Here's what's the matter with too many crime novels these days, at least for those who still favor the old school. The authors set the scene and stage the crime, only to drop everything and go on (and on) about the inner lives of their detectives. Conan Doyle--that is, Dr. Watson--did it right, salting his Sherlock Holmes narratives with little hints of discord beneath the surface, like Holmes' jealousy of Watson's women and Watson's possible gambling addiction. Goldberg tips things back here, perhaps too much. This sixth in his series starring Holmes' daughter, Joanna--she was conceived during a wild night of alcohol, cocaine, and Irene Adler--delivers one puzzle following another, all shattered by Joanna's use of using her father's methods. The effect is dazzling at first: a pattern of wetness on a carpet means entry occurred after one a.m., a body's distance from brickwork means murder, not suicide. But unrelieved doses of this turns the characters into plot functions. Shockingly, we want to know them better. Still, the thefts, the murders, and the intrigues--and the magical name--may be enough, at least for those dyed-in-the-wool old-schoolers.

The year 1917 finds Joanna Holmes Watson in a battle of wits with thieves who've pinched the world's second-biggest diamond and something even more valuable. It's bad enough that someone's sneaked into the South African governor general's suite at the Windsor Hotel and made off with a blue diamond of historic dimensions. What's much worse is that the robbers, who seem to specialize in looting London penthouses, have also absconded with a military document that could decisively affect the course of the Great War. Inspector Lestrade, son of the inspector constantly one-upped by Sherlock Holmes a generation ago, brings Sir Charles Bradberry, the Scotland Yard commissioner himself, to Holmes' daughter, Joanna, who's married to Dr. John Watson Jr., to entreat her to take the case. Joanna quickly determines who the culprits were and how they gained access to the governor general's rooms, but the thieves have already vanished, leaving Joanna, working with the Yard and Maj. Eric Von Ruden, the governor general's security chief, to figure out where they've gone and how to recover the jewel and neutralize the loss of the stolen document. Soon enough the problem is deepened, for the thieves make the first of several murderous attacks on the Watsons, and it's clear that their efforts to end their pursuit by the woman universally recognized as England's greatest detective will only escalate. As usual in this series, the crime, though large-scale and historically urgent, is routine and the head conspirator, obvious. What shines, now as ever, are the razor-sharp observations of Sherlock Holmes' daughter and the shrewdly logical inferences she draws from them time and again. Detection triumphs over crime in every possible way. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Set in 1917, Goldberg's sluggish sixth Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mystery (after 2021's The Abduction of Pretty Penny) opens with the arrival of Inspector Lestrade at 221B Baker Street, the home of Joanna, the daughter of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, and her husband, John Watson, Dr. Watson's son. Lestrade needs Joanna's help in investigating a series of robberies from the penthouse suites of upscale London hotels. The most recent netted the criminals the famed Blue Diamond, the second largest such stone ever found. It was stolen from the governor-general of South Africa and was to be presented to George V. The first two robberies were carried out quietly, leaving no clues as to the perpetrator. This time, however, the hotel doorman suffered a severe skull fracture, and there's little hope of his survival. Joanna, trailed by John, who serves as her faithful amanuensis, soon realizes that the robberies are just cogs in a far more sinister and dangerous affair. A series of brain teasers fails to compensate for the lack of character development and any clever repartee. Sherlockians will be disappointed. Agent: Scott Mendel, Mendel Media Group. (June)