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Overview
First in a spectacular new series about two brother lawyers who lease offices on London's Baker Street—and begin receiving mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes
In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route—and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter in her desperation turns to the one person she thinks might help—she writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.
That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man about town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother Nigel. Instead of filing the letter like he’s supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he’s flying off to L.A., inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie’s sometime lover, Laura – a quick-witted stage actress who’s captured the hearts of both brothers.
When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans will adore.
Editorials
From the Publisher
“A very entertaining novel. Mystery fans, whether they’re Sherlock Holmes addicts or not, will thoroughly enjoy it. [This] should be a popular series indeed.”- Booklist"An intriguing and original plot, a likeable detective and a page turning read."- M. C. Beaton
“A transatlantic mystery draws two brothers into a web of murder when attorney Reggie Heath rents office space on Baker Street. He begins receiving letters from various places addressed to Sherlock Holmes, and considers the letters an amusing nuisance. But his mentally fragile younger brother Nigel, who’s working as a clerk for his brother, becomes obsessed with the continuing correspondence of a young Californian searching for her missing mother. Sure-footed, Robertson’s debut is lively and inventive.”- Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Robertson's engaging debut, the first in a projected series, offers one of the more original premises involving the Sherlock Holmes character. London solicitor Reggie Heath, who's just leased office space on Baker Street, finds his obligations include making sure letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221B are answered, if with formulaic replies. After a senior clerk is bludgeoned to death and Heath's younger ne'er-do-well brother disappears, the lawyer suspects both events are connected to a letter an eight-year-old girl, Mara Ramirez, sent nearly 20 years earlier asking the great detective to locate her missing father. Heath follows the trail to Los Angeles, where he succeeds in tracking down Mara and learns current crimes may be connected with her father's disappearance. Readers will want to spend more time with the appealing Heath and company, but the conceit of having future mysteries to solve based on letters to Baker Street may be hard to sustain. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
When attorney Reggie Heath rents new offices on Baker Street, his lease requires that he answer arriving letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes. He assigns this task to younger brother Nigel. Soon the siblings are in Los Angeles, out of their depth, looking for the woman who once asked the most famous detective of all time for help finding her father. Great characters, a complex plot, and the wonderful feeling that people still believe in Sherlock Holmes round out this debut treat. [Television rights sold to Warner Brothers; library marketing campaign; Minotaur First Edition Selection.]
—Jo Ann Vicarel
Kirkus Reviews
A transatlantic mystery draws two brothers into a web of murder. When attorney Reggie Heath rents office space on Baker Street in 1997, he begins receiving letters from various places addressed to Sherlock Holmes and appealing, naturally, for his detective help. Reggie considers the letters an amusing nuisance. But his mentally fragile younger brother Nigel, who's working as a clerk for his brother after being suspended from the practice of law for misconduct, becomes obsessed with the continuing correspondence of a young Californian searching for her missing mother. Reggie's often distracted from his needy brother's clashes with abrasive senior clerk Robert Ocher by his vigorous affair with American actress Laura Rankin. On the night that Laura is to return stateside for a major engagement, Reggie finds Ocher's bludgeoned body in Nigel's office. There's no trace of Nigel, so Reggie covers for him. When he finds evidence that Nigel's flown to Los Angeles, he follows, hoping to learn that his brother is innocent of murder or, failing that, is simply alive and well. Reggie's retracing of Nigel's footsteps takes him to a seedy hotel, another dead body and an encounter with the LAPD, who take him in on suspicion of murder. It's cold comfort to Reggie that witnesses mistake him for his brother. Upon his release, Reggie begins sleuthing in earnest. His investigation leads to a welcome reunion with Nigel and a rockier one with his ladylove Laura. Robertson's sure-footed debut is lively and inventive. TV rights to Warner Bros. Agent: Rebecca Oliver/EndeavorFrom the Publisher
“A very entertaining novel. Mystery fans, whether they’re Sherlock Holmes addicts or not, will thoroughly enjoy it. [This] should be a popular series indeed.”
- Booklist
"An intriguing and original plot, a likeable detective and a page turning read."
- M. C. Beaton
“A transatlantic mystery draws two brothers into a web of murder when attorney Reggie Heath rents office space on Baker Street. He begins receiving letters from various places addressed to Sherlock Holmes, and considers the letters an amusing nuisance. But his mentally fragile younger brother Nigel, who’s working as a clerk for his brother, becomes obsessed with the continuing correspondence of a young Californian searching for her missing mother. Sure-footed, Robertson’s debut is lively and inventive.”
- Kirkus Reviews