The Three Locks

Book Four

1887, Indian Summer. London and Cambridge. A mysterious, impenetrable locked box arrives for Watson containing a secret from his past. A famous escape artist and stage conjurer burns to a crisp onstage in his “Cauldron of Death” illusion, and the beautiful daughter of a Cambridge don vanishes after her lookalike doll is found floating and dismembered in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. Holmes and Watson risk life and limb to solve the murders, tangling with prestidigitators and priests, scientists and scheming sisters and a heat wave that melts the countryside.

Praise for THE THREE LOCKS

“Intriguing … MacBird artfully alternates among multiple plotlines, maximizing suspense. With its deep probe into the friendship between the detective and the doctor, this is a good choice for fans of Sherlock Holmes.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Perfectly captures the essence of Conan Doyle’s fiction.”
—Independent

“True to the Watson tradition, giving readers the feeling they are delving into an authentic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle narrative, The Three Locks is a treasure.”
—Historical Novel Society

“MacBird’s series grows stronger with each book and she remains the best and most faithful pastiche writer out there today—bar none.”
―The Doylockian

“The parade of Sherlockian pastiches testifies to the potent and lasting genius of Conan Doyle’s creation. Yet few such homages offer the twenty-first-century reader Victorian atmosphere and drama like Bonnie MacBird’s. The rivalry and frustrations that color the partnership of Holmes and Watson, their James Bond adventures and escapes, the great man’s ego and eccentricities, Watson’s catty wit — all are here, in the vivid atmosphere of an unusually hot London summer. MacBird’s sly plot and admirable sense of pacing keeps the story twisting and turning in a way that would have kept Doyle himself turning pages.”
—Michael Sims, author of Edgar finalist Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes

“Bonnie MacBird’s The Three Locks satisfies a hunger for more adventures of Holmes and Watson on so many levels: Not only does she perfectly capture their voices, she captures that most critical element—their humanity. Brava!”
—Leslie S. Klinger, editor, New Annotated Sherlock Holmes

“Bonnie MacBird has conjured up a captivating three-card monte of murder, mystery and magic. The Three Locks may be her best yet.”
—Dan Stashower, Edgar, Agatha, and Anthony award-winning author of Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle

“Though stage magic features in The Three Locks, the real magician is author Bonnie MacBird, who once again brings humour, action, rigorous period detail, and the characters we love to her latest Holmes adventure.”
—Dennis Palumbo, author of the Daniel Rinaldi series, and Writing from the Inside Out

Sherlock Holmes Adventures