The Monkey's Paw of Essex

The New Sherlock Holmes Canon

De: Adrian Vogler

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

The Monkey's Paw of Essex

A new Sherlock Holmes story

A mysterious death. A cursed relic. The master detective on the trail of the truth.

London, 1890: On a foggy November day, Sherlock Holmes receives a visit from Miss Emma Doyle, housekeeper at Ashcroft Manor in Essex. She reports a mysterious incident: Sir Charles Ashcroft was found dead in his bed – allegedly dying of fear of a cursed monkey paw that he had recently received from an old friend.

But something about the story doesn't add up. Sir Charles, who was known for his rationality, showed no signs of panic – on the contrary, everything points to a peaceful death. His reading glasses were neatly placed on the open book, the tea had been drunk. There is no evidence of a man filled with fear.

Holmes and Watson are on their way to Ashcroft Manor, a gloomy mansion in the middle of the foggy marshes of Essex. A web of superstition and deception awaits them there: strange noises at night, scurrying shadows in the garden and the eerie monkey paw, which legend says grants three wishes – but always in a destructive way.

While the household staff whisper of supernatural apparitions and Sir Charles' nephew Henry speaks of a curse, Holmes follows a different lead. With his unerring logic, he begins to peel away the layers of fear and superstition behind which a cold-blooded crime is hidden.

The clues are mounting: Henry's pressing gambling debts, a mysterious circus in the neighbourhood, and a special tea that Sir Charles drank on his last night. Can Holmes uncover the truth before the supposed ‘curse’ claims another victim?

‘The Monkey's Paw of Essex’ combines the classic deduction of a Sherlock Holmes adventure with elements of Victorian horror fiction. A gripping homage to Arthur Conan Doyle and at the same time an original reinterpretation of the Holmes universe.

‘I won't draw a logical conclusion out of mere superstition, but what if superstition itself is used logically? A brilliant implementation of the Holmes principle.’ – Buchstimmen