Published by Titan Books, 18th Oct 2022

Sherlock Holmes’s discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme of ‘theft without theft’, such as a missing statue found hidden in the museum gallery from which it was taken.

In the snowy London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes’s preoccupation with the Adler Variations risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep. Could they really be gifts from a strange spirit that has pursued Nansen since the completion of his expedition to cross Greenland? And might this case somehow be related to Irene Adler’s great game?

Hardback: Waterstones / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com

Reviews

“Tim Major offers one of the most compelling pastiches on the market. With writing that nearly matches that of Holmes’s originator, Major tells a literary tale that sees the return of “the woman,” Irene Adler, who we met in Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia. […] The plot is byzantine and utterly enjoyable. We encounter a Greenland monster, a corpse in a dry riverbed, a museum heist and plenty more. The book reads like an advent calendar of crimes. It’s perfect for a holiday break…” The Globe and Mail

“Major strikes the perfect balance of familiarity and originality in his Sherlock Holmes books. […] At once a homage to Conan Doyle and an original (and entertaining) adventure in its own right, Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Thefts of Christmas is a great bit of festive reading.” Hannah’s Bookshelf