Geoffrey A. Landis

"The Singular Habits of Wasps" (1994)
Included in: The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (John Joseph Adams)
Story Type: Science Fiction Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Mrs Hudson; Mary Morstan; (Mycroft Holmes)
Historical Figures: Mary Jane Kelly; Jack the Ripper; (Thomas Henry Huxley; H.G. Wells; Polly Nichols; Annie Chapman; Elizabeth Stride; Catherine Eddowes)
Other Characters: Baker Street Neighbours; Gregory's Uncle; Baxter; Message Boy; Whitechapel Residents; Barman; Miller's Court Woman; Constables; Alien Creatures; Cabbie; Whitechapel Women; Whitechapel Man; (Gregory; Cabman; Surrey Search Party; Road Workmen)
Date: Late Spring - November, 1888
Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Lyceum Theatre; Whitechapel; Pub; Miller's Court; Surrey; Covingham
Story: London is shaken by the double firing of a cannon, but no source of the noise can be found. The following day Holmes is visited by two men from Surrey, wishing him to investigate the disappearance of the body of a farmhand who died in an accident at work. After finding strange tracks at the scene of the disappearance, Holmes goes to consult Huxley, but finds him absent, and instead talks to his protegé Wells, with whom he discusses the planet Mars and wasps. He begins making frequent visits to Whitechapel. A package is delivered, and the next day Watson reads of the first of the Ripper murders, and is surprised when Holmes knows the victim's name. He resolves to follow Holmes the next time he leaves, but is warned off. The next day he reads of another Ripper murder. He takes Mary to see Jekyll and Hyde at the Lyceum. Holmes asks him to burn his corpse if he should die. His suspicions building, Watson begins accompanying Holmes into Whitechapel. Searching for him one night, he discovers the body of Mary Kelly. Back at Baker Street, Holmes explains his actions, the reason for the killings, and the extra-terrestrial origin of the cannon blasts and missing body. They make one more bloody trip into Whitechapel to put an end to the killings.

Andrew Lane

Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud (2010)
Story Type: Children's Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Mycroft Holmes; Baron Maupertuis; (The Paradol Chamber)
Other Characters: Matthew "Matty" Arnatt; Fat Man; Deepdene Students; Students' Families; Mr Tulley; Mr Tomblinson; Mycroft's Driver; Footman; Sherrinford Holmes; Anna Holmes; Farnham Townspeople; Carriage Driver; Man in Carriage; Train Passengers; Porters; Railway Guard; Manor Servants; Maid; Dead Man; Doctor; Cart Driver; Clem; Martin; Joe; Stouffer; Flynn; Denny; Virginia Crowe; Guildford Townspeople; Professor Arthur Albery Winchcombe; Winchcombe's Butler; Fairground Workers; Nat Wilson; Wilson's Barker; Maupertuis's Servants; Tavern Patrons; Landlord; Serving Girl; Crowe's Cart Driver; Waterloo Crowds; Waterloo Porter; Cab Driver; Hotel Porters; Desk Clerk; Hotel Diners; Boatman; Rotherhithe Women; Snagger; Nicholson; Bill; Bill's Woman; Clock Seller; Tunnel Crowds; Little Girl; Girl's Parents; Firemen; Stevedores; Dockmaster; Sailors; Dockers; Mr Surd; French Farmer; Cherbourg Harbourmaster; Fort Guards; Tavern Woman
(Siger Holmes; Mrs Holmes; Charlotte Holmes; Dead Tailor; Wint)
Locations: Deepdene School for Boys; Dorking; Inn; Aldershot; Farnham; High Street; Holmes Manor; Woods; Barn; River Wey; Guildford; Dapdune Wharf; High Street; Chaelis Road; Winchcombe's House; Farnham Castle Fairground; Maupertuis's House; Tavern; Waterloo Station; Sarbonnier Hotel; Trafalgar Square; The Thames; Rotherhithe; Warehouse; Rotherhithe Tunnel; Tower Bridge; France; Maupertuis's Chateau; French Village; Cherbourg; The English Channel; A Seafort; Tavern
Story: Matty Arnatt sees a mysterious cloud and hears a scream. Mycroft arrives at Holmes's school at the end of term to tell him that their father is caught up in military action in India and their mother is ill, and that he will be staying with his Uncle Sherrinford and Aunt Anna in Farnham for the holidays. Unwelcome in their house, he meets Matty, who tells him about the cloud, in the woods. He sees a cadaverous figure in a carriage and receives a warning from Mycroft about the housekeeper. A tutor, Crowe, is employed for him, and while they are out studying the countryside, Holmes discovers a boil-covered body.

Crowe teaches him more about deduction, and after finding yellow powder at the site of the death, and seeing a man carrying a sack of yellow powder from the house where Matty saw the cloud to the property the cadaverous man had come out of, he climbs over the wall to investigate and finds himself locked in a burning barn. He continues to learn from Matty, and meets Crowe's daughter, Virginia. When he and Matty take Matty's longboat to Guildford to consult with Winchcombe, an expert in tropical diseases, their boat comes under attack. With Winchcombe's assistance Holmes comes to realise that bees have been responsible for the deaths.

While under curfew, Holmes sneaks out to the fair to meet Virginia, and finds himself in a boxing match, and a prisoner of Baron Maupertuis. After his escape the trail of the Baron leads him, Matty and the Crowes to London. After facing Maupertuis's men there, Holmes finds himself a prisoner once again, in France with Virginia, and must escape to prevent a deadly attack on the armed forces of the British Empire planned by Maupertuis and his associates in the Paradol Chamber. The case reaches its explosive end on a fort in the English Channel.

NOTE: Maupertuis and his servant Surd also appear in Lane's Doctor Who novel All-Consuming Fire (below).

