unlikely partners, and a new dimension was added to the sleuthing of one Sherlock Holmes.

Martin Davies has done a superb job of telling a tale in the manner of the original Sherlock Holmes, but yet, captured a fresher and crisper style of writing to that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the Holmes stories. And while the mystery is every bit as captivating as the ones Mr. Holmes was originally known for, the added dimension of the housekeeper and her young assistant add a lightness to the story's flow that is like a breath of fresh air. I believe Martin Davies has a new classic on his hands, but don't take my word for it—grab a copy of MRS. HUDSON AND THE SPIRITS' CURSE for yourself.