Fic Rec: The Case of the Dead Man's Secret

[swissmarg]

Title: The Case of the Dead Man's Secret
Author: the_arc5
Pairing: Holmes/Watson, Watson/Morstan, Holmes/Moriarty
Length: ca. 27,000 words
Rating: R
Warnings: Character death
Verse: ACD Books
Author's summary: After Holmes' death, Watson is faced with a case he must solve on his own, a case that threatens to destroy him and everything he holds dear.

Reccer's comments: The story starts out with this excerpt from someone's diary:( Excerpt... )

It wasn't written by who you think it was. And that's where the brilliance begins. It's not the only surprise the author has in store, and while it all ends up where you expect it to, it certainly doesn't take the direct route getting there. A hiatus and return story, it retains elements of The Empty House but flips them around in a unique way for maximum dramatic effect.

There is heartbreak, character death (both real and imagined), shocking revelations, well-meaning gestures that end in disaster, unexpected open-mindedness, a very sympathetic Mary, and a hidden past at the root of everything that very nearly destroys it all.

I especially enjoyed the varied format, with diary entries and letters scattered throughout the narrative, and the Victorian flower code relating messages that are never quite understood until the end.