Andy Lane

All-Consuming Fire (1994)
Story Type: Science Fiction Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Colonel Warburton; Mrs. Hudson; Billy; Inspector MacDonald; Inspector Lestrade; Giant Rat of Sumatra; Mycroft Holmes; Baron Maupertuis; Professor Moriarty
Fictional Characters: The 1st Doctor; Susan; The 7th Doctor; Bernice Summerfield; Ace; Inspector Cribb; The 3rd Doctor; Madame Sosostris; Bernice Summerfield; Lord John Roxton; Azathoth
Historical Figures: Baden-Powell; Cardinal Ruffo-Scilla; Pope Leo XIII; Inspector Abberline; Walter Dew; Enrico Caruso; (Dr. W.C. Minor)
Other Characters: Siger Holmes; servant; Gloria Warburton; stoker; Reverend Hawkins; serveur; chef de train; Sherringford Holmes; cabbie; urchins; librarian; Jehosophat Ambrose; Mr. Jitter; library guards; Kate Prendersly; maid; sentries; barman; Mack "The Knife" Yeovil; fight crowd; haggard woman; ringmaster; rat keepers; Punishers; Frank; Alf Froome; pickpocket; Jessup; Diogenes Club members; Diogenes footmen; Barker; tattooed man; footman; Madame; children; K'tcar'ch; Surd; Sherringford Holmes; lascars; beggars; traders; crew of the Matilda Briggs; conjurer; waiter; dockside crowd; bar customers; khitmagar; Rakshassi demons; train passengers; soldiers; Tir Ram; Smithee; ice seller; train stewards; Indian bearer; O'Connor; Ghulam Haidar; Tir Ram's servants; Maupertuis' army; fakirs; the Shlangii; firemen; Chinese men; American soldiers; looters; (Matthew Jolly; Josephine Jolly)
Date: 1887
Locations: India; Jabhalabad; Vienna; The Orient Express; Austria; The Pope's Train; Victoria Station; a four-wheeler; Victoria Street; Parliament Square; Whitehall; Trafalgar Square; Charing Cross Road; Oxford Street; 221B, Baker Street; a Hansom; St. Giles Rookery; the Library of St. John the Beheaded; Holborn; Kean's Chop House; another Hansom; Whitefields Lodge; Ry'leh; Scotland Yard; Hyde Park; The Serpentine; Hackney Marshes; Diogenes Club; Pneumatic Railway; Euston; Drummond Crescent; another four-wheeler; The Matilda Briggs; Port Said; The Plain of Leng; Bombay; Ballard Pier; A Hotel; Warburton's bungalow; Tir Ram's palace; Temple Cave; A Caravan; San Francisco; The Palace Hotel
Story: Holmes & Watson are returning from a visit to Vienna aboard the Orient Express. The train is stopped and they are taken aboard another, where they are commissioned by the Pope to locate books missing from the Library of St. John the Beheaded. In London they investigate the library. Watson sees a hooded figure disappearing through a door which Holmes later finds to be locked. Returning to Baker Street they find the Doctor waiting for them and reluctantly agree to work together. Watson and the Doctor visit Kate Prendersly, a patron of the library, who tells them of a time she saw a man eating books. Before she can go on, her body bursts into flames. Meanwhile Holmes visits Hackney Marshes, where the library guards are being punished, and witnesses a dogfight between three dogs and the Giant Rat of Sumatra, a strange three-legged creature. Later, in a meeting with Mycroft, Watson meets Holmes older brother, Sherringford, who reveals that it is their father, Siger's diaries that have been stolen, containing information about a means of passing from this world into others.

Holmes, Watson and the Doctor set sail aboard the S.S. Matilda Briggs for India, the site of Siger's experiences, where they meet up with Bernice. The Doctor is carried of by a Rakshassa, and Holmes, Watson & Bernice travel on in pursuit of Baron Maupertuis, to Jabhalabad, where they stay with Colonel Warburton. On a visit to the Nizam's Palace, where they meet Lord John Roxton, and a missionary named O'Connor, they are taken prisoner by Maupertuis, and led to a cave temple, where, as the portal opens up to the planet Ry'leh, they are attacked by Rakshassi, and O'Connor's true identity is revealed, Maupertuis & his men escape through the portal and it closes behind them. Eventually Holmes & his companions manage to reopen the portal and pass through to the planet Ry'leh, where they must confront Azathoth, and learn the truth about his human assistants.

David Langford

"The Repulsive Story of the Red Leech" (1997)
Included in: The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (Mike Ashley)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson
Other Characters: Martin Maximilian Traill; Selina Traill; Wilfrid Jarman; Dr. James; Basil Jarman
Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Hampstead Heath; Highgate Ponds; A Public House; A Cab; Theobald's Road; offices of Jarman, Fittle & Coggs
Story: Martin Traill must sign the papers that will allow him to claim his inheritance, but since a spirit warning received at a Séance given by his sister, he has been unable to do so, feeling a great pain in his hand each time he tries. He tells Holmes that the same hand was bitten by a red leech on Hampstead Heath some months previously, although luckily a passing doctor was able to tend to the bite. Holmes and Watson journey to the Heath, where Holmes is able to find the remains of the leech (which he later deposits on Watson's plate of kippers). Bringing X-ray technology to bear on the case, Holmes is able to solve it but not without an explosion or receiving a bullet in his shoulder.

Sterling E. Lanier

"A Father's Tale" (1974)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space (Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh)
Story Type: Science Fiction Pastiche
Detective: Verner
Canonical Characters: The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Other Characters: Young Club Member; Brigadier Ffellowes; Mason Williams; Captain Ffellowes; Dato Ali Burung; Umpa; Ffellowes' Crew; Ship's Cook; Islanders; The Not-Men / The Folk; Cornelius Van Ouisthoven
Date: Autumn, 1881
Locations: A Club In New York; A Boat off The Coast of Sumatra; A Sumatran Island; Kampong De Kan
Story: Brigadier Ffellowes tells how his father picked up a shipwreck victim after a storm off the coast of Sumatra. Before passing out, the man warns him to look out for Matilda Briggs. When he regains consciousness he says that his name is Verner, ad he needs Captain Fellowes' help, as a gentleman and a patriot, in a matter of some urgency. They land on an island, and, taking control of the crew, Verner leads them inland, stopping on the way to look at animal tracks. As they camp for the night they lose two sentries to something in the jungle. He eventually reveals to Ffellowes that he plans to totally destroy a native village occupied by a Dutch scientist named Van Ouisthoven, and what the natives refer to as the "Not-Men". Eventually they arrive at a European-style village where they are attacked by giant human-like rat creatures. The ship Matilda Briggs is in the harbour, loaded with females and infants, Verner says that it, too, must be destroyed. As he explores the village, Ffellowes learns more of Ouisthoven's experiments, and discovers Ouisthoven himself, kept prisoner by the "Folk" who are attempting to leave aboard the ship. The men must unite to stop them.

