Sherlock Holmes and Mrs Hudson are faced with a new challenge…Dangerous magicians! Precious gems! Dastardly Plans! Sherlock Holmes is just the man…But what if Holmes isn’t the only brains at Baker Street?As snow falls on Baker Street, the wintry city is abuzz with excitement: the Malabar Rose – a fabled and enormous ruby – has been sent as a gift to Queen Victoria by the Marharajah of … Victoria by the Marharajah of Marjoudh. An extraordinary condition is attached: the gem must be displayed at London’s sumptuous Blenheim Hotel. How can the safety of this priceless jewel be assured? The authorities wisely enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr Watson… but fortunately for them, they are also on the receiving end of help from Holmes’s redoubtable housekeeper Mrs Hudson and her able assistant, Flotsam the housemaid.
The Malabar Rose isn’t the only exotic attraction stirring up excitement in the city, however. World famous magician the Great Salmanazar will be amazing the lucky few who can secure tickets at a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular. Not only that, but the world’s most beautiful woman – the glamorous, if rather risqué, fire dancer Lola Del Fuego – will be joining him on the bill.
With all this excitement and a peculiar disappearance in Ealing, Mrs Hudson and Flottie have their hands full this festive season. Their investigations take in snow-shrouded streets, a toyshop full of wonders, a tumultuous Covent Garden as the New Year rings in and even theatre dressing rooms in Stepney.
This fresh twist on classic Victorian mystery will delight fans and new readers alike.
Martin Davies grew up in north-west England. All his writing is done in cafes, on buses or on trains, and all his first drafts are written in longhand. He has travelled widely, including in the Middle East, India and Sicily. In addition to the Holmes & Hudson Mysteries, he is the author of four other novels, including The Conjurer’s Bird, which sold over 150,000 copies and was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club and Havana Sleeping, which was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA Historical Dagger award. He works as a consultant in the broadcasting industry.
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Well written
I love Sherlock Holmes and finding a book about the woman who is his housekeeper was interesting. Mrs Hudson holds her own..a charming book about her and her maid, Flotsam…plenty of Sherlock and Watson thrown in the mix. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will read more in the series.
Loved Mrs. Hudson as a sleuth. And she was a modern, caring woman.
A good relax read.
What a clever twist to Sherlock Holmes stories! Mrs. Hudson is one clever gal!
Sherlock Holmes fans don’t typically give too much thought to Mrs. Hudson so I thought it was fun reading someone’s imaginings about her. It was very inventive.
A fun twist to the Sherlock Holmes story line. Enjoyed the whole series!
Doyle would be jealous that he didn’t write it.
Loved this twist on dear old Sherlock
I liked it. I bought 3 of the series because I wanted to read them in order.
Nice twist on the Holmes stories.
Second in the series devoted to Mrs. Hudson and a new-to-the canon character, Malabar Rose is a tangled, witty story with enough twists and turns, charming characters and new takes on ‘old’ friends. You don’t have to read the first book to enjoy this one. Sherlock Holmes fans will embrace this new entry. I loved it.
An amusing twist having Sherlock take a back seat to Mrs. Hudson. She has quite a lot of common sense! Enjoyable book.
Entertaining! Love the sleuthing from Mrs. Hudson’s point of view. She learned well from Sherlock!
Whimsical twist on Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes entertaining but drags a little in places.
Good story and expansion of characters we always wanted to know more about.
It felt closer to the orginal Sherlock books than by other authors!
A different view for a fan of all things Sherlock Holmes.
I have read two books in this series (and all Sherlock Holmes books). I thoroughly enjoyed them and highly recommend them. I love the characters of Mrs. Hudson and Flotsom. Flottie is Mrs. Hudson’s Watson, helping her work parallel to Holmes in solving the convoluted mysteries. How it all will come together at the end keeps you turning the page — or swiping your Kindle!
As a Sherlock Holmes junkie, I found this version of Mrs Hudson thoroughly entertaining and the maid Flotsam engaging. The characters were colorful and true to the period (at least my vision of the period) and found myself lost in the story. I enjoyed his read very much.