There's No Place Like Holmes...

Hurrah, and huzzah (as they only say in the publishing world, so who am I to judge?). Today marks the official launch of my latest Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Red Tower. Available here from Titan Books.


From the jacket:

A FAMILY SECRET

It is 1894, and after a macabre séance at a country estate, a young woman has been found dead in a locked room.

When Dr Watson is invited to a weekend party where a séance is planned, he is prepared to be sceptical. James Crain, heir to the estate of Crain Manor, has fallen in with a mysterious group of Spiritualists and is determined to prove the existence of the paranormal. Confronted with a suspicious medium and sightings of the family ghost, Watson remains unconvinced – until James’s sister, Lady Esther, is found dead in a room locked from the inside. Holmes is called to investigate the strange events at Crain Manor, but finds that every guest harbours a secret. Holmes and Watson must uncover the truth, and test the existence of the supernatural…

This was a particularly fun book to write, and one of my best mysteries to date, I think. I've played a little fast and loose with the format, taking elements that one might normally expect to find in an Agatha Christie country house mystery. But the reason for this will hopefully all become clear by the time you reach the finale.

Before we depart, here's the intro quote from the book, just because we all love a good quote, don't we? (And what a run-on sentence that is, from Dickens, master of the form).