NOTE: This story owes as much to H.G. Wells's The Island of Doctor Moreau as it does to the Holmesian canon.

Robert Lauderdale

"The Best Laid Plans" (2009)
Included in: Gaslight Grotesque (J.R. Campbell & Charles Prepolec)
Story Type: Canonical Revisioning narrated by Lestrade
Canonical Characters: Inspector Lestrade; The Moriarty Gang; Professor Moriarty; Dr. Watson; (Sherlock Holmes; Inspector Patterson; Tobias Gregson; Inspector Jones; Inspector Bradstreet)
Other Characters: Moriarty's Guests; Police Surgeon; Lestrade's Men; Raven Child; Lizard Woman; Sergeant Jenkins; Moriarty's Creatures; Lestrade's Colleagues
Date: May, 1891 - 1894
Locations: Lestrade's Home; Moriarty's Lair; Morgue; Scotland Yard
Story: Lestrade recalls the day that the Moriarty Gang was brought down through Holmes's efforts. He recalls his own encounter with Moriarty and the Professor's miraculous escape from death, and the discovery of an underground lair full of human-animal hybrids.

Alain le Bussy

"A Matter Without Gravity" (2009)
Included in: Tales of the Shadowmen 5: The Vampires of Paris (J.-M. & Randy Lofficier)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; (Mrs Hudson; Mrs Watson; Mrs Watson's Mother)
Fictional Characters: Lord Edward Beltham; Arnold Bedford; Professor Cavor; The Time Traveller; Cavorite
Historical Figures: H.G. Wells
Other Characters: Chambers; Innkeeper; Train Waiter; (Watson's Colleague; Minister)
Locations: Devon; Beltham Manor; 221B, Baker Street; Wells' Home; Two Bridges; Post Office; Inn; A Train
Date: 1896
Story: Holmes and Watson have been summoned to Beltham Manor by the disagreeable Lord Beltham. The Manor has been plagued by a series of unexplained incidents, and Beltham believes that his neighbour, Wells, may be behind them. Holmes tells Watson of his involvement in Government research into aerial warfare, and suffers a fall on the moor. They visit Wells, taking lunch with him, Bedford, Cavor and the "Traveller", sampling an unfamiliar food cooked with electricity. Intrigued by the sounds of construction from within the house, Holmes and Watson return by night. While Holmes is inside the house, Watson is knocked down by a strange force.

"The Sainte-Geneviève Caper" (2005)
Included in: Tales of the Shadowmen 1: The Modern Babylon (J.-M. & Randy Lofficier)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: (Sherlock Holmes)
Fictional Characters: Ganimard, (Arsène Lupin)
Historical Figures: Lord Dunsany
Other Characters: Count Sainte-Geneviève; Guests; Orchestra; Countess Sainte-Geneviève; Footman; Duchess; Marquis; Policemen; Herman Mayer
Locations: Sainte-Geneviève's Castle; Paris; Préfecture of Police
Date: 1920
Story: At the annual fête held by Sainte-Genèvieve to commemorate his namesake saint's day, Ganimard shares his belief with Dunsany that Lupin poses a threat to the evening, and that Holmes has been hired by the Count's father-in-law as security. The predicted attack comes in a blackout at midnight, but the following day Ganimard discovers that nothing has been stolen, and it is only later that he realises what has really happened.

Stephen Leacock

"An Irreducible Detective Story" (1916)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye); The Misadventures Of Sherlock Holmes (Ellery Queen)
Story Type: Parody
Detective: the great detective
Other Characters: Tourist; Ship's Captain
Locations: New York; The Gloritania
Story: From a hair found on the body of a dead man, the great detective finally tracks down a mass murderer.

Steve Leadley

"The Circle of Blood" (2009)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes and the Circle of Blood (Steve Leadley)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; (Mycroft Holmes; Mrs Hudson)
Historical Figures: Emlen Physick; Frances Ralston; Emilie Parmentier; John Wanamaker; Harriet Tubman; (Benjamin Harrison; Philip Syng Physick; Major General Oliver Otis Howard)
Other Characters: Washington Hotel Manager; Bellhop; Telegraph Clerk; Fourwheeler Driver; Washington Porter; Republic Band; Children; Well-Dressed Elderly Gentleman; Republic Captain; Sailors; Baggage Handlers; Porters; Valets; Robert; Carlton Hotel Guests; Tourists; Bill; Bill's Companion; Joseph Goodfellow; Constable Gallachio; Physick's Butler; Cape May Residents; Chalfonte Guests; Chalfonte Old Man; Angler; Congress Hall Attendants; Baseball Players; Congress Hall Band; Trolley Conductor; Wanamaker's Butler; Wanamaker's Coachman; Samuel Legree; Wagon Driver; Trolley Pilot; Officer Toland; Tubman's Companions; (Minister; John W. Dawkins; Goodfellow's Employee; Goodfellow's Neighbour; Police; Undertaker; Telegraph Operator)
Date: Some time between 1889 & 1893
Locations: USA; Washington City; Hotel; Telegraph Office; Railway Station; A Train; Newcastle; Delaware Bay; Aboard The Rebublic; New Jersey; Cape May Point; Higbee's Landing; Delaware Bay House; Cape May; Hughes Street; Goodfellow's House; Physick's House; Hughes Street; Franklin Street; Columbia Street; Howard Street; The Chalfonte Hotel; The Stockton Hotel; Stockton Baths; Pier; Congress Hall; Wanamaker's House; Telegraph Office; Ocean Drive; A Ship
Story: In America on government business, Holmes and Watson are on the point of leaving Washington when they receive a telegram from Physick asking them to investigate a murder in Cape May. Goodfellow, an elderly dry goods merchant has been found stabbed through the jaw, a bust of Socrates next to him, circled with his own blood. On arrival they are met by Physick, who takes them to Goodfellow's house, instructing them on local landmarks and history on the way. Holmes examines the murder site and body. Two coloured lanterns attract his attention. Watson tours the city and learns more of its history, attends a Sousa concert, and discovers billiards and baseball. A visit to a gambling house helps Holmes solve the murder. He enlists the help of the Postmaster General and chases a one-armed man to bring the case to a close after a fight aboard a trolley car. Harriet Tubman is present to help add details to the final revelation.

