Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye by Len Bailey

There are some characters, ideas, time periods, life styles that so fascinate that they find their way into countless fiction and non-fiction works.  Sherlock Holmes is one of these.  I have seen several series with him as the hero, including one of my favorite series ever, the Mary Russell series by Laurie King.  So, when I saw Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye by Len Bailey in my list of available books on Booksneeze it was an easy decision to choose it for my next book review.

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye is an adventure in which Holmes and Dr. Watson time travel to investigate Biblical mysteries such as: Why did David take five stones against Goliath?  What did Jesus write on the ground in the John 8 story of the woman caught in adultery? Why did the Lord have the walls of Jericho Collapse?

The idea grabbed my attention.  The writing was good.  I think, however, that because I have so little time for pleasure reading, I just couldn't sink my teeth into this one.  It is obvious that the author is academic and intellectual.  Perhaps I am not, and that was the problem for me with this book.  Honestly, I didn't make it all the way through.  I ended up flipping through each chapter to find the answers to the questions (terrible, I know), but I just couldn't get interested enough to actually read the pages that led to the answers.  And in some cases, I didn't agree with his conclusions, if that matters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys informational books or Biblical investigations.  If you're just looking for a fun, easy novel to read, I would say pass on this one.

I received this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest opinion.