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Mrs Hudson is the housekeeper for the famous Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. While they both believe her merely to be a domestic servant, she has investigative skills of her own. In fact, she frequently seems to have a better understanding of what is happening then her more famous employer. Flotsam is a maid working in the Holmes residence. Like Dr Watson to Holmes, she relates Mrs Hudson's various adventures. In MRS HUDSON AND THE MALABAR ROSE, both a famous jewel and the Great Salmanazar arrive in London. The Great Salmanazar is a well-known magician and illusionist. The public loves him, but the police feel differently. Several jewel thefts have occurred during his performances. While they cannot tie him directly to the thefts, they have all occurred when he was in town. Scotland Yard is worried that the Great Salmanazar will target the Malabar Rose, which is making its grand appearance on the night of his show. The Malabar Rose is an exquisite ruby given to England by India. The only condition to this gift is that it must be displayed for the public to enjoy. Obviously this creates a lot of panic for the British government. Sherlock Holmes is asked to help safeguard the jewel from thieves. While Sherlock Holmes is focusing on stalking the Great Salmanazar and protecting the ruby, Mrs Hudson is concerned with the disappearance of a local man. Mr Phillimore is a clerk and normally a very subdued man. One Sunday he disappears into thin air. He had gone back into the house to get something but when his wife and mother-in-law went to fetch him, he had vanished. While Holmes does not see this disappearance as important, Mrs Hudson feels that this disappearance does have ramifications that will effect the Malabar Rose. She must solve this missing person's case before the Malabar Rose vanishes as well. MRS HUDSON AND THE MALABAR ROSE is written in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Not only does the book feature Sherlock Holmes, the character relationships and detective styles are also very similar. Flotsam could be considered Mrs Hudson's Watson, as she is never told everything that is going on. In addition, Mrs Hudson tends to go off and investigate on her own without telling her assistant what is learned. Both of these plot elements are familiar to any Holmes fan. It is interesting to see the numerous parallels that Davies created between Sherlock Holmes and Mrs Hudson. MRS HUDSON AND THE MALABAR ROSE is the second book in the Mrs. Hudson series. The first book was MRS HUDSON AND THE SPIRITS' CURSE.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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