Anne Lear

"The Adventure of the Global Traveler" (1978)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space (Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh)
Story Type: Science Fiction Pastiche narrated by Moriarty
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Professor Moriarty; Colonel Moran
Fictional Characters: The Time Traveller; The Time Machine
Historical Figures: William Shakespeare; H.G. Wells
Other Characters: Waitress; Shakespeare's Audience; Actor
Date: 1891 & 1640
Locations: Washington D.C.; The Folger Library; Capitol Hill; The Hawk & Dove Bar; Reichenbach; Richmond; The Globe Theatre
Story: The narrator finds a manuscript written by Moriarty, which tells how he survived Reichenbach with the help of Colonel Moran. Returning to Richmond he was able to build a time machine, which he used to extend the limits of his crimes. Unfortunately the machine broke down and he was transported back to Elizabethan England, finding himself on the stage of the Globe Theatre in the middle of a performance of Macbeth.

Tim Lebbon

"The Horror of the Many Faces" (2003)
Included in: Shadows Over Baker Street (Michael Reaves & John Pelan); The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (John Joseph Adams)
Story Type: Supernatural Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Inspector Jones; Mrs. Hudson; (Irene Adler)
Other Characters: Murder Victim; Murderer
Locations: An Alleyway; Watson's Home; Baker Street; 221B, Baker Street
Story: On his way home, Watson comes across Holmes in an alleyway brutally murdering a man. The following day he reads of six similar murders. The witnesses to each one describe different murderers. Jones asks him to help find Holmes after he tells him what he saw, and he finds himself holding Holmes at gunpoint in the Baker Street rooms, only to be greeted by a second Holmes in the doorway.

Maurice Leblanc

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes (1908)
(originally serialised as two novellas: "La Dame Blonde" (1905-1907) & "La Lampe Juive" (1907))
Story Type: Parody
Detectives: Herlock Sholmes & Mr. Wilson
Fictional Characters: Arsène Lupin
Historical Figures: (Napoleon; Marie Walewska)
Other Characters: M. Gerbois; Shopkeeper; Young Man; Suzanne Gerbois; Hortense; Police; Governor of the Credit Foncier; Gerbois' Neighbours; Grocer; Ernest; Blonde Lady; Reporters; Ganimard; Folenfant; Cab Drivers; Gaston; M. Detinan; M. Dudouis; Baron d'Hautrec; Antoinette Brehat; Sister Augusta; Charles; Cab Driver; Coroner; Police Commissioner; Auction Crowd; Exiled King; Italian Tenor; A Prominent Member of Society; Herschmann; Countess de Crozon; Count de Crozon; The d'Andelles; Blanche de Real; Countess's Maid; Madame Real; Waiter; Narrator; Two Men outside Restaurant; Railway Employee; Cab Driver; Two Policemen; Elysee Palace Desk Clerk; M. Thenard; Workmen; Valet; Horseman; Druggist; Druggist's Assistants; Lucien Destange; Destange's Domestic; Clotilde Destange; Lad; Lady Cleveden; Lady Heath; Spanish Ambassador; British Ambassador; Restaurant Proprietor; Policemen; Waiter; Commissioner Decointre; Jeanniot; Edmond Leroux; Victor Leroux; Leonard; Taxi Driver; Captain of The Swallow; Sailors; Felix Davey; M. Dubreuil; Child; Davey's Spy; Rue Crevaux Concierge; Folenfant; Ganimard's Men; Lupin's Men; Rue Picot Concierge; Railway Porter; Railway Guards; Postman; Sholmes's Servant; Sholmes's Valet; Sandwich Men; Dominique; Baron Victor D'Imbervalle; Suzanne D'Imbervalle; Burglars; Domestics; Doctor; Henriette D'Imblevalle; Alice Demun; Dupret; Waiter; Avenue des Ternes Concierge; M. Bresson; Beggar; Two Bicycle Policemen; Fisherman; Austin Gilett; Two Scotland Yard men; (Commandant Bessy; M. Beloux; Hotel Beaurivage Manager; Sophie D'Imblevalle)
Date: December 8th-9th (1904?) / 1st February - 12th March (1905?) / March 27th-April
Locations: France; A Curio Shop; Gerbois' Cottage; The Lycée; Paris; The Credit Foncier; Rue des Capucines; 25, Rue Clapeyron; Avenue Henri-Martin; d'Hautrec's Residence; Drouot Auction Rooms; de Crozon's Chateau; Japanese Tea House, Rue Boissy d'Anglais; Restaurant near the Gare du Nord; A Train; Creil; Gare du Nord; Elysee Palace Hotel; Park; Drugstore; Destange's Residence; Chaussee d'Antin; Rue Helder; Hungarian Restaurant; The Etoile; 40, Rue Chalgrin; Rue Pergolese; Ganimard's Residence; A Quay; Aboard The Swallow; 8, Rue Crevaux; Rue Picot; Sholmes's London Residence; 18, Rue Murillo; Levallois; 36, Quay des Orfevres; Avenue des Ternes; Place Saint-Ferdinand; Cafe; Bank of the Seine; Boulevard Victor Hugo; Rue du Chateau; Aboard the City of London: (Crecy; Trouville; Hotel Beaurivage)
Story:
"The Blonde Lady"
Gerbois buys an antique secretary for his daughter's birthday. The following day the desk is stolen. Two months later Gerbois learns that he has won the lottery, but discovers that the winning ticket was in the stolen secretary. Arsène Lupin announces that he has the winning ticket and suggests they divide the winnings. When Gerbois refuses, Suzanne is kidnapped by a blonde lady. Two days later Foncier arrives at the Credit Foncier with the ticket. Ganimard sets a watch on Gerbois in order to capture Lupin. Lupin reveals his reasons for wanting the secretary and Suzanne is reunited with her father. Although he searches the house, Ganimard fails to find Lupin. Baron d'Hautrec is found murdered in his bedroom, his nurse has disappeared and the room is in disarray. When the police arrive, everything is in its place, the room tidy and the Baron's body peacefully in bed.

