The Misplaced Physician (An Irregular Detective mystery Book 3) by Jeri Westerson Format: eARC
Source: supplied by publisher via NetGalley
Formats available: hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Genres: historical fiction, historical mystery, mystery
Series: Irregular Detective #3
Pages: 218
Published by Severn House on July 1, 2025
Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Bookshop.org, Better World Books
Goodreads
When Doctor John H. Watson is kidnapped while Sherlock Holmes is out of the country, private investigators Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson must find the missing physician . . .
London, 1895. Former Baker Street Irregular Timothy Badger and his partner in detection Benjamin Watson are in a the eminent Dr John H. Watson has been kidnapped! The physician was enjoying a glass of sherry at his Baker Street residence before being bundled away in a barouche coach wearing only one slipper. Did Dr Watson know his captor, and where is he now? Could the mysterious ransom notes arriving in the post hold the answer?
With their mentor Sherlock Holmes out of the country, recovering the missing doctor could well be the biggest case the intrepid duo is ever likely to face . . . and if they don't do so quickly, it could be their last!
An intriguing Victorian mystery full of shenanigans, humor, and twists featuring a cast of eccentric characters led by two exciting, unconventional detectives mentored by Sherlock Holmes - perfect for fans of Charles Finch and Anne Perry.
My Review:
Sherlock Holmes’ investment in his experiment pays surprising dividends for the ‘Great Detective’ in this third book in the Irregular Detective series. The physician who has been misplaced is Holmes’ own friend and chronicler, Dr. John H. Watson, while Holmes is out of town and out of reach on some mysterious errand of his own – or more likely at the behest of his brother Mycroft.
So, when Mrs. Hudson receives a ransom demand for the good doctor, she’s at sixes and sevens about who to call on. Of course, the note demands that she NOT involve the police, leaving her in a bit of a quandary. But Mrs. Hudson does not dither about the problem. If she were a ditherer, she wouldn’t have survived as Sherlock Holmes’ landlady for these many years.
If she can’t reach the master, she’ll get the apprentice, leading her straight to the Dean Street door of Badger and Watson, the young detectives that Holmes has taken under his wing. Or, in the case of Timothy Badger, kept there as Badger was once one of Holmes’ own Baker Street Irregulars.
The game that is afoot in Badger and HIS Watson’s third outing is both WAY over their heads and too close to home to allow them to refer the case to the police – even if Dr. Watson’s kidnappers hadn’t completely ruled out that possibility. Timothy Badger and Ben Watson OWE Sherlock Holmes after he bankrolled their start. His continued support has kept them afloat AND sent them cases to grow their agency.
They NEED to get this right. And for that, they need help. Specifically, they need the help of intrepid reporter Ellsie Littleton to help them navigate the trail from the familiar confines of London to places and situations where two young men from the rough side of that town have never had to tread.
And they need eyes and ears in places they never thought to go, meaning that the young detectives need to develop some ‘irregulars’ of their own – to be where they cannot. Just as Badger did when he was a lad.
It’s going to take the combined efforts of every single one of those resources – as well as the odd assortment of skills that Ben Watson has learned along his way – to figure out the who, what, when, where and why of a case that may not make much sense but has the potential to scupper their futures AND take away a mentor that they both respect.
Escape Rating A-: This series has been pure historical mystery fun from Badger and Watson’s first outing in The Isolated Seance, and this third book is no exception – although it is a bit different from both Seance and the second book, The Mummy of Mayfair.
It did seem as if the young detectives were taking on cases that their mentor probably wouldn’t have touched with someone else’s barge-pole due to the supposed ‘paranormal’ vibes. (The author left hints that their fourth case will head back in that direction.)
But this third outing is a bit less outré and a bit more conventional than their earlier cases, as at its heart this is a kidnapping and ransom case where it’s up to our detectives to rescue the victim before their kidnapper is done with them – and does away with Dr. John H. Watson.
While the stakes of this case are high, it is still fun to see Badger and Watson grow into it, both as people and as detectives. They have to expand their horizons, both literally and figuratively, as they have no one to rely on but each other and the ‘irregulars’ they have already gathered around them.
They’ve never been outside of London, they’ve never had a case with so few clues, and they’ve never had to solve a case where the costs will be both so personal and so catastrophic if they fail.
Which is where, really, really surprisingly, romance enters the picture for both Badger and Watson. As much as Ben Watson doesn’t want to include reporter Ellsie Littleton in their investigation, they need her for the skills they both lack. At the same time, Tim and Ben are both wary of Ellsie’s involvement in their cases AND especially in Tim’s life, as she is an aristocrat whose family fortune is gone. There’s plenty of suspicion to go around – as there should be.
Meanwhile, the case itself is fascinating, because so little of it makes sense. It absolutely does hang together well in all the ways that a mystery should, but everything feels askew. Dr. Watson either left in a hurry OR he left really obscure clues behind. The case might relate to one of Holmes’ old cases, or it might be a way of getting at Holmes himself by kidnapping his friend.
And the ransom demand is WAY too low and the instructions for delivery are way too strange. The kidnapping might not be about the ransom at all. But then, what is it about? They have a lot to work through but seemingly a flexible amount of time to do it. Which is also, well, not exactly typical in a kidnapping case.
That, in the end, this case, like one of Holmes’ other old cases, comes down to the ‘curious incident of the dog in the nighttime’ weaves the whole thing back into the Holmes’ canon without pulling a thread of it out of place made The Misplaced Physician an excellent addition to both the Irregular Detective series and the library of stories that ensure that the game is always afoot.
