There's No Place Like Holmes...

Hurrah, and huzzah (as they only say in the publishing world, so who am I to judge?). Today marks the official launch of my latest Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Red Tower. Available here from Titan Books.


From the jacket:

A FAMILY SECRET

It is 1894, and after a macabre séance at a country estate, a young woman has been found dead in a locked room.

When Dr Watson is invited to a weekend party where a séance is planned, he is prepared to be sceptical. James Crain, heir to the estate of Crain Manor, has fallen in with a mysterious group of Spiritualists and is determined to prove the existence of the paranormal. Confronted with a suspicious medium and sightings of the family ghost, Watson remains unconvinced – until James’s sister, Lady Esther, is found dead in a room locked from the inside. Holmes is called to investigate the strange events at Crain Manor, but finds that every guest harbours a secret. Holmes and Watson must uncover the truth, and test the existence of the supernatural…

This was a particularly fun book to write, and one of my best mysteries to date, I think. I've played a little fast and loose with the format, taking elements that one might normally expect to find in an Agatha Christie country house mystery. But the reason for this will hopefully all become clear by the time you reach the finale.

Before we depart, here's the intro quote from the book, just because we all love a good quote, don't we? (And what a run-on sentence that is, from Dickens, master of the form).

Here Be Monsters...

It's been a while since I've posted bonus content for my various games. To be honest, it's been a while since I last had time to write any! Time to redress the balance, with a little trip to the alternate-history Roman Empire of Broken Legions...

Roman legionaries explore a temple of the Black Pharaoh.
Illustration by ªRU-MOR, (c) Osprey Publishing 2016

Last year I wrote three articles for Wargames Illustrated Magazine, essentially a mash-up of Broken Legions and my Osprey sourcebook, Cthulhu Campaigns: Ancient Rome. Although part two of those articles appeared online, part one only had a limited release in the magazine, and part three never saw the light of day at all. And so, I've set to work making the rules available, so all Broken Legions fans can enjoy them. Taken together, this makes a free expansion for your games - pretty neat, huh?

Part One

Part Two

Part Three: Monsters

That's all for now. Until next time: For the glory of Rome!