Ganimard believes the murder was part of Lupin's theft of the blue diamond, until it is discovered that the diamond is still on the Baron's finger. The diamond is sold at auction and stolen six months later. The Austrian consul is accused of the theft and Ganimard is called in to investigate. He believes the case is related, through the blonde lady, to the Gerbois case. When Ganimard is once again duped by Lupin it is suggested that Herlock Sholmes be called in. Lupin encounters Sholmes in a restaurant and the challenge is laid that the case will be brought to a conclusion in ten days. Sholmes and Wilson find themselves bested by Lupin very early in the game, and their lives at risk. Sholmes discovers that all the properties linked to the case shared the same architect. After taking the blonde lady prisoner, Sholmes finds the tables turned once again, and himself en route out of France, but soon manages to turn them back again and hand Lupin over to Ganimard. Sholmes retrieves the blue diamond, but Lupin makes his escape.

"The Antique Jewish Lamp"
Back in London Sholmes receives a letter from Baron D'Imblevalle asking him to investigate a robbery, and a second from Lupin warning him not to interfere. Arriving in Paris he receives a warning from a girl to stay away from the Baron's residence, and sees sandwich-board men touting a duel between himself and Lupin. He learns from the Duke that an antique lamp containing a precious jewel was stolen. Sholmes demonstrates that the robbery was not as straightforward as it appears to be. That night Wilson is wounded during another intrusion into the house. Sholmes and Ganimard believe they have found Lupin, but the man they have been following kills himself. Sholmes finds himself adrift with Lupin in a leaking boat on the Seine, being shot at from the shore. Sholmes's solution leads to distress and he finds himself sailing for England, once again in company of Lupin.

Henry Ledgard & Andrew Singer

Tanith Lee

"The Human Mystery" (1999)
Included in: More Holmes for the Holidays (Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg & Carol-Lynn Waugh); The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (John Joseph Adams)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; Mrs Hudson
Other Characters: Eleanor Caston; Vine; Mrs Castle; Reynolds; Nettie Prince; (Lucy; Eleanor's Aunt; Sir Hugh de Castone; Hannah Castone; French Caston Woman; Maria Caston; Samps & Brown; Mr Smith)
Date: 22nd December
Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Crowby, Caston Gall
Story: Having inherited a house, Caston Gall, from an aunt, Eleanor Caston learns that any single female member of the family living in it at Christmas is cursed to die. In the past a sighting of a white fox has accompanied the deaths. Eleanor has recently received a threatening note warning her to stay out of the house, letters have appeared in the snow with no footprints near them, and a number five in red on the study wall, a scratching noise has been heard in the walls. Holmes and Watson travel to Crowby where they witness the letters and the scratching and learn that meat has been disappearing from the kitchens. His investigations lead Holmes to deduce that Eleanor has something other than the threat to her life in mind, and that he himself is very much central to the events at Caston Gall.

R.C. Lehmann

"The Umbrosa Burglary" (1893)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye); The Misadventures Of Sherlock Holmes (Ellery Queen)
Story Type: Parody
Detectives: Picklock Holes; Potson
Other Characters: James Silver; Mrs. Silver; Boys & Girls; Peter Bowman; Young Puntsman; Johnny Silver; Burglar
Locations: Umbrosa; Banks of the Thames
Story: Staying at Umbrosa, the home of Potson's friend, James Silver, Holes deduces that a puntsman is a bigamist and a wife murderer. He later states that a burglary will take place in the house later that evening, and is none too pleased when the burglar is captured by Silver's son Johnnie and his friend Peter Bowman.

Fritz Leiber

"The Moriarty Gambit" (1962)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; Professor Moriarty
Historical Figures: Henry Edward Bird; Johann Zukertort; Wilhelm Steinitz; Joseph Blackburne; Mikhail Tchigorin; Baron Ignatz Kolisch
Date: April 23, 1883
Locations: 221B, Baker Street; The Victoria Hall at the Criterion
Story: Holmes tells Watson of his first meeting with Moriarty, and how in the guise of S. Vernet, he beat him in a chess championship. It was as a result of this game that he decided to take up a career fighting crime.

