“When solicitor Phineas Larcombe telegrams Baker Street with two words - murder suspected - Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are drawn into a web of death that begins in a Clerkenwell clockmaker's workshop and reaches far darker places than either man could have imagined.

Ezekiel Brand, master horologist, is dead at his workbench. The police call it natural causes. His solicitor isn't so sure. Brand has left behind a singular clock - a masterwork of brass and oak with no numerals on its face - and a will that sets three former apprentices against one another to claim it.

Then a second man turns up dead. The clock, it seems, is not merely a timepiece. Brand hid something inside it. Something he could not say aloud in life.

Holmes and Watson must race to decode the dead man's final message before a third murder is committed - and before the truth Brand buried destroys more than just his legacy.

The Clockmaker's Bequest is a richly atmospheric Holmes adventure set in the fog and gaslight of 1889 London, where the most dangerous secrets tick quietly in plain sight.” - Amazon

Ed Gillow’s “The Clockmaker’s Bequest: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure” is quite a clever mystery.  

It’s late March, 1889, and Holmes is contacted by the barrister of a master clockmaker who appears to have died of natural causes. The problem is that one of his three skilled apprentices has also died from apparent natural causes, which raises the suspicions of the barrister administering the estate of the master clockmaker. Holmes and Watson learn that the clockmaker bequeathed his considerable estate to the apprentice that could decode a message hidden in a special clock. 

While Holmes continues his investigation, other attempts are made on the lives of the two remaining apprentices. Questions regarding what the coded message is abound as Holmes attempts to decode the message and determine who is behind the mayhem and murder. 

Mr. Gillow’s Holmes, Watson and Lestrade compare well to the characters in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Dr. Watson’s narration is clear and follows the original story style very well. I enjoyed this novel very much and look forward to reading any further cases that Mr. Gillow may set before Holmes and Watson. 

You can get a copy of Mr. Gillow’s book here.

While you’re there, you can take a look at my books here and here.