A Study in Black Brew
Marie Howalt
“They say life is a string of chances held together with grit and guided by passion, and who am I to disagree?” Kellieth ReinAraneinth was headed for a career as a field chemist on a newly settled planet when their dreams and ambitions were crushed by coincidences and chronic illness. They return broke to the wendek homeworld, Ganmak, where everyone’s basic needs are covered, but import luxuries like Kellieth’s favorite human-made beverage, black brew, is costly. While piecing together a new life and recovering from their ordeals, Kellieth ends up sharing lodgings with the attractive, enigmatic, and infuriating Raithan WeinZalneinth. When a human is found dead next to an alarming message on the wall in an empty house, Kellieth gets caught up in a gruesome mystery involving Raithan and the local peace corps. Who is the human? How did he die? What is Raithan hiding? And when will Kellieth have the time to catch their breath?
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**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.** Marie Howalt presents A Study in Black Brew, a scifi retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. Readers follow the perspective of Kellieth, a chemist with chronic illness who was retired from the field due to an aggravation of that illness. Kellieth is a wendek, one of several alien species mentioned in the world Howalt develops. When Kellieth moves to accommodate their new level of income, they rapidly finds themself swept up in the antics of their strange new neighbor, Raithan. Raithan, another wendek, is summoned to a murder investigation and Kellieth is along for the journey. As is likely apparent, Kellieth fills the role of our Watson character and Raithan is our Holmes. This retelling is a pretty beat-by-beat type of retelling under the influence of the scifi world and with the technological advancements as well as various species included as part of that world. That being said, Howalt pays homage to the original story by Doyle while also introducing characters who are charming in their own right. I really just found this retelling to be fun and would be willing to follow this pair in the future (perhaps on their own adventures?), though Howalt notes A Study in Black Brew as a standalone. I will absolutely be looking into Howalt's backlist and happily recommend this story to Sherlock fans and murder mystery fans alike.
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