Christopher Leppek

The Surrogate Assassin (1998)
Story Type: Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Jefferson Hope; Mrs Hudson; Young Stamford; Mycroft Holmes; Silver Blaze; John Straker)
Fictional Characters: Elise McKenna
Historical Figures: Christopher Leppek; Sir Henry Irving; Edwin Booth; Mary McVicker Booth; James McVicker; Mary McVicker; Edwina Booth; Maggie Mitchell; Joseph Booth; Allan Pinkerton; Samuel Arnold; Dr Samuel Mudd; Frances Mudd; Mudd's Children; Richard B. Garrett; Mrs Garrett; Bessie Hale Chandler; Garrie Davidson; John Wilkes Booth; Mary Ann Booth; Rosalie Booth; Richard Booth (Samson Morrissey); (Abraham Lincoln; Mark Gray Lyon; Mary Ann's Mother; Junius Brutus Booth; Adelaide Booth; Junius Booth, Jr.; Asia Booth; John Sleeper Clarke; Sarah Booth; Robert Lincoln; Andrew Johnson; Edgar Allan Poe; Edwin Stanton; John Surratt; Michael O'Laughlin; George Atzerodt; David Herold; Lewis Payne; Mary Surratt; Samuel Chase; William Henry Seward; Mary Todd Lincoln; Major Henry Reed Rathbone; Clara Harris; Harry Hawk; Ford's Audience; Sergeant Silas T. Cobb; Union Troops; Rebel Cavalrymen; Garrett Family; Captain Willie Jett; Lieutenant L.B. Baker; Sergeant Boston Corbett; Ned Spangler; James Garfield; Charles J. Guiteau; Charles Wood; John T. Ford, Jr.; Ulysses S. Grant; Ned Spangler; James W. Pumphrey; Julia Dent Grant; John Matthews; National Hotel Desk Clerk; Peanut John; Star Saloon Drunk; Ford's Usher; James G. Blaine; Edwin M. Stanton; Charles Forbes; John Parker; Lizzie Williams; John Lloyd; Mudd's Father; Oswell Swann; Samuel Cox; Thomas Jones; Colonel John Hughes; Elizabeth Quesenberry; William Bryant; Dr Richard Stewart; William Lucas; Ferryman Rollins; Captain Willie Jett; Major Mortimer Ruggles; Lieutenant A.R. Bainbridge; Richard H. Garrett; William Garrett; John Garrett; Robert Garrett; Joanna Garrett; Lieutenant Edward Doherty; Everton Conger; Luther Baker; Fannie Garrett; Dr Charles Urquhart; Ned Freeman; Judge Advocate General David G. Swaim; Fanny Brown; Effie German; Alice Grey; Helen Western; John P. Hale; Ella Starr; Charles Dawson; Dr John Frederick May; Mark Lyon Gray; John St Helen; Samuel Chester; Louis Wiechmann; John Taltavul; H.A.W. Tabor; Baby Doe Tabor)
Other Characters: Lyceum Audience; Actors; Head Usher; Charlie Yockey; Director; Bothnia Quartermaster; Crewmen; Reporters; Carriage Driver; New York Crowds; Masterson; Pinkerton Agents; Billy McPheeters; Western Union Boy; Cab Driver; Hester Street Beggars; Mulberry Bend Knifeman; Washington Cabbie; National Hotel Clerk; National Waiter; Corporal Jones; Major Caldwell; Lieutenant Devereaux; Anacostia Residents; Surrattsville Innkeeper; Ferry Passengers; War Department Major; 17th Street Crowds; Landau Driver; Chandler's Maid; Central Park Carriage Passengers; Carriage Driver; Brooklyn Bridge Workers; Carrollton Bellhop; Sexton; Mourners; Baltimore Passers-by; Baltimore Cab Driver; National Hotel Lift Operator; Hotel Guests; Boy in Sailor Suit; Firemen; Belvedere Bridge Crowd; (Polk City Farmer; Farmer's Grandfather; Des Moines Attorney; Nehemiah Lane; Watson's Theatre Acquaintance; Oberammergau Assassin; Lyceum Clerk; Chicago Police; Holmes's Parents; Jarvis; Patterson House Landlady; Stable Man; Gray's Orderly; 5th Avenue Irregulars; Georgetown Men; Hillbilly; Confederate Raiders; Miners; Wilkes Booth's Wife; Wilkes Booth's Son; Gypsy Fortune Teller; Ford's Stagehands; Stable Managers; Churchgoers; Elias Barth; Hepzibah Barth; Jedediah Barth; Jonathan Barth; Abigail Barth; Zachariah Barth; Sarah Morrissey; Hermit Woman; Actor)
Date: March, 1990s / May 6th, 1935 / May - September, 1881
Locations: Watson's Study; 221B, Baker Street; Lyceum Theatre; Oxford Circus; Restaurant on the Strand; Aboard the Bothnia; New York; Windsor Hotel; The Bowery; Hester Street; Five Points; Mulberry Bend; A Train; Washington; National Hotel; Tenth Street; Ford's Theater; Baptist Alley; Patterson House; Anacostia; Surrattsville; Surratt's Inn; T.B.; Mudd's House; Zeckiah's Swamp; Port Tobacco; Mathias Point; Virginia; Port Conway; Port Royal; Garrett's Farm; Bowling Green; The War Department; 17th Street; 1421 I Street; Booth Theater; Central Park; Baltimore; Carrollton Hotel; Eden Street; Cathedral Cemetery; Fayette Street; Greenmount Cemetery; Belvedere Bridge; Belair Road; Pennsylvania Station; Northumberland Hotel
Story: 1990s: Leppek receives a UPS package from a farmer in Polk City containing an old manuscript.

1935: Watson re-reads his account of The Surrogate Assassin and resolves, with Holmes, to send it to the descendants of one of the principal characters, to remain unopened until fifty years after his and Holmes's deaths.

1881: Holmes declines a deduced invitation to see Edwin Booth and Henry Irving in Othello, so Watson goes alone. The following day, Booth arrives at Baker Street, and Watson discovers that Holmes and Booth are cousins. Booth tells Holmes of several attempts on his life, each accompanied by the delivery of three acorns. On the way to the Lyceum, site of the latest attack, Holmes tells Watson the Booth family's history. He deduces that the attacker is French and has fled back to his homeland, but will not give up his persecution. When Booth returns to America, Holmes and Watson sail with him. As they sail towards New York, Holmes tells Watson all he has learned of the Lincoln assassination.

Holmes and Watson familiarise themselves with the city, and hear of an assassination attempt on President Garfield. An intruder kills Booth's Pinkerton bodyguard. A ring links the murderer to the Golden Circle, and Holmes sets his Fifth Avenue Irregulars on watch. Holmes and Watson venture into Five Points in search of the killer, but after barely missing him, Holmes decides to turn his attention to the details of the Lincoln assassination. They travel to Washington and Virginia, visiting sites associated with Booth, and interviewing those connected with the events there, finally learning that Booth may still be alive. Returning to New York, they examine a trunk that belonged to Booth. Holmes travels to Chicago and brings back a surprise guest, and summons his colleagues to Baltimore where another surprise guest is presented. A pursuit leads to a final confrontation in a cornfield near the Booths' old home.

