The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson

A really fun series. But this isn't his best. It struggled mightily to come to an end. If he ever saved the damsel I'd stopped caring some time before the end.

Having read all of Meyer's Sherlockian novels, I found this to be at least as good as The Seven Per Cent solution, probably better. These two novels pair Holmes with characters who are at the very least equal to the task of dealing with or against him. Anyone who has read The Phantom of the Opera must be intrigued by the character of the Persian, and Meyer treats us to the alternative possibility that it was none other than Holmes who followed Erik to his underground home. Wonderful stuff!

I really enjoyed this book, perhaps more so than other reviewers because I've never seen "The Phantom of the Opera" and if I read the book, it's decades ago, so I came to this with an open mind. And I'm reading it because it's a Sherlock Holmes story. I've read and re-read the originals and enjoy the pastiches if they capture the voice or essence of Doyle's work. I read Meyer's first two Holmes books but missed this one somehow for over a decade. It's as good as the earlier ones, I think. Holmes is telling the story and it sounds like him and what we have of Watson is very Watson-like. Holmes as an orchestra violinist is believable. And what fun it is! What a villanous villain Nobody is. And what an attractive bunch of characters, the innocent Christine, helpful, friendly Ponelle. Holmes is not a man who cultivates friends. Even "that woman" turns up wearing her masculine disguise. And that labyrinth of basements beneath the Opera House. I haven't a clue if the really exist or if they figured in "Phantom", but they made a fine setting for this story. I recommend that you read it for all these reasons.

I've read all three of Nicholas Meyer's Sherlockian pastiches, and oddly enough, this one's my favorite. Yes, it lacks Watson, yes, everyone already knows the story of the Phantom of the Opera, and yes, Meyer stupidly describes a real-life character as dead when he was actually very much alive - but the plot is fast-paced, and Holmes makes a good enough narrator that Watson's absence doesn't hurt as much as it might. Although it has Irene Adler in it, Meyer knows better than to turn the book into a romance. In fact, Holmes' reaction to Adler's presence is nicely ambiguous; while he's clearly attracted/fascinated by "the woman," he just as clearly wishes she'd go away and leave him alone! Get it from the library and see if it appeals to you before you buy it.

The description of the Opera house is so well done that it almost becomes a character unto itself. The powers of the ghost are convincing - how could any human accomplish the deeds attributed to it? Has Holmes met a force beyond the reach of his genius and logic? Original tale and yet it keeps the charm of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle alive. I was always facinated by Holmes' two creative crutches - cocaine and the violin. The use of one or the other always brought the needed solution into his mind and so I was very pleased that Meyer showed us more about Holmes' musical abilities. Bringing Irene Adler into the story was also a nice touch.

"The Canary Trainer" is another "rediscovered" Sherlock Holmes manuscript, written this time in the voice of Holmes himself. It was very easy to imagine that Sherlock Holmes had actually written this "memoir".The story (which takes it's place in the chronology right after Meyer's " The Seven Per Cent Solution") begins when Sherlock Holmes is hired as a violinist with the Opera company orchestra. He learns of the strange events surrounding the "Ghost", and, allowing himself to be perceived as a Surete agent 'undercover', begins to investigate the 'accidents' which have been taking place in the Opera house. Unexpectedly,his cover is blown by the indomitable Irene Adler, who is engaged to perform with the Paris Opera Company, and who blackmails him into protecting her young friend, the lovely Christine Daae. Irene joins him in his investigation. Anyone familiar with the orginal story of the Phantom of the Opera, (or who has seen Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name) will enjoy this book, with it's familiar characters, and what seems to be an insider's view of the mysterious events. I have read this book more than three times, and am buying another copy to replace one that has gotten ragged from being read too many times. For me, there can be no higher praise than saying that a book is not only worth reading, but reading again.