In 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, famous almost overnight as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, wrote to his former medical school mentor, Dr. Joseph Bell: "It is to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes." Now the first full-length biography of Joe Bell, as he was affectionately known to all of Edinburgh, has been written. It is a biography for which the world is ready. It turns out that he not only had much in common with the Great Detective, but also with Conan Doyle. Ely Liebow. Emeritus Professor at Northwestern University and former Sir Hugo (Pres.) of Sir Hugo's Companions in Chicago, had access to the good doctor's private Journal; interviewed his great-grandson; tracked down the son of Joe Bell's daughter's gardener; and spoke with a Kentish Lady (appointed a shepherdess on the Downs by the Crown in WWII) who knew Joe Bell and his family. This volume is required reading for all people interested in Victorian medicine, in Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and in the history of detective fiction.

“Engel captures the spirit of Doyle’s tone in the Holmes sagas without it being a stilted or pale imitation . . . A lively, engaging page-turner.” —Curled Up With a Good Book Howard Engel is the award-winning writer whose Benny Cooperman mysteries garner rave international reviews—fans stretch from Canada to Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and the United States. His latest, Mr. Doyle & Dr. Bell, is a brilliant departure from the Cooperman series. The year is 1879, and in Edinburgh, Alan Lambert has been tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang for the murder of a dazzling opera star and her lover. But Lambert’s brother believes he’s innocent and pleads with Dr. Bell, a celebrated professor of anatomy, to uncover the truth. Bell agrees and sets out to crack the case with his keen powers of deduction and the help of his student, Arthur Conan Doyle. “Charming . . . [This book] will satisfy the craving of Sherlockians for another dose of gaslight and fog.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto) “Provides mystery buffs with more to ponder than your average whodunit . . . More intriguing than the actual plot, though, is the combination of fact with fiction that gives readers a glimpse of the real life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—his character, his influences, and the era in which he lived.” —Quill & Quire

A dead opera star, a brilliant anatomy professor with Sherlockian powers of deduction, and a moody Victorian backdrop--it all adds up to a thrillingly entertaining historical mystery by an award-winning writer.

The third issue of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine showcases Kim Newman's tale, "A Volume in Vermillion." Plus great fiction and non-fiction by Gary Lovisi, Peter King, Jean Paiva, Darrell Schweitzer, and many more! Edited by Marvin Kaye.

The detective team of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell star in this “ingenious” historical mystery (The New York Times Book Review). As many fans of Sherlock Holmes know, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle found inspiration for the great fictional detective in a brilliant Scottish surgeon named Joseph Bell. In an era when science was not often considered in the course of criminal investigations, Bell’s emphasis on observation and deduction made him a pioneer in forensics. In The Dark Water, Holmes’s creator joins forces with Dr. Bell to take on Victorian vagabonds, criminal masterminds, and all manner of mysteries. The pair relentlessly pursues the vicious killer Thomas Neill Cream—and visits a sleepy seaside town where a seventeenth-century legend known as the Dunwich witch has taken on new life. With “a gripping plot and psychologically sophisticated characters” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), The Dark Water is a thrilling, atmospheric adventure for historical mystery lovers, offering “an intellectual treat and a downright guilty pleasure” (The Washington Post).

A rollicking look at popular culture’s most beloved sleuth: “For even the casual fan, the history of this deathless character is fascinating” (The Boston Globe). Today he is the inspiration for fiction adaptations, blockbuster movies, hit television shows, raucous Twitter banter, and thriving subcultures. More than a century after Sherlock Holmes first capered into our world, what is it about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s peculiar creation that continues to fascinate us? Journalist and lifelong Sherlock fan Zach Dundas set out to find the answer. The result is The Great Detective: a history of an idea, a biography of someone who never lived, a tour of the borderland between reality and fiction, and a joyful romp through the world Conan Doyle bequeathed us. In this “wonderful book” (Booklist, starred review), Dundas unearths the inspirations behind Holmes and his indispensable companion, Dr. John Watson; explores how they have been kept alive over the decades by writers, actors, and readers; and visits locales—from the boozy annual New York City gathering of one of the world’s oldest and most exclusive Sherlock Holmes fan societies; to a freezing Devon heath out of The Hound of the Baskervilles; to sunny Pasadena, where Dundas chats with the creators of the smash BBC series Sherlock. Along the way, he discovers the ingredients that have made Holmes go viral—then, now, and as long as the game’s afoot.