221B Recs

Title: The Case of the Black Arrow
Author: TheDoubleExposure
Pairing: Gen (Basil of Baker Street, Dr. Dawson, OC)
Length: 38,657 words
Rating: Unrated (reccer’s rating: Mature)
Warnings: child abuse and child-trafficking; moderate violence
Verse: Great Mouse Detective
Author's summary: Two years after Ratigan’s demise, and Basil is in a rut. Finding missing people and lost items are not nearly challenging enough for London’s only private consulting mouse detective. That is, until a mysterious vigilante solves Basil’s latest case before he does. Now Basil of Baker Street is determined to catch the rogue crime fighter and discover their real identity. But things are rarely that straightforward, as Basil and Dawson will soon learn.

Reccer's comments: A vigilante crimefighter, as sharp and skilled as Basil himself — and some respects sharper! — is operating in Mousedom’s London. But while the Black Arrow is solving Basil’s cases — and dispensing a rougher justice than Basil would — Basil turns to solving the Black Arrow. At first Basil investigates the Black Arrow out of simple professional jealousy (although he would never to admit it), then in the name of the law, but ultimately in the name of justice.

Basil and Dawson are entirely themselves in this case fic, Basil with his black lows and brilliant highs, and Dawson with his fierce protectiveness. (I note that Dawson shades away from the Bruceian movie depiction and more toward his literary forebear, which is all to the good for those who enjoy a strong and competent character in the Watson role!) The Black Arrow proves a strong foil for our heroes, a vibrant OC who pushes Basil both professionally and personally, and causes both Basil and Dawson to wrestle with where their conscience lies. The case fic, too, is nicely paced, with the question of proper action becoming murkier as Basil and Dawson draw nearer their quarry.

A note about the author’s AO3 content warnings: the author shows an abundance of caution in their warnings, possibly because the story has much darker content than the film. The case centers on the abuse, trafficking, and murder of children, but none of those topics are graphic. (There is one brief instance which invites inference about what the victims endured.) There is some on-screen violence between adults, which I personally feel slants more moderate than graphic, although obvs mileage can vary on that.

Mostly, though: long-form GMD casefic! With an antagonist who really makes Basil work for it. :-D