Late one night, Sherlock’s admirer and former schoolmate, Beatrice, arrives at his door, terrified. She claims a maniacal, bat-like man has leapt upon her and her friend on Westminster Bridge. The fiend she describes is the Spring Heeled Jack, a fictional character from the old Penny Dreadful thrillers. Moreover, Beatrice declares the Jack has made off with her friend. She begs Holmes to help, but he finds the story incredible. Reluctant to return to detective work, he pays little heed—until the attacks increase, and Spring Heeled Jacks seem to be everywhere. Now, all of London has more to worry about than politics. Before he knows it, the unwilling boy detective is thrust, once more, into the heart of a deadly mystery, in which everyone, even his closest friend and mentor, is suspect.
THE DRAGON TURN
Sherlock Holmes and Irene Doyle are as riveted as the rest of the audience. They are celebrating Irene’s sixteenth birthday at The Egyptian Hall as Alistair Hemsworth produces a real and very deadly dragon before their eyes. This single, fantastic illusion elevates the previously unheralded magician to star status, making him the talk of London. He even outshines the Wizard of Nottingham, his rival on and off the stage.
Sherlock and Irene rush backstage after the show to meet the great man, only to witness Inspector Lestrade and his son arrest the performer. It seems one-upmanship has not been as satisfying to Hemsworth as the notion of murder. The Wizard is missing; his spectacles and chunks of flesh have been discovered in pools of blood in Hemsworth’s secret workshop. That, plus the fact that Nottingham has stolen Hemsworth’s wife away, speak of foul play and motive. There is no body, but there has certainly been a grisly death.
In this spine-tingling case, lust for fame and thirst for blood draw Sherlock Holmes one giant step closer to his destiny—master detective of all time.
BECOMING HOLMES
It is the summer of 1870 in London, and death seems to be everywhere; at least it feels that way to Sherlock Holmes. Almost seventeen now, he cannot shake the blackness that has descended upon him. And somewhere in the darkness, Sherlock’s great enemy, the villainous Malefactor, is spinning his web of evil, planning who knows what.
Only one thing can rouse the young detective from the depths of despair: the possibility of justice. Holmes uncovers a new and terrible plot unleashed by his nemesis. Prepared to do anything to stop Malefactor, Sherlock sets out to destroy his rival, bringing him and his henchmen down, once and for all. Everything in the brilliant boy’s life changes as death knocks again….In this shocking and spine-tingling conclusion to the award-winning series, Sherlock Holmes transforms, becoming the immortal master of criminal detection.
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