"Kenneth Johnson has written a novel
that would make Conan Doyle proud."                                              ~ Strand Magazine

Holmes Coming 

Bestselling author (The Man of Legends) screenwriter, director, producer Kenneth Johnson has been mesmerizing audiences with his speculative fiction work for over forty years. He is the creator of the ground-breaking and influential original miniseries V, producer of The Six Million Dollar Man and creator such Emmy-winning iconic shows as The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk and Alien Nation.

In his latest novel, Dr. Amy Winslow tells the story: in foggy, nighttime San Francisco a jogging SFPD captain is savagely attacked by a Bengal tiger which then vanishes. In her ER, Amy labors unsuccessfully to save the captain’s life, then consoles his aggrieved closest friend, Lt. Luis Ortega. Neither suspects their lives will intertwine in a life-or-death mystery.

The next day, checking on former patient Mrs. Hudson at her Victorian house isolated in Marin County’s forest, Amy discovers in the cellar a secret, cobweb-covered 1899 electrochemical laboratory containing a Jules Verne–esque steam-punk sarcophagus out of which springs a wild-eyed, half-mummified, crypt-keeper-like man who injects himself with something before falling dead at her feet. Amy barely revives him.

He claims to be a real-life Victorian master chemist and detective named Holmes, who allowed Conan Doyle to write stories based on his cases, though was slightly annoyed when Doyle changed his real first name to the catchier Sherlock. Becoming uninspired by 1890s crime, Holmes devised this method to hibernate for a century to investigate future mysteries.

Amy assumes he’s a lunatic. His Scotland Yard identity papers were stolen while he slept, so it takes her a while to realize his amazing story is true.

Respectably handsome when cleaned up, Holmes is still the same brash, egoistic, uber-English, cocaine-addicted, non-feminist genius—but now a century out of sync—so his still-brilliant deductions are sometimes laughingly or dangerously wrong. Holmes and Amy, his reluctant new Watson, find themselves unexpectedly attracted to each other while perilously involved in reclaiming his proof of identity, aided by cybersavvy street teen Zapper. It's all connected to the horrific death-by-tiger, only the first of several bizarre, mystifying murders being committed by an exquisitely fiendish descendant of Holmes’ Victorian archenemy, Professor Moriarty.

The tone is classic Holmes—plus a refreshing twist of fish-out-of-water humor with a surprising spark of real romance.

"Sherlock Holmes redux executed with skill and style. Sherlock Holmes is alive—and living in San Francisco! Johnson clearly knows and respects his source material…Winslow’s plummy narrative voice is a satisfying imitation of Dr. Watson’s; additional pleasures of this confection come from Doyle-inspired updates, like the young Zapper, an Artful Dodger type who’s the foremost of the San Francisco Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars.” 

--- Kirkus Reviews

“Kenneth Johnson has written a novel that would make Conan Doyle proud. Clever, tight plots, fresh dialogue, and a take on Holmes that should not only be embraced by those delightful fans of Sherlock who buy every pastiche on the planet, but general readers who want a book that they won’t forget are guaranteed to become fans of the Great Detective.”

--- Strand Magazine

"Having the actual character adapt to modern times is a fresh take on the detective. Johnson nails Holmes’s voice...his story is fun and engaging. Fans of the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes will enjoy."

--- Library Journal

“Kenneth Johnson...knows how to make magic.”

--- Philadelphia Inquirer

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