John T. Lescroart

Son of Holmes (1986)
Story Type: Homage
Canonical Characters: (Mrs Hudson / Martha; Sherlock Holmes; Irene Adler; Mycroft Holmes; Dr Watson)
Fictional Characters: Nero Wolfe (Auguste Lupa / Julius Adler / Cesar Mycroft); Fritz Brenner (Fritz Benet); (James Bond; M)
Historical Figures: John T. Lescroart; (Arthur Conan Doyle; Ian Fleming)
Other Characters: Kevin James; Hugo Arrowroot; Harvard Student; Dinner Guests; Friend in Lyons; Madame Giraud-Neuilly; Jacques Neuilly; Jean Chessal; Jules Giraud; Charles; Marcel Routier; Georges Lavoie; Henri Pulis; Paul Anser; Tania Chessal; Inspector; Gendarmes; Anna Dubrov; Joseph Watkins; Renee Pulis; Funeral Guests; Danielle; Factory Guards; Maurice Ponty; Janitor; Stevedores; Henri Pulis, Jr; Henri's Customer; Newsboy; Cart Driver; Elderly Officers; Children; M. Procunier; Jacques Magiot; Magiot's Men; Monsieur Vernet; Café Waiter; (Lord Peter Thatcher; Undertaker; Watkins' Agents; German Agent; J. Chatelet)
Date: January 6th - April, 1983 / May 18th - 26th & August,1915
Locations: Arlington, Massachusetts; Morocco; France; Lyons; House near Valence; Valence; Rue St Philip; La Couronne; The Giraud House; Flower Shop; The Chessal House; Cemetery; St Etienne; Bar; St Etienne Arsenal & Munitions Factory; The Pulis House; Church; Anser's House; Valence Police Headquarters; Café
Story: 1983: Lescroart is invited to the Martha Hudson Dinner where he is introduced to the theory that Sherlock Holmes was a real person. Later that year, in a house he has rented in France he discovers a manuscript in a box in the wine cellar which tells of an episode in the life of the man who is clearly Holmes's son, Auguste Lupa.
1915: Jules Giraud seeks out chef Auguste Lupa because France needs a spy and he just happens top be the best in Europe. It is believed that the man behind many European assassinations, including Archduke Franz Ferdinand's, is currently in Valence, where two agents have already been killed. Giraud is aware that Lupa has, himself, been tracking down the assassin, and that he also initiated the events that brought Giraud back to his old home in Valence. Giraud believes that their man's target this time would be the destruction of the arms factory at St Etienne. He invites Lupa to his regular Wednesday night beer-drinking session with his small group of friends, and Lupa makes a series of startling deductions about them, but later Giraud's fellow-agent, Routier, is poisoned. Giraud joins forces with Lupa (who is currently working for the English under the influence of his uncle), and meets his associates, Watson & Dubrov, in his orchid room. The conclusion is obvious that their man is one of Giraud's friends. Giraud & his friend Georges receive a tour of the factory. The policeman investigating Routier's death is murdered, and Lupa and his colleagues shot at. Giraud discovers that one of his friends has an attic full of guns. The police accuse Lupa of the murders, his relative, Vernet, is brought into the picture, Giraud loses his chef and his lover, and the factory is blown up before the case is brought to a conclusion.

NOTE: The name 'Auguste Lupa' is a play on 'Nero Wolfe' who was suggested by William S. Baring-Gould to have been the son of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler. Giraud's Swiss chef, Fritz Benet, presumably goes on to work for Wolfe as "Fritz Brenner".

Rasputin's Revenge (1986)
Story Type: Homage
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; (Irene Adler; King of Bohemia; Mycroft Holmes; Professor Moriarty)
Fictional Characters: Nero Wolfe (Auguste Lupa); (Fritz Brenner)
Historical Figures: John T. Lescroart; Ferdinand Foch; Vladimir Sukhomlinov; Nicholas II; Czarina Alexandra; Ekaterina Viktorovna (Katrina Sukhomlinov); Maurice Paleologue; Anna Vyrubova; Rasputin; Czarevich Alexei; Sailor (Rudi) Derevenko; Grand Duchess Olga; Grand Duchess Tatiana; Grand Duchess Marie; Grand Duchess Anastasia; Princess Anastasia of Montenegro; Varya Panina; Prince Felix Yussoupov; Purishkevich; Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovitch; Colonel Sukhotin; Stanislaus de Lazovert; (Peter Stolypin; Pierre Gilliard (Gaillard); Sergei Sazonov; Stephen Beletsky; Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich; Princess Milica (Militsa) of Montenegro; George V; King Nicholas I of Montenegro; Kaiser Wilhelm II; Czar Alexander III; Empress Maria Feodorovna; Fabergé; Alexander Kerensky; Prince Lvov; Princess Irina)
Other Characters: Dr Don Matoosian; Jules Giraud; Sukhomlinov's Orderly; Servants; Beggars; Cossacks; Guards; Lady-in-Waiting; Old Palace Dinner Guests; Vyrubova's Guests; Boris Minsky; Crowd Outside Minsky's House; Inspector Dubniev; Rasputin's Visitors; Rasputin's Doorman; Rasputin's Women; Detectives; Street Children; Elena Ripley; Bread Thieves; Peasants; String Quartet; Leo; Maximilian Pohl; Karel Borstoi; Monsieur Muret; Villa Rhode Customers; Gypsy Band; Cubat Maitre D'; Waiter; Cubat Customers; Firefighters; Royal Messenger; John Tucker Wilson; Borstoi's Assistant; Lady-in-Waiting; Captain of the Guard; Prison Guard; Anaxagoras Beria; Grand Duke Sergei Zostov; Orthodox Priest; Astoria Guests & Visitors; Delivery Man; Porter; Astoria Night Clerk; Young Man in the Astoria; French Embassy Guard; (Mikhail Vayev; Tania Chessal; Michelle Giraud; Foch's Aides-de-Camp; Dieter Bresloe; Sergei Lubovitch; Duke Pavlaya Beretska; Marcel Routier; Alexei's Doctors; Ivan Kapov; Anna Dubrov; Borstoi's Father)
Date: Mid-September, 1916 - 14th January, 1917
Locations: USA; California; France; Rhone Valley; Russia; St Petersburg; Winter Palace; Tsarskoye Selo; Alexander Palace; Old Palace; Vryrubova's House; Minsky's House; Train Station; 20, 63-64 Gorokhavaya Street; French Embassy; Princess Anastasia's House; Nevsky Prospekt; Boulangerie; Villa Rhode; Borstoi's Shop; Cubat; Restaurant Ernest;
Petropavlovskaya Krepost; Fortress Ss Peter & Paul; Astoria Hotel; Neva Bridge; Moika Palace
Story: Lescroart receives a package from Vayev, a Russian archivist, containing an account of Lupa's adventures in Russia.

Giraud is sent to Russia by Foch to present a French arms deal to Nicholas II to keep him fighting on the Eastern Front. He meets with Sukhomlinov, who warns him of Rasputin, and explains his position in the royal household. After his first meeting with Nicholas and Alexandra he finds himself serving as tutor to the Czarevich. At a party that evening he meets Rasputin, and hears a number of different perspectives on the current state of the country and of the alliances and loyalties of the people he will be dealing with. The following day he learns that Minsky, a commissar who challenged Rasputin at the party, is dead, and discovers that Lupa is present at the murder scene and working in the Czar's kitchens. He tells Giraud of three other friends of the Czar who have recently been killed.

