Showing results by author "Craig Copland" in All Categories

Scientists who specialize in biology are supposed to be rational. Devout Christians are supposed to be loving and forgiving. In July 1925, they both failed. That was the summer when John Scopes was put on trial in Tennessee for teaching about human evolution. Every major newspaper in America carried the story. When proponents of both sides of the battle ended up dead, Dr. Tabitha, a scientist and a believer, was called in. Was the battle worth killing your opponents? Some people thought so. The future of the nation was at stake. Would America be God-fearing? Or God forsaken? Or could ...

THE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORESS'S TALE. A GIRLS' SCHOOL HOCKEY TEAM VANISHES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. CAN SHERLOCK HOLMES FIND THEM IN TIME? The senior field hockey team from an elite girls’ school goes to Dover for a beach holiday … and disappears. Have they been abducted into White Slavery? Did they run off to Paris? Are they being held for ransom? Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, the Prioress of the school, and a new gang of Irregulars must find them before something terrible happens. A tribute to The Adventure of the Priory School in The Canon. “A ...

THE ADVENTURE OF THE TREACHEROUS TRUST. A beautiful, brilliant young woman attracts the attention of a wealthy, older gentleman. He insist that she join the board of directors of a popular charity, run by his son. A meeting of the directors is held at the family estate. She attends and quarrels with the son. An hour later, she falls off the roof terrace. Nobody can believe that her death is anything but a tragic accident. Nobody, that is, except her sister, Miss Violet Westbury. A year earlier, Violet's fiancé, Cadogan West, was murdered and his body dumped on top of a railway carriage. ...

A twelve-year-old boy witnessed a murder. But nobody believed him. Except Sherlock Holmes. Holmes quickly deduces that the boy was intricately connected to the victim and knows more than he is letting on. Eventually, Holmes solves the case in his mind ... and does nothing. Everybody was fooled. So, it's an ideal story for April Fools' Day. The short story was originally published as part of an MX Books Collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories. But it is available to you on its own at a discount price. Pre-order now and enjoy your copy on April 1. Included with this story is a free bonus ...

The Adventure of the Beryl Anarchists. Did the sons betray their father? Did they steal the confidential records of the clients of his bank? Did they give those records to a gang of miscreants who will use them for blackmail? The banker begs Holmes to investigate. Was it really his sons? Or maybe his daughter? Or maybe her boyfriend? Or maybe the voluptuous maid? The sons and the Anarchists have something in common. They are all besotted with the latest craze — riding motorcycles. Holmes and I make inquiries. And things get worse. A young girl is murdered. We give chase to the villains ...

During the course of the series, New Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, I sent Holmes and Watson to both Canada and the United States. To commemorate Canada Day and Independence Day 2023, these two stories are available for a limited time. Enjoy them and celebrate the freedoms and blessings of two great countries.

The Silver Horse, Braised. Dead jockeys can’t win horse races. What happens when the favored jockey is found dead at Epsom Downs? Sherlock Holmes can see he was murdered. News of the suspicious death is splashed all over the newspapers. Rumors of threats, bribes and doping abound. Scotland Yard is at a loss. The Horserace of the Century will match the best steeds in Great Britain against those of the United States. Millions are wagered. Holmes and Watson go to Epsom and get to work, assisted by a colorful cast of Runyanesque characters from New York. He fails to apprehend the murderers. ...

THE ADVENTURE OF THE MORNING GLORY MURDERS. Sherlock Holmes confronts the horrible racial and religious prejudice that was rampant in the Victorian era and helps the heroic victims of those evils discover a new life. A family from Argentina has disappeared and it is feared that they were abducted. Their lives are in danger. The father, a colonel in the Argentine army has enemies from years ago that may be seeking revenge. The gigantic ‘mulatto’ who was the cook in the story about Wisteria Lodge (remember him?) is falsely accused. With his help, Sherlock Holmes must find the family ...

IN OCTOBER 1805, NAPOLEON'S FLEET WAS DEFEATED IN THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. NOW HIS GHOST HAS RETURNED TO ENGLAND FOR THE CENTENARY OF THE BATTLE, INTENT ON WREAKING REVENGE ON THE DESCENDANTS OF ADMIRAL HORATIO NELSON AND ON ALL OF ENGLAND. The mother of the great-great-grandchildren of Admiral Nelson contacts Sherlock Holmes and asks him to come to her home, Victory Manor, in Gravesend to protect the Nelson Collection. The invaluable collection of artifacts is to be displayed during the one-hundredth anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar. First, Dr. Watson comes to the manor ...

There’s no crying in baseball. But there is murder. And when the World Series is fought between two teams both from New York City, millions of dollars are bet. And lives are at risk. When a young man from the Yankees and a young woman from the Giants are found dead, the Press sniffed about a tragic accident. Thoughts and prayers were sent. When Dr. Tabitha Stancović examined the bodies in her pathology lab, she knew it was murder. So, she and her assistant, Sergeant Johan Klassen, are forced into action before more victims—possibly even the members of the teams—are killed. The story ...

