In Review: Big Finish: Sherlock Holmes Untold

Synopsis: Holmes and Watson return in mysterious, untold tales.

It’s 1913 in England. The horizon is darkening with the prospect of war.

Dr John Watson confronts embattled Prime Minister Jasper Cranfield. There is evidence of a crime that has been spread over decades.

There is a sequence of interconnected mysteries that hint at something larger. What is the purpose of the enigmatic organisation which calls itself ‘The Lighthouse’?

How much does the Prime Minister know? Is Sherlock Holmes truly retired? What final confrontation do they face?

Review: Sherlock Holmes Untold was an excellent early Christmas present from Big Finish. The stalwart characters and timely themes were a balm in these troubling times.

Story

With this set, Big Finish wanted to freshen up the format. Consequently, writer Jonathan Barnes crafted eight half hour episodes in lieu of four-hour-long ones.

This change reflected a general shift in audio storytelling. After all, audiences have transitioned from CDs to podcasts over time.

Apart from those structural considerations, however, Barnes has retained the tone and world-building from his previous entries. With that established foundation, he has given listeners stories expanded from references in Arthur Conan Doyle’s original canon.

I won’t go into the stories in detail here. Listeners should be spoiler-free while they join Holmes and Watson upon a fateful train.

I will say I thoroughly enjoyed encountering characters old and new along the way. Indeed, I found Banes’ take on a couple of original canon characters to be unexpectedly poignant.

What’s more, Barnes ended the set with an extremely promising cliff-hanger. Among other things, I hope he uses the narrative transition to resolve a dangling plot thread.

I would love for this latest cliff-hanger to lead to closure for Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency. I’d gotten rather attached to Dr. Kemp after he and Holmes crossed paths.

Acting

The entire cast was superb. That said, this set belonged to Nicholas Briggs and Richard Earl.

They didn’t skip a beat during pitch-perfect portrayals. Hopefully, listeners won’t have to wait long to hear from them again.

Overall

Thank you, Big Finish. Sherlock Holmes Untold was a wonderful new path for this range. It would be marvellous if you could expand upon every one of Conan Doyle’s referenced titles.

You can purchase Sherlock Holmes Untold here.