Holmes is horrified to learn that an old foe is to be unleashed on the public once more, taking his attention away from the case that Watson has brought him…

The major part of this spring’s Sherlock Holmes release from Big Finish is a three-hour-plus epic courtesy once more of writer Jonathan Barnes, director Ken Bentley and the company’s excellent Holmes and Watson, Nicholas Briggs and Richard Earl. All four of them know what Briggs refers to in the extras as “the franchise” well. Barnes’ script feels much more like an unearthed Conan Doyle original than a pastiche, with elements of Doyle’s own style ever-present (down to the use of characters from the New World juxtaposed with the old… and the even older, as represented by Mycroft and others). There’s mention of Blackstone Grange being the home of sorcery and witchcraft – and links back to the Black Death – but for once the range doesn’t flirt with the outré… bar some very human horror that’s revealed towards the end

We’ve had a plethora of Holmes stories in recent years but few ranges have maintained the quality of the Big Finish team. Briggs and Earl have portrayed Holmes and Watson at many different stages of their friendship, and always seem to find new aspects to bring out of the scripts. There’s also a decent role in this tale for Mycroft Holmes (whose presence often seems forced in Holmes pastiches), with a glimpse into his own thought processes – Tim Bentinck brings across the physical size of Holmes’ older brother through his performance – and Lucy Briggs-Owen’s Genevieve Dumont brings out different sides to Earl’s Watson: I’m delighted that it seems likely she will reappear. John Banks’ Colonel Sebastian is a more multi-faceted character here than perhaps he was in his creator’s hands, with the final scene between him and Holmes nicely played by Banks and Briggs while Barnes gives Harry Peacock plenty of variety in the role of Honest Jim Sheedy.

Joe Meiners’ sound design and Jamie Robertson’s music complement each other well, and Ken Bentley never lets the potentially melodramatic elements of the story to overshadow the rest – part of this tale’s strength is in the mundanity of some of its roots.

Verdict: A thoroughly entertaining trip back to the turn of the last millennium. 9/10

Paul Simpson

(The box set also includes The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency, reviewed here.)