Two strangely connected murders. An eve-of-war catastrophe. And a new sleuth determined to help Holmes against all odds . . . London, 1896–A prominent banker is found dead in an unsavory part of the city. Hours later, the charred remains of another body are discovered on a beach in Dover. An intriguing link between the two murders brings the case to the forefront of Sherlock Holmes’s attention. … Sherlock Holmes’s attention.
The famed detective’s investigation has barely begun, however, when the Secretary of War summons him with catastrophic news: on the eve of war, a new British superweapon has fallen into the wrong hands. Holmes must recover it, or risk dooming the England to a dark fate for generations to come.
Holmes and his faithful partner Watson make plans to track the weapon down in Germany, where Brits are unwelcome and dangers lurk everywhere. But they’re not alone in their endeavors: over Holmes’s stern objection, his recently discovered grown daughter Lucy insists on helping the duo find the weapon and solve the two murders.
Lucy’s sleuthing skills prove as formidable as her father’s, and soon enough, the trail of clues in Germany lead the three detectives to a sinister plot that puts them directly in the line of fire. Can they evade danger, solve a double murder and save the Empire?
A thrilling and fast-paced take on a classic Sherlock who-done-it, complete with unexpected twists and turns and international intrigue. The Wilhelm Conspiracy stays faithful to the spirit of the beloved original series, and features appearances from real-life notables Nikola Tesla, King Edward VII, and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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I enjoyed reading this book.
Charles Veley does a great job writing Sherlock Holmes Mysteries! I read them much too fast because they are so good. So now I will go back and read them again!
Anything Sherlock Holmes is great.
I want to start by thanking Charles Veley for this 2016 gift; THE WILHELM CONSPIRACY was published on my birthday. In so many ways, timing is everything. The time in which the actual writing of a book is one aspect, but the time the words are read can color the reader’s view. I seem to read most everything through a lens of history and politics these days. As a book about international intrigue, complete with murder, kidnapping, and espionage, the story resonates as timely.
Once again, Veley includes famous names from history (and notes at the end to explain what is factual and what is not) to emphasize the historic context of the tale.
Holmes implored Watson to never tell this tale, but the good doctor wrote it and stipulated that it not be published until the twenty-first century to protect certain information becoming public during the lifetime of protagonist. I will honor Dr. Watson, by also not revealing here what anyone who has read THE LAST MORIARTY already knows.
Along with excellent writing that does the originator of Sherlock Holmes proud, I want to make mention of the high-quality formatting of the Kindle Edition for both of the books that I have read so far. This attention to detail makes for smooth, uninterrupted reading which I greatly appreciate.
I do recommend that you start with the first book in the Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James series, at least for these two books. I have to read more in the series to know if this will hold true for later novels and stories.
Any fan of Holmes will find this to be a valued addition to the canon.
International Treachery
4.5 stars
Appropriate for teen – adult
No sex
Action violence-nothing stomach turning
No objectionable language
Clever plot twists
Watson, Holmes, and Lucy become involved in an international show of power between England and Germany. Each claims to have developed a sort of electric ray gun. It is a show of power supposedly to be used to unite the 2 countries against common enemies. In reality it was Germany’s plan to show their weapon’s superiority and thereby tipping power towards themselves.
Murder, abductions, and false alliances complicate the competition.
Good plot. Sometimes I got the many characters confused with one another. This was not distracting enough to keep me from reading on.
Enjoyable light reading
In the Holmes universe, this is just so-so. The premise of Sherlock and her daughter just didn’t sit well with me.
silly
Very heavy reading for a Sherlock Holmes story.
Had a good time with this book. I had to go and look up further details on Kaiser Wilhelm. Germany’s leader for WW1. Will be ordering more in this series ±P±
Interesting, but certainly not up to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle standards.
I love Sherlock Holmes stories – the originals, obviously, and many of the newer additions to the genre. Whenever I see a new title pop up, I race to check it out – Holmes has become so much a part of the popular imagination that there are new titles nearly every week it seems… I had purchase the first book in this particular series (The Last Moriarty) a while back and had it on my kindle but somehow it got buried and I forgot about it. Then I saw this, a sequel, available on NetGalley. I requested it, then hurried to read the earlier story (since I’m obsessed with reading series books in order) so I could get to it. TLM was interesting – well plotted, if a bit overly done at times – and while it wasn’t my favorite of the newer Holmes books, I did enjoy the addition of Lucy James enough to want to check out this one.
Disappointment doesn’t even begin to cover it, unfortunately.
I just couldn’t get into this one. Not only did not finish it – I didn’t even get a quarter through it… It just felt rehashed and flat to me. Lucy was a little too sparkle-in-her-eyes, Sherlock a little too predictable (which, for the Great Man, is likely one of the worst insults imaginable but it fits), Watson a little too cozy-mystery staid. The compulsion to throw myriad famous people who lived coincident with Holmes’ timeframe into the story felt forced this time around. Even Tesla – notoriously intriguing in real life – was dull to me this time ’round. The plot couldn’t hold me, either. It should have – the battles over electricity and its potential are actually very interesting parts of American history to me, but somehow even that didn’t sparkle (pun intended – and groan admitted)..
It is possible that I’m on Sherlock overload, I suppose… I also just reviewed Lyndsay Faye’s latest (The Whole Art of Detection) and am furiously working my way through Laurie R. King’s incredible Holmes/Mary Russell series at the moment. While TLM wasn’t my favorite Holmes book, I did enjoy it enough to give Veley’s Holmes/James books another try – just not right now…