Sherlock Holmes and the Sword of Osman

By: Tim Symonds

Narrated by: William Irvine

It's 1906. Far from England, the Ottoman Empire ruled by the despotic Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid 11 is on the verge of imploding. Rival Great Powers, especially Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany, sit watching like crows on a fence, ready to rush in to carve up the vast territories, menacing England's vital overland routes to her Indian possessions. At his medical practice in London's Marylebone, Watson receives a mystifying telegram. It's from Holmes. "Dear Watson, if you can throw physic to the dogs for an hour or two I would appreciate meeting at the stone cross at Charing Cross railway station tomorrow noon. I have an assignation with a birdlover at the Stork & Ostrich House in the Regents Park which has excited my curiosity. Yrs. S.H."

Watson finds the invitation puzzling. Why should such a mundane meeting at a Bird House excite the curiosity of Europe's most famous investigating detective or anyone else? For old times' sake, Watson joins his old comrade-in-arms. Within days, Holmes and Watson find themselves aboard HMS Dreadnought en route to Stamboul, a city of fabled opulence, high espionage, and low intrigue. Their mission: at all costs, stop a plot which could bring about the immediate collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

©2015 Tim Symonds (P)2018 MX Publishing

Enjoyable Holmes story

Sherlock Holmes and the Sword of Osman by Tim Symonds is an engaging detective story. The descriptions brings the beauty of location to life. The story is absorbing and kept my interest.