An interesting take on Sherlock Holmes from a writer I already enjoy the work of. Admittedly, I'm not as familiar as I ought to be with the original Sherlock Holmes works, but from what I recall, Book Sherlock was never the type of asshole other media (*cough* BBC Sherlock *cough*) makes him out to be; his originally-intended self definitively shines through in Crow. As an adaptation, this book is great.

The worldbuilding is well-crafted, albeit confusing at times, but I was disappointed to see some story arcs (or, story arcs I hoped for) rushed, or unaddressed altogether.

I was hoping for more out of Moriarty's role, for one, and Mary Morstan's. The whole Jack The Ripper plot felt insubstantial, and it being solved effectively by accident cheapened it some, for me. On top of it all, I'm disapointed that Doyle's hellhound status was made into a convenient MacGuffin over the supposedly debilitating condition it is, just for that finale. His lack of self-control, when in other situations it had been incredibly strong, is what solved the murder, and that felt to me like such an "easy" resolution.

Despite the meandering plot, though, Doyle's narration carried the book for me. I like his character in the same way I like Original Watson, which is always good in a mostly faithful (as far as plot points are concerned) adaptation such as this one. I enjoyed reading it because the writing was good, and that, ultimately, makes the book a good experience.

As for this book starting out as wingfic, honestly, good for the author. Every adaptation of anything is technically fanfiction, Addison just isn't being a coward about admitting it.