Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing — Nicholas Meyer

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson delve into the world of art forgery in this new historical mystery from the author of Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell.London, 189–: In the dead of winter, the great city is brought to a standstill by a series of blizzards and Sherlock Holmes is bored to distraction. It would take a miracle to bring a case to the detective’s door. . . What arrives is not promising: a landlady who complains to Holmes that her artist tenant is behind on his rent. Not exactly the miracle for which Holmes was hoping. But, next thing you know, there are several corpses and Sherlock Holmes and his amanuensis, Dr. Watson, find themselves drawn into one of the most bizarre cases of the great detective’s career. And into the cutthroat big business of Art, where chicanery, mendacity (and cut throats), proliferate. What makes a work of art valuable? Worth killing for? Dying for? Is it the painter, his mistress, his dealer, or his blackmailer? The cast of characters is large. But are they perpetrators, accomplices, or victims? And just who is Juliet Packwood, with whom Watson has become infatuated? Oh, and there’s one other problem: Is this a genuine Holmes case or a clever forgery? Is this the real thing? If you can’t tell the difference, what is the difference?