He witnesses Rasputin whipping himself, and is taken to meet the royal children. Rasputin saves Czarevich Alexei from an out-of-control horse. On the street, Giraud witnesses peasants being executed for stealing bread. He finds himself becoming attracted to the royal children's drama teacher, Elena Ripley. He and Lupa break up a fight in the royal kitchens, and witness Rasputin disrupt a performance by Panina. Lupa believes the murders are an attempt to dishearten the Czar into settling a separate peace with Germany. Giraud wins the respect of the Czarevich and learns that the murders may be more personal than political. Lupa tells him about his parents and gives him a Fabergé egg to win the confidence of a suspect. He learns who was behind the first murder.

Giraud has a disastrous encounter with Alexandra. Their chief suspect is found hanged, and after another murder Giraud and Lupa are arrested, tried and imprisoned. Rasputin takes to visiting Lupa in prison, standing outside his cell muttering the word 'Rache'. A peasant who seems to know his name is put in Giraud's cell.

Mycroft alerts Holmes to Lupa's arrest, and he and Watson sail to St Petersburg. Holmes senses the presence of Moriarty, and arranges his own arrest in order to break Lupa & Giraud out of prison. They realise that the murders are personal, not political, and directed against Holmes, not the Czar. With the Czarevich's help they reveal the murderer. Justice is served against Rasputin by greater powers.

Jason Lethcoe

No Place Like Holmes (2011)
Story Type: Children's Homage with religious emphasis
Canonical Characters: Dr Watson; Professor Moriarty; Sherlock Holmes; Mrs Hudson
Fictional Characters: Father Brown
Folkloric Characters: (Loch Ness Monster)
Historical Figures: Frederick Dent; Queen Victoria
Other Characters: James Dunn; Griffin Sharpe; Train Conductor; Woman Client; Rupert 'Snoops' Snodgrass; Watts; Cabman; Sarah Dent; Pastry Vendor; Angler's Club Members; Angler's Club Official; Mr Gordon; Dent's Housekeeper; Chinese Men; Fireworks Woman; Cabbie; Mr Jackson; Nigel Moriarty; Moriarty's Men; Underground Passengers; Train Engineer; Doctors; Toby; Telegram Boy; (Mrs Tottingham; Farmer; Mr Sharpe; Mrs Sharpe; John H. Andover)
Date: June - August, 1903
Locations: River Thames; Victoria Embankment; Train; 221A, Baker Street; Baker Street; Oxford Street; Angler's Club; Moriarty's House; Dent's House; Limehouse Docks; Liuyang Imports; Moriarty's Bunker; Underground Train; Charring [sic] Cross Station; Palace of Westminster; Big Ben; 221B, Baker Street
Story: Clockmaker Frederick Dent arrives for a rendezvous beside the Thames, but is seen being swallowed by a giant creature.

Griffin Dunne travels from Boston to England to stay with his uncle, Snodgrass, who lives at 221A Baker Street and, like his more successful neighbour, is also a consulting detective. He gets off to a bad start with his uncle, forbidden from being in the house between 8.00 in the morning and 6.00 in the evening, from entering Snodgrass's study or having any contact with Watts, his robot butler. Griffin encounters Dent's wife looking for Holmes, and when they get no response to their knocking at 221B, he takes her to his uncle. She tells them that her husband has been eaten by the Loch Ness Monster.

Griffin and his uncle find themselves embroiled in a plot engineered by Professor Moriarty's cousin Nigel, involving stolen fireworks, an artificial seagull, a London landmark transformed into a timebomb, an underwater battle and a threat to the lives of Sherlock Holmes and Queen Victoria. With the help of God and Snodgrass's inventions, they bring the case to a close, and Snodgrass avenges a childhood wrong.

Anthony R. Lewis

"The Adventure of the Illegal Alien" (1995)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes in Orbit (Mike Resnick & Martin H. Greenberg)
Story Type: Science Fiction Homage
Canonical Characters: (Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; Wiggins; Baker Street Irregulars; Mycroft Holmes; Professor Moriarty)
Other Characters: AI Educator; Account Executive; Korifer; Detective-Lieutenant Tarkummuwa; Mark Doniger; Ogden Operatives Branch Manager; Terran World Police; Branch Manager's Assistant; (Mokr; Dr Gustavus Adolphus Doniger; Mokr's Daughter)
Date: 2125
Locations: London; Minsky C/Si; Boston; Manchester; Mark Doniger's Office; Manx Spaceport; Ogden Operatives Office; The WorldNet
Story: An Artificial Intelligence version of Holmes is created to investigate the death of Mokr, a political refugee from the planet Erawazira, for Korifer, an illegal alien on Earth. It creates artificial Baker Street Irregulars to search the WorldNet for the real Holmes. Korifer tells of Mokr's refusal to sell land to the new government of Erawazira, his flight to Earth, and his death in Boston. The AI contacts the dolphin that investigated the crime in Boston, calls in an old debt to learn the truth, creates a Watson, and comes to a self-realisation, but leaves his client dissatisfied.

Shariann Lewitt

"The Secret Marriage of Sherlock Holmes" (1998)
Included in: The Confidential Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Marvin Kaye)
Story Type: Pastiche narrated by Holmes
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Mycroft Holmes
Historical Figures: King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud
Other Characters: Porter; Salah; Bader ibn Abdullah; Abdul Aziz ibn Saud; Ahmed al-Rasheed; Khalid ibn Peterson; Rasheed's Servants; Noura
Date: 1893
Locations: Marseilles; Jedda; Riyadh; Murrah Camp; The Empty Quarter; Village
Story: During the hiatus Holmes's researches in Montpellier are nterrupted when Mycroft sends him to deliver a missive to a representative of the Ottoman Turks at Mecca. Arriving at Jedda he is taken to a Murrah Bedouin encampment outside Riyadh, and travels with them and a Europe-educated Rasheedi prince across the desert of the Empty Quarter. He discovers that a boy in the camp is the deposed Saudi prince, Abdul Aziz. Rasheed's travelling companion, Peterson, is half-English and a scholar of Shari'a law, and Holmes learns of Islamic marriage customs from him. Abdul Aziz believes that Rasheed will try to kill him as an enemy of his family. When Holmes discovers that the prince's sister is also among the party he realises that Rasheed is planning a marriage rather than a murder to gain control over the royal lineage, and he takes extreme action to prevent it.