Book excerpt: The path of the biographer is fraught with peril, and insanity may not be the least of its dangers. I no longer think if I ever did, that it is merely a matter of recording the truth as it happened. These are the despairing words of Dr John Watson as he attempts to set down the adventures of the famous master detective Sherlock Holmes. Within these pages you will find the answers to many questions surrounding the most famous sleuthing pair in the history of fiction. What were the real circumstances behind the mystery of ?The Blue Carbuncle? What actually happened on Dartmoor as they tracked ?The Hound of the Baskervilles? How many adventures never made it into print? But most intriguing of all, how did Holmes die in his final duel with Moriarty - and then come back to life? Charting the course of the two men's friendship, this ingenious pastiche draws on the entire canon and is a delight from beginning to end. Rich in scholarship, wit and period detail, this remarkable novel will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.