My own take on a modern Holmes and Watson

My new book, Charlie Milverton and Other Stories is available now to pre order on Amazon. It is a collection of five present-day Sherlock Holmes short stories which poke gentle fun at the idiosyncrasies of modern life – not to mention the eccentric detective and his world-weary friend who are at the heart of the action. Charlie Milverton, The Premier Bachelor, The Leaping Man, A Question of Identity and Abbey Strange are each based directly on an adventure taken from the original work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but updated with a modern-day twist. Instead of the foggy cobbled streets and hansom cabs of Victorian London, we get over-paid footballers, pop-stars, a glamour model, the tabloid press and cosmetic surgery. But friendship and Holmes’ unique science of deduction remain central to each story. Stuck in a dysfunctional marriage and the job from hell, aspiring writer Doctor John H Watson battles against the angst of a mid-life crisis whilst being drawn further into the individual world of his friend – the irascible, difficult but brilliant consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. The pair embark on a series of adventures which see them do battle with a media mogul, a footballer’s agent, the perils of vanity, greed and social media. From disappearing brides to the murder of an aged rock-star, Holmes and Watson set out to shed light in the darkness – whilst Watson battles to keep his literary agent happy and jump-start his flagging writing career. I wanted to do more than simply add in canon references. I’ve tried to actually take each story and lovingly work with it to give it a modern-day reboot. It’s been great fun to write and the more time you spend working with Conan Doyle’s original stories, the greater you come to appreciate their genius. American readers can pre-order the book here Or if you’re in the UK, it’s here