"Narrator Simon Vance adopts the dry, literary tones of a classic Holmes radio drama,
imparting wry humor detectable only to listeners paying close attention to the plot.Winston Churchill
sounds just like a recording of the man himself."AudioFile

In a crafty new novel featuring the world's greatest literary detective, Alan Vanneman
extends the boundaries of the Sherlock Holmes canon with this novel.

A late-night summons takes Holmes and Dr. Watson from the cozy Victorian comforts of Baker Street
to the Orient Express, where they travel the breadth of Europe to exotic Constantinople. But danger's
afoot, for death, too, is traveling first class.

As Holmes strives to unmask his most cunning, ruthless, and elusive foe, he is transported into a world
of high finance rife with intrigue and crime. With a cast of characters that includes historical greats like
Winston Churchill as well as a beggar girl whom Watson adopts, Holmes follows a trail that leads ultimately
and unpredictably to the fabled and fabulous lost Hapsburg Tiara.

Alan Vanneman is the author of Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra was well as numerous short stories. He writes online for the Bright Lights Film Journal and lives in Washington, D.C.

Earphones Awards recipient Simon Vance was born in England and worked for the BBC for ten years as a radio news announcer and as a narrator for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London. Besides narrating audiobooks, he is involved in numerous stage-acting projects in the United States and Europe.