It took me a while to finish this one. Partially because there's no audible version, and those are easier for me, and partially because, well, I like these character and Cornell was really putting them through the ringer. Following the events of book 2 in the series, our police unit started this book in a nasty, nasty state. Taking on Jack the Ripper will do that to you, as will some of the things I won't spoil. This book was about putting the pieces back together, emotionally and otherwise, and trying to move ahead while dealing with a series of murders that reproduce murders from Sherlock Holmes stories. Including, yes, the murder of Holmes himself. Or, rather, his ghost. This was one of those books where it's a bit of an uphill climb, until it becomes a swift descent all the way to the end. It's a beautiful, loving homage to the works of Conan Doyle, by a man who recently penned an Elementary script, and also commentary about shows like Elementary and well... quite a bit else. I love this series, and it seems very clear that Cornell is playing a long game here. I hope he gets to play it out, because I can't wait to see where it goes.