Publisher's Weekly
De la Torre makes Samuel Johnson, the 18th century lexicographer and author, and his biographer, James Boswell, into detectives who, like Holmes and Watson, solve crimes with their superior intellects and the aid of science. Boswell narrates the adventures in a style familiar to readers of the Life of Johnson, and de la Torre notes actual cases that inspired the stories: a missing heir who suddenly reappears to claim his fortune; a ''servant wench'' who is kidnapped and then returns with no memory of what has happened to her; body-snatchers apprehended; a triple murder discovered in a locked room. This is the first Johnson book since 1960 and, with its provocative literary twist, makes for an enjoyable mystery read.