This case all began one quiet evening—very quiet; bordering on boring—while we were sitting by the hearth in our rooms in Kansas City. A few weeks later, a murder, perhaps the most gruesome I had ever witnessed in all my born days, took place in Denver, immediately above our heads. By the time it all ended, justice, of the frontier variety, not the courtroom, had been meted out. If you want to know how it all happened, you’ll have to read this story. Jim Watson, M.D. Denver, 1883 Reverend Ezekiel Black receive a call to provide pulpit supply for a church in Denver. Soon after his ...

THE ADVENTURE OF CHARLOTTE EUROPA GOLDERTON. SHERLOCK HOLMES ENCOUNTERS A FEMME FATALE. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP HER IS TO MARRY HER. In the original Sherlock Holmes story about Charles Augustus Milverton, “the worst man in London,” was shot and sent to his just reward. But now another diabolical scheme of blackmail has emerged centered in the telegraph offices of the Royal Mail. It is linked to an archeological expedition whose director disappeared one night. Someone is prepared to do murder to protect their ill-gotten gain and possibly steal a priceless treasure. Holmes is hired by not ...

Kill a man because of his hat? Ridiculous. But it happened. In New York City. Twice. The Big Apple saw countless absurd events during the 1920s. The most moronic took place in September 1922, when gangs of young men--and a few women—roamed the streets of the financial district and the better-off neighborhoods, and knocked the straw hats off those who dared to wear them after the 15th of the month. Many straw-hatters were bullied. Some were assaulted. A few were beaten. And two were murdered. All because of their hats. That’s what the police said. Beaten to death by anonymous thugs. Or ...

The Adventure of the Coiffured Bitches. A young woman about to receive a massive inheritance disappears. Her little brother believes she has become a zombie and is trapped in the graveyard. His governess knows something is very wrong in the strange family. She appeals to Sherlock Holmes …who she finds rather attractive. Holmes and Watson travel to Winchester. We encounter a tyrannical stepfather, a weird mother, twisted servants, and an earnest lover … or two. Not to mention the enormous mastiff that could tear our throats out. This New Sherlock Holmes Mystery is a tribute to The ...

The Naval Knaves. On September 15, 1894, an anarchist attempted to bomb the Greenwich Observatory. All he succeeded in blowing up was himself. But he did not act alone. Sherlock Holmes discovers that he was part of an intricate web of spies, foreign naval officers, and a drop-dead-gorgeous, not-English princess. Once again, suspicion lands on poor Percy Phelps. Now he’s in a senior position in the Admiralty. Holmes has to rescue Percy, But he has a much bigger worry. A massive, terrorist explosion is planned. It will take many lives. But where? And when? This New Sherlock Holmes Mystery ...

"I was under the impression that you were dead," said Sherlock Holmes to the man who had entered the front room of 221B Baker Street. "I am now inclined to think that you were not murdered after all." The gentleman was of the same age as Holmes and me but sported a full beard, gray-on-its-way-to-white hair, and a short suit jacket that immediately identified him as an American. He grinned and gave his fingers a snap.

The words of the missionary hymn I had sung as a schoolboy in chapel came to my mind as I stood on the deck of the steamer Redolent, anchored just off the Port of Colombo. They were to prove singularly prescient. Under more usual circumstances, the experience of looking up into the star-studded sky whilst feeling the warm, moist tropical breezes caress one's face is a sensuous joy. Yet on that night, more than twenty years ago now, I had a profound sense of foreboding.

The words of the missionary hymn I had sung as a schoolboy in chapel came to my mind as I stood on the deck of the steamer Redolent, anchored just off the Port of Colombo. They were to prove singularly prescient. Under more usual circumstances, the experience of looking up into the star-studded sky whilst feeling the warm, moist tropical breezes caress one's face is a sensuous joy. Yet on that night, more than twenty years ago now, I had a profound sense of foreboding.

"I was under the impression that you were dead," said Sherlock Holmes to the man who had entered the front room of 221B Baker Street. "I am now inclined to think that you were not murdered after all." The gentleman was of the same age as Holmes and me but sported a full beard, gray-on-its-way-to-white hair, and a short suit jacket that immediately identified him as an American. He grinned and gave his fingers a snap.

He was not much more than a child. I estimated his age at fourteen. He was a handsome boy, with the raven-black hair and deeply tanned skin color that marks a person who came from the lands under the Raj. His young body was beginning to show the signs of an emerging well-made sportsman. From his place, lying on his back on the pavement, his dark-brown eyes stared up at the morning sky ... lifeless. Behind his head was a pool of blood, now darkened and congealed.