Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice is the third novel in the Young Sherlock Holmes series that depicts Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s. It was written by Andy Lane and released in the UK on 3 June 2011 by Macmillan Books. It follows on from Young Sherlock Holmes: Red Leech and Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud.
Plot Summary
Mycroft Holmes invites Sherlock and his tutor, Amyus Crowe, to London for a visit. When they arrive at the Diogenes Club they find Mycroft holding a dagger over a dead body. The police arrive soon and arrest Mycroft, leaving Sherlock and Amyus to prove his innocence. They find some clues at the murder scene; a business card, a small bottle with a clear liquid in it, and a small wooden case. They determine that the business card is freshly printed and look for printers around London who might have created it.
The pair split up and Sherlock locates the right printer which leads him to a bouncer in a local tavern. Sherlock tails the bouncer, but the bouncer manages to turn the tables on him, and chases Sherlock into the sewers inhabited by London's abandoned and feral children. Sherlock has to run for his life to escape them, and ends up at the London Necropolis Railway.
Sherlock and Amyus meet up again and have dangerous encounter with a bird of prey in an animal museum. From there it becomes evident that events occurring in Russia may be linked to Mycroft's frame-up. Sherlock joins a traveling theatre troupe accompanied by Rufus Stone to Russia to uncover the truth.
About the Author
Andrew Lane (born 1963), who also writes as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist. He has written a number of spin-off novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Finish based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who (and a novel for the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood), as well as assorted non fiction books based upon popular film and TV franchises such as James Bond. He has also written TV storylines and scripts for the Sky One science fiction series Space Island One.
During 2009 Macmillan Books announced that Andrew Lane would be writing a series of books focusing on the early life of Sherlock Holmes. The series was developed in conjunction with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Andy had already shown an extensive knowledge of the Holmes character and continuity in his Virgin Books novel All-Consuming Fire in which he created The Library of St. John the Beheaded as a meeting place for the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who. The first book in the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' series -- Death Cloud -- was published in the UK in June 2010 (February 2011 in the USA), with the second -- Red Leech -- published in the UK in November of that year (with a planned US publication date under the title Rebel Fire of February 2012). The third book -- Black Ice -- was published in June 2011 in the UK while the fourth book -- Fire Storm -- is scheduled for October 2011. Death Cloud was shortlisted for the 2010 North East Book Award. (coming second by three votes) and has also been shortlisted for the 2011 Southampton's Favourite Book Award.
Andy Lane originally studied Physics at Warwick University, where he was a contemporary and friend of writers Justin Richards and Craig Hinton. He currently lives with his wife and son in Dorset, England. He is represented by Robert Kirby at United Agents.
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Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice