The Three Locks (A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, #4)

by Bonnie MacBird

A heatwave melts London as Holmes and Watson are called to action in this new Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird, author of “one of the best Sherlock Holmes novels of recent memory.”

In Whitechapel, a renowned Italian escape artist dies spectacularly on stage during a performance – immolated in a gleaming copper cauldron of his wife’s design. In Cambridge, the runaway daughter of a famous don drowns, her long blonde hair tangled in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. And in Baker Street, a malevolent locksmith exacts an unusual price to open a small silver box sent to Watson.

From the glow of the London stage to the buzzing Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where physicists explore the edges of new science of electricity, Holmes and Watson race between the two cities to solve the murders, encountering prevaricating prestidigitators, philandering physicists and murderous mentalists, all the while unlocking secrets which may be best left undisclosed. And one, in particular, lands very close to home.

• ISBN13: 9780008380830
• Publish Date: 1 April 2021
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 February 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins Crime Club
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Three Locks is the fourth book in Bonnie Macbird's new Sherlock Holmes Adventures. Due out 13th April 2021 from Harper Collins on the Harper360 imprint, it's 432 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (ebook available now). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is another strong entry it a very well crafted series with meticulous attention to detail and a truly impressive ability to channel the detail and characterizations of the canonical Holmes and Watson. The three locks of the title are a clever play on words and refer to literal lock & key type fastenings and one of the channel locks (for boats) on the River Cam.

The author has such a wonderful way with descriptive prose and the plot arc is very well controlled and the story itself is engaging and compelling. I stayed up way too late reading this one. The climax, denouement, and resolution are deftly handled. I really couldn't find any problems with any parts of the story or continuity.

I enjoyed this story and I suspect that most Holmesians will find enough here to keep them entertained. The story is written around a framework of real historical occurrences and the author provides a link in the book to annotations and historical notes which are well worth a read.

Five stars. Delightful to see Holmes and Watson in fighting form.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.