Beyond Watson

I’ll admit, I approached *Beyond Watson* with skepticism. Holmes pastiches can feel like pale imitations, but this collection surprises by weaponizing its constraints. The standout? Derrick Belanger’s own contribution, a Lestrade story where the inspector’s exasperation with Holmes’ deductive showboating finally gets its due. White’s performance here is particularly brilliant—his Lestrade isn’t a bumbling fool but a competent man ground down by systemic incompetence and Holmes’ ego. The audiobook’s production is flawless, with subtle shifts in ambiance (a crackling fireplace for Mrs. Hudson, echoing footsteps for Moriarty) that ground each perspective. That said, the anthology isn’t without stumbles. A few stories lean too hard into ‘twist for twist’s sake’ (one involving a minor canon character feels like a cheap shock), and White’s Irish accents occasionally waver. The pacing also suffers in the middle—after a strong opening trio, a slower Mycroft tale tests patience, though it pays off in hindsight. Still, the highs outweigh the lows. This is Holmes as you’ve never heard him: not through Watson’s adoring prose, but through the eyes of those who saw the cracks in the legend. If you’re tired of reverent adaptations, this is the audiobook that lets you eavesdrop on the people who *really* knew him.