Synopses & Reviews
1895. Victorian England trembles on the verge of hysteria. Terrorist bombs are detonating around the Capitol and every foreigner is suspected of being an Anarchist lurking beneath a cape.
Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle is summoned to the scene of a gruesome crime that has baffled and outraged Scotland Yards best. A senior member of Her Majestys government has been brutally murdered, and the body of his attacker lies close by—riddled with bullets. More perplexing, one of the attending detectives recognizes the dead assassin as Charlie Higginbotham, a local Cockney pickpocket and petty thief. Higginbotham is not just an improbable suspect, but an impossible suspect, for the young detective watched him take the drop two weeks previously, hanged at Newgate Prison.
Conan Doyle calls in his friend Oscar Wilde for assistance and soon the two authors find themselves swept up in an investigation so bizarre it defies conventional wisdom and puts the lives of their loved ones, the Nation, and even the Monarch herself in dire peril. The murders continue, committed by a shadowy cadre of seemingly unstoppable assassins. As the sinister plot unravels, an implausible theory becomes the only possible solution: someone is reanimating the corpses of executed criminals and sending them shambling through the London fog… and programmed for murder.
Review
Praise for The Revenant of Thraxton Hall "A witty atmospheric tale featuring the unique detecting duo of Dr. Watson and Oscar Wilde." —Cara Black, author of Murder in Pigalle
"A delight. Its a treat to meet the Great Detectives creator (Arthur Conan Doyle) as a sleuth in his own right. And partnered with Oscar Wilde—what a bold and wonderful conceit!" —John Lescroart, author of The Keeper
"Absorbing… Entwistle assembles an intriguing cast, including a levitator whose acts go awry, an enigmatic foreign count, and a Russian mystic who warns of dangerous revenants (returning spirits), for his whimsical plot." —Publishers Weekly
"Thrilling, suspenseful and utterly captivating, The Revenant of Thraxton Hall ingeniously combines historical fact with creative imagination. Conan Doyle and Wilde are a unique and lively recombination of Holmes and Watson, and once again, the game is most assuredly afoot. Don't miss it!" —Kelli Stanley, author of City of Dragons
"Entwistle is a talented writer who has written an imaginative story with vivid period details and a compelling plot. I was hooked from the very first page and cant wait to read the next book." —Emily Brightwell, author of the Mrs. Jeffries Victorian mystery series
"Entwistle gives the man who created Sherlock Holmes his own mystery to solve in this amazing novel. Arthur Conan Doyle proves himself worthy of Holmess mantle as he and his clever friend Oscar Wilde untangle a decades-old mystery to save a beautiful young womans life." —Victoria Thompson, author of Murder in Chelsea
About the Author
VAUGHN ENTWISTLE grew up in Northern England. He completed a Masters Degree at Oakland University, and in the early nineties he moved to Seattle to work as a writer. In his spare time he ran a successful gargoyle-sculpting company. He often writes with one cat on his lap, a Brittany lying across his feet, and one or more cats sauntering across the keyboard. He recently moved back to England, where he lives in North Somerset.