Traditional Publishing

Volume 2 includes more Sherlock Holmes and Watson tales collected by David Ruffle from writers around the world.

In 1910, American author and social critic Jack London began writing The Assassination Bureau, Ltd., a work that he never completed. Now, thanks to the recently discovered manuscript of Dr. John Watson, we know why. The early part of London's book describes a secret organization - scoffed at or ignored by police officials - that conspires to murder influential political and social leaders. Not until Sherlock Holmes is provoked into action by threats close to home does anyone appear able to stop the Assassination Bureau.

Nick joins the Criminal Investigation Department to learn about the work of the detectives in civilian clothes. Asked to keep a watchful eye on a house thought to be used as a brothel, Nick quietly climbs the roof and sends a tile crashing through the window. When the woman inside and her five brothers attack the neighbors for causing the damage, the police turn out in force and arrest everybody. Meanwhile Nick lies low on the roof.

Not when missing sheep need locating, stray dogs need homing, and thieves need identifying! As Britain’s most popular copper continues his work around the village, he has to cope with an array of eccentric characters: a postman who can’t read, a helpful lady who steals from the elderly people in her care, and a delightful small-time villain called Tin Lid Talbot. Winning an aged tin of sardines in a local raffle and upsetting the villagers by getting first prize at the local whist drive, PC Nick Rhea must contend with the variety and humorous exploits of a Yorkshire village.

It is June, 1897, the eve of the greatest celebration in the history of London - the Diamond Jubilee of Her Royal Highness Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India. At 221B Baker Street, happy anticipation of the event is shattered when an alarmed Samuel Clemens bursts in and informs Holmes and Watson that his life is threatened by a bizarre international conspiracy. Holmes, Watson, and Clemens spend the frantic final days before the Jubilee discovering that the conspiracy is much worse than Clemens imagined. The very fate of the Empire is at stake....

Who are the "men in the garden"? Was Chipping Norton really once the center of the universe? What part do dodgy knees have to play? Just who are Johnny Norfolk and Johnny Stevens? What is W.A.S.T.E.? What connects the Cotswolds, Venice, East Molesey and Lyme Regis? Why would anyone pay to see Ophelia get Your Gun? And just what is the appropriate response to virtually everything?

What would you buy in slop-shop? What would you put in your lumber room? And what on earth does the obliquity of the ecliptic actually mean? This A-Z of Sherlockian phraseology can help you find out. A handy guide to those "wordy words" and references found within the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle's books featuring the world's only consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Darker than the night, like a piece of reality had been ripped out of the world to grant a view into the endless abyss of the void, a shape rose from the low hills of the moor, towering above all. Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and their associate Mary Morstan are some of the most adept mages in London, safeguarding the peace of the city. Their daily life of solving crimes is interrupted when an ancient threat rises in Dartmoor.

Duncan, Gemma and their children are guests at Beck House, the country estate belonging to the family of Melody Talbot, Gemma’s trusted detective sergeant. A centerpiece of this glorious autumn getaway is a charity luncheon catered by up-and-coming chef Viv Holland. The event could make Viv a star. But a tragic car accident followed by a series of mysterious deaths could ruin her ascent. Each piece of information that surfaces makes it clear that the killer had a connection with Viv’s pub - and perhaps with Beck House itself.

Interpol have tried and failed to find the terrorist, Witch. Now the combined forces of Scotland Yard and MI5 must try the impossible to prevent a major international incident. Dominic Elder carries her autograph wherever he goes. Witch is his passion, his obsession. And being retired is no bar to his willingness to restart the hunt. MI5 know that the man who wrote the Witch file is the key to catching their quarry. But the truth isn't easy to spot.

Maureen O'Donnell is a psychiatric patient, stuck in an affair with Douglas, a shady therapist. She’s about to end it with him when she wakes up one morning to find him in her living room with his throat slit. Viewed by the police as both a suspect and a witness, even Maureen’s family suspects her. Panic-stricken, she retraces Douglas' last days, finding a trail of rape and deception at a psychiatric hospital where she’d been an inmate. The patients won't talk and staff are afraid. Then a second brutalised corpse is discovered and Maureen realises that her life is in danger.

These aren’t typical Sherlockian pastiches - the listener won’t find new investigations in the traditional manner. Rather, these stories take the inconsistencies and contradictions to be found in those original 12 canonical adventures and pull them apart, twist them, double back on them, and construct them into something that’s sly and new and thoroughly thought-provoking. These efforts are dense with material and are filled with Easter Eggs for the perceptive Sherlockian. The author’s subtle sense of humor and affection for Holmes and Watson peeks through at every turn.

Cherry blossom season is Washington, D.C.'s most beautiful time of the year. But as tourists flock to the city, this year's festivities are marred by the discovery of the naked body of a young woman floating in the Tidal Basin. Veteran homicide detective Brian (Brick) Kavanagh is assigned to the case. He's shocked when he learns the victim is connected to another homicide which makes the investigation very personal for him. Convinced that justice has not been served and the wrong person is in jail, Kavanagh risks all to relentlessly pursue the truth.

A collection of works containing two classic mystery Agatha Christie novels featuring the redoubtable Superintendent Battle. Superintendent Battle's impassive expression misleads many new aquantances into underestimating the determined lawman - but it is not nothing that one of Scotland Yard's finest detectives is assigned the most volatile and mysterious cases of murder. In his first adventure, The Secret of Chimneys, the Superintendent is concerned with a missing packet of letters -- and their vital connection to murder and control of the throne of Herzoslovakia.

"Mr. Sherlock Holmes? I am or was, Lady Juliet Armstrong, Baroness Crestwell. Having been murdered, I am deceased and require your assistance." Thus began the strangest partnership in the long career of Sherlock Holmes. In Book One of this series we met the brash and bold, silly and sassy Lady Armstrong who wouldn't let a simple thing like death stop her from seeking the great Detective's help in solving the mystery of her violent and untimely demise.

It has taken over 80 years, but at long last, the British government’s embargo on reporting this slice of diplomatic history has been lifted. It was in November 1940 that a senior minister at the British foreign office in blacked-out London commissioned Holmes and Watson to go to Berlin to negotiate a prisoner of war swap with the German high command. And the price demanded by Nazi Propaganda Minister, Joseph Göbbels, for any prisoner's release? That the two work with the Berlin police to capture a serial killer who is stalking the city’s railway network.

It is summer in 1890, in Robertsbridge, a small village in East Sussex. Dr. Watson, on holiday without Holmes, finds the village peaceful and sleepy, but the truth is different. He soon discovers that the villagers are afraid, the atmosphere is threatening.

A diverse collection of Sherlock Holmes related writings including several essays, short stories, and two radio plays. Andriacco's obsession with matters Sherlockian is obvious, and there is much here for Sherlock Holmes fans to enjoy.

Niamh and Conor Ryan are the perfect power couple: smart, successful and beautiful, they have an enviable relationship and an idyllic family life. But then the unthinkable happens. Their oldest son, Tom, is the victim of a hit-and-run. What was Tom doing out walking so late at night? Did he really have problems sleeping, or was he secretly meeting someone? Is it a coincidence that his friend, Lauren, committed suicide nearby - or is there something more sinister going on?

Nigel Foxton was jailed for the murder of three women. Not only was the evidence damning, but during the trial, he changed his plea to guilty. Case closed...or was it? It’s almost 20 years later, and Meredith is being taunted with more victims murdered in the same way. Foxton claims he is innocent and wants to appeal, and Meredith has to prove they jailed the right man.