The Sign of Fear

A stunning Dr Watson thriller from the bestselling author of Dead Man's Land, The Dead Can Wait and A Study in Murder. The skies above London hum with danger. And in the Channel enemies lie in wait... Autumn, 1917. London is not the city that Dr John Watson and Sherlock Holmes once bestrode like giants. Terror has come from the sky and Londoners are scurrying underground in fear. Then a twin tragedy strikes Watson. An old friend, Staff Nurse Jennings, is on a boat-ambulance torpedoed in the Channel with no survivors. And his concert-going companion, Sir Gilbert Hardy, is kidnapped. Then comes the gruesome ransom demand, for Sir Gilbert and four others, which will involve terrible mutilation unless the demands are met. Help comes from an unlikely source when Watson finds himself face-to-face with his old ruthless adversary, the "She Wolf" Miss Pillbody. She makes him a remarkable offer and so an unlikely partnership is formed - the enemy spy and Sherlock Holmes's faithful companion, a detective duo which will eventually uncover a shocking case of state-sponsored murder and find Watson on board a German bomber, with a crew intent on setting London ablaze. Praise for The Sign of Fear: ‘I so look forward to these books: joining Watson and the ageing Holmes again is one of the literary highlights of the year. They are everything I could ask for in a novel: emotional intelligence, high drama, compassion and a cast of characters that is at once utterly familiar and utterly fresh. Truly if the great man himself had written these, he couldn’t possibly have done better’ Manda Scott Praise for The Dead Can Wait: 'Seriously good, very readable, well-researched novel' The Times 'A cracking, fulfilling, utterly satisfying read' Manda Scott 'A clever and interesting period piece' Literary Review Robert Ryan's The Dead Can Wait was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Daggar Award in 2014.