(This review originally appeared in So Far Down Queer Street Volume 1. There is no clear indication one way or another in this short novel as to the exact nature of Holmes and Watson’s relationship, although Guy and Max are physically intimate. In between these two came Peter Ackroyd's version of the story. And it's wonderful, an immense act of imagination that recasts the story and forces a new and powerful perspective. Piercy was the author of My Dearest Holmes, an early (1988) print novel in which Holmes and Watson are more intimate friends than some care to believe. Luckily Rohase Piercy, who gave us the gorgeous My Dearest Holmes, has redressed the balance with an account from her perspective - a kind of alternative De Profundis. This frothy adventure combines the feel of a Sherlock Holmes case with a Wildean drawing room comedy. It all whips together in an enjoyably twisty soufflé of schemes and mistaken assumptions and great friendships that makes for an enjoyable escapist read. Soon there’s a case with a missing necklace and a search for stolen government documents. Her beloved brother Michael is a … I don’t know the Victorian for “rent boy”.

Madeleine works as Guy’s housemaid but has plans to make money, whatever it takes. They have drinks and conversations, which is convenient when Guy and Max get caught up in various complications. Max is very much a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and so he is thrilled to make their acquaintance. His very close friend Max is visiting from the country. In 1890, Guy Clements is a dramatic but addle-headed young man who prattles on and has gotten himself in temporary financial difficulty. A Case of Domestic Pilfering was written by Rohase Piercy with Charlie Raven and was independently published in 2017. If you like Holmes and you like Wodehouse, you might want to try this slim, quick read.

Rohase piercy