Novels offer us options. One could view novels as paths not taken, and dystopian, political, and near-future fiction can be viewed as the path not yet taken. In recent years, the United States has become a divided nation in ways not thought possible just a few decades ago. Hate crimes are on the rise, as is corruption. Citizens of the U.S. are watching one portion of its political elites turn a blind eye to election interference by hostile foreign nations in order to maintain power. The current president lost the popular vote and maintains a 37 – 40% approval rating, no matter what he does, and his administration maintains concentration camps while receiving support from people who dare to call themselves pro-lifers. Dystopian literature looks awful optimistic compared to reality at the moment. Truth and fact themselves are under constant attack. It’s not too difficult to see how with a few things going horribly wrong, a second civil war kicks off. Such a deeply divided U.S.A. forms the backdrop of Claire O’Dell’s A Study in Honor while getting even more fleshed out in the sequel The Hound of Justice. A Study in Honor blew me away with its detailed character work and tight story-telling; so, I had high, high expectations for the sequel. The Hound of Justice exceeded my expectations. Claire O’Dell delivered a story with heart, action, and tension in a future that is unfortunately becoming more plausible every day.
Disclaimer:
I received a free eBook of The Hound of Justice in exchange for an honest review. Also, I won a paperback advanced review copy in a Goodreads contest that I entered before getting access to the eBook.
TL;DR
Claire O’Dell delivers a stunning thriller in The Hound of Justice. This new chapter in the Janet Watson Chronicles has me already wanting another. Highly Recommended.
From the Publisher
From debut author Claire O’Dell comes a fresh, clever, and timely reimagination of Sherlock Holmes, featuring Watson and Holmes as you’ve never seen them before.
Dr. Janet Watson knows firsthand the horrifying cost of a divided nation. While she was treating broken soldiers on the battlefields of the New Civil War, a sniper’s bullet shattered her arm and ended her career. Honorably discharged and struggling with the semifunctional mechanical arm that replaced the limb she lost, she returns to the nation’s capital, a bleak, edgy city in the throes of a fraught presidential election. Homeless, jobless, and still heartbroken over a bad breakup with her girlfriend, Watson is uncertain of the future when she meets Sara Holmes, a mysterious yet playfully challenging covert agent who offers the doctor a place to stay.
Watson’s readjustment to civilian life is complicated by the infuriating antics of her strange new roommate. But the tensions between them dissolve when Watson discovers that soldiers from the New Civil War have begun dying one by one—and that the deaths may be the tip of something far more dangerous, involving the pharmaceutical industry and even the looming election. Joining forces, Watson and Holmes embark on a thrilling investigation to solve the mystery—and secure justice for these fallen soldiers.
Story
The Hound of Justice picks up a few months after the action in A Study in Honor. Janet Watson works at Georgetown University Hospital while in physical therapy to resume her calling as a surgeon. Sarah Holmes is suspended from work and depressed. Around the time that Janet meets and begins to date a bookstore owner, Holmes becomes obsessed with the fate of Irene Adler. A terrorist group bombs the D.C. area, and Watson’s hospital strains under the weight of internal politics. From there, the story takes off to an America that is at once familiar, fractured, and yet frighteningly possible.
There exists a mystery here, but it’s not much of a mystery, really. That’s okay, though. Between Watson’s careful, thoughtful observation of life and Holmes’s obsession, these women’s lives make the ride enjoyable. Holmes pretty much has the mystery solved, but to close this ‘case,’ action is required. The Hound of Justice should be categorized as a thriller rather than a mystery because there’s more action than deduction. As a thriller, it works. The pace is much faster than the previous novel while maintaining a compelling level of tension. The story moves easier and faster without losing the touching character moments. The Hound of Justice is intricately plotted with many questions answered and new ones arising. I, for one, look forward to Holmes and Watson’s next adventure.
Character
Once again, I commend Claire O’Dell’s character work here. I love Janet. I absolutely adore her. She’s a veteran, a surgeon, a journaler, a woman, a friend, a family member, and, most importantly of all, a reader. In the first book, she’s barely holding together. Here, she’s farther along her journey back to being a surgeon. At the end of A Study in Honor, Janet’s received a new, much more sophisticated, prosthetic that will let her return to her profession. To facilitate that return, she’s entered physical therapy to learn the fine motor control necessary for surgery. Janet continues to build a post-military life, even making friends and rivals at Georgetown University Hospital. Prior to the disappearance of Holmes, she’s settling into something like a routine. Since this is a novel, that routine is quickly broken.
An advantage of series story-telling is the possibility of real character growth from book to book. Janet has changed; she doesn’t seem to be constantly on edge. As a woman of color, as a soldier suffering from PTSD, she must maintain constant vigilance, but it feels less like she’s fighting for her life at all times. She’s learning how to achieve balance, even to the point where she’s seeking romance. Oddly enough considering the obstacles and threats in it, at the end of the novel Janet’s life is ready to begin a new, better chapter. The story challenges her at every turn, and at each moment, she digs in and does the work.
For a large portion of the novel, Holmes is absent but not far from Watson’s thoughts. Nevertheless, she drives a lot of tension in the overall plot. Her appearances maintain the same over-the-top characteristics as the first novel. I love reading about this version of Holmes while being thankful such a person isn’t in my life. She’s over-bearing without abiding by social conventions; she’s odd, does what she thinks is best, and is a bad ass. In other words, she fits in with all the other incarnations of Sherlock Holmes. By the end of the novel, we learn some of Sarah’s hidden talents. I’d love to know her history. Not a prequel, mind you, just a back story. And her family, we need to learn more about her family.
Politics
Some readers will find The Hound of Justice too political. To be fair, it is a political book, like many thrillers. The question becomes whether the story serves the politics or the politics serve the story. Here, the politics emerge from the setting. Ms. O’Dell built the world with a second civil war tearing apart the United States, which is, of course, a political decision. However, looking at the current and continually deepening division between everyday Americans over politics, even over basic facts, it’s understandable to extrapolate the current divide into an actual civil war. Starting from the assumption of a near-future civil war, the politics of Hound emerge from the characters rather than being imposed upon the characters by the story.
Most likely, these readers will react to the fact that this novel deals with racial politics. The U.S. as a nation has never dealt with its racist roots. When someone points out that the nation began with a racial hierarchy codified into its legal structures, this person is often met with disagreement, confusion, and attempts to shut down the conversation. Why? Because talk of racism is uncomfortable, and it goes directly against the myth of American exceptional-ism. To say this country has problems is often seen as being unpatriotic, as if you’re attacking the nation. In an over-simplified view, criticism means hatred of, but in a realistic view, criticism recognizes that no human made endeavor is perfect. Improvements can always be made with critical introspection. This is the view that I see in The Hound of Justice. O’Dell looks at the state of racial relations in the U.S. with empathy, with an acknowledgment that structural equality does not exist in the United States. Rather than sweep it into the background, Ms. O’Dell puts it front and center as seen through the eyes of an empathetic character. That is the political nature of the book.
It’s clear that Ms. O’Dell did her research on the African-American experience when writing these two books. I could see how this novel would make some people uncomfortable politically, but for me, it’s not a political book. Yes, yes, all fiction is political. What I mean is that it’s not didactic. The Hound of Justice isn’t trying to teach me a lesson. O’Dell tells a story, and it’s a damn good one. It just so happens that this story features a life experience very different from my own.
Conclusion
Claire O’Dell’s The Hound of Justice solidifies this series as a must buy for me. It adds much more action with the deep character work that I enjoyed in the first book. Janet Watson and Sarah Holmes are worth your time getting to know.
The Hound of Justice releases July 30th from Harper Voyager books.