The Devil’s Due
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
After Art in the Blood and Unquiet Spirits, Holmes and Watson are back in the third of Bonnie MacBird’s critically acclaimed Sherlock Holmes Adventures, written in the tradition of Conan Doyle himself.
It’s 1890 and the newly famous Sherlock Holmes faces his worst adversary to date – a diabolical villain bent on destroying some of London’s most admired public figures in particularly gruesome ways. A further puzzle is that suicide closely attends each of the murders. As he tracks the killer through vast and seething London, Holmes finds himself battling both an envious Scotland Yard and a critical press as he follows a complex trail from performers to princes, anarchists to aesthetes. But when his brother Mycroft disappears, apparently the victim of murder, even those loyal to Holmes begin to wonder how close to the flames he has travelled. Has Sherlock Holmes himself made a deal with the devil?
Reviews
‘One of the best Sherlock Holmes novels of recent memory, at least as entertaining as Anthony Horowitz’s The House of Silk … MacBird’s artistry will keep readers eagerly turning the pages just to see how she orchestrates the big reveal.’—MICHAEL DIRDA, Washington Post
‘Gets a definite recommendation from me. MacBird is sure-footed with atmosphere and voices, there’s lots of action and a solid mystery, but no shortage of real tenderness between Holmes and Watson, and the conclusion is as satisfying as anything Conan Doyle wrote. If you’re looking for a Sherlockian Christmas present for someone, introduce them to Bonnie MacBird’s series.’—Sherlock Holmes Journal
‘Bonnie MacBird's best Holmes novel so far and cements her as one of the best pastiche authors out there … This did not disappoint. Get it as soon as you can.‘—Doylockian
‘An extraordinary mystery … worthy of Holmes and Watson’s adventures!’—Leslie S. Klinger
‘A rich stew of Holmesian tropes and lore which romps along.’—Shots
‘Loose-limbed, prodigiously inventive, plotted with infernal logic’—Kirkus
‘A Sherlockian thrill-ride … the characters ring steel-true and will deight mystery readers, Holmes devotees and newcomers alike.’—Dana Cameron, author of the Emma Fielding Mysteries
‘Bonnie MacBird at the top of her game!.’—Curtis Armstrong, author of Revenge of the Nerd; A Plum Assignment
‘Gorgeously crafted and marvellously entertaining!’—Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of The Murder List
About the author
Bonnie MacBird is passionate about Victorian London and Sherlock Holmes. She lives in an 1890 building right off Baker Street, and fell in love with Holmes as a schoolgirl in her native California. After many years in the entertainment industry as a film executive, Emmy winning producer and screenwriter, she now writes the critically acclaimed Sherlock Holmes Adventure Series for HarperCollins, bringing the much loved detective back, traditional style, in full-length adventures. Meticulous research, a flair for deductions and a decided sense of humour have turned these into fan favourites. ART IN THE BLOOD was translated into seventeen languages and was followed by UNQUIET SPIRITS, THE DEVIL’S DUE and the upcoming THE THREE LOCKS.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1890, MacBird's solid third Sherlock Holmes adventure (after 2017's Unquiet Spirits) poses a clever mystery for the master detective to solve. London is being afflicted by a series of strange deaths, including that of medical research donor Horatio Anson, who was found "dry, clean, and in his nightclothes, upright in his bed, yet drowned, a Devil' Tarot card in his hand." Another victim, paper magnate Sebastian Danforth, was stabbed to death with a letter opener. Holmes learns that Anson and Danforth were both members of the Luminarians, a secret group of self-made men who use their fortunes to "bring light to the world," and that their deaths and others may be the work of a serial killer working his way through the alphabet. The inquiry is made harder by the antipathy toward Holmes on the part of the new head of the Metropolitan Police, Titus Billings, who has vowed to "make London safe from the hordes of foreign criminals flooding our city." Fans of traditional pastiches will want to see more from MacBird, who convincingly recreates the characters and prose style of Conan Doyle's originals.
