A thrilling chase as Sherlock Holmes is set a fiendish puzzle by Irene Adler over a snowy London Christmas, in this stunningly packaged mystery.
Sherlock Holmes’s discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme of ‘theft without theft', such as a statue missing from a museum found hidden in the room it was taken from.
In the snowy London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes’s preoccupation with the "Adler Variations" risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep. Could they really be gifts from a strange spirit that has pursued Nansen since the completion of his expedition to cross Greenland? And might this case somehow be related to Irene Adler’s great game?
Tim Major is a writer and freelance editor from York, UK. His love of speculative fiction is the product of a childhood diet of classic Doctor Who episodes and an early encounter with Triffids. Tim’s most recent books include Hope Island and Snakeskins, short story collection And the House Lights Dim and a monograph about the 1915 silent crime film, Les Vampires, which was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award. Tim’s short fiction has appeared in Interzone, Not One of Us, Shoreline of Infinity and numerous anthologies, including Best of British Science Fiction, Best of British Fantasy and The Best Horror of the Year. He tweets @onasteamer.
"Holmes fans will be more than satisfied with this well-constructed homage to the great detective." - Criminal Element
"A fine addition to Holmes stories and should make a great brain teaser of a read!" - RunAlongTheShelves
"Fans of traditional Holmes stories should welcome a sequel." -Publishers Weekly
The Times
"Major has a special skill of weaving his characters' inner turmoils into the perils they face in the plot." Morning Star
"Refreshingly out of the ordinary." Sunday Sport
“Tim Major is an exceptional writer” Adam Roberts
"Hope Island is a masterfully tense tale, building a looming sense of dread and growing uncertainty. Disturbing and original, surprising and shocking, it's an excellent novel from a unique voice in the genre." Tim Lebbon, author of Eden and The Silence
"Hope Island is a deliciously creepy mystery. Tim Major knows how to wield the weird and the effect is an original novel that's unsettling and compelling at every turn. The silent children who stalk the island are a disturbing threat outside, and the threat within the family offers a richly-realised emotional disquiet. Prepare to be unnerved." D. K. Fields, author of Widow's Welcome and The Stitcher and the Mute
"Tense and compelling, the taut and tangled mysteries of eerie Hope Island conspire to create a roiling fever dream of a novel in which nothing is certain, and in which even one's own senses cannot truly be trusted. Beneath an authentic and empathetic portrait of a family falling apart lies a deeply intuitive, atmospheric enquiry into those truths which underpin all human relationships: the way we speak and listen, the things we say and the things we hide. Hope Island is a strange and brilliantly original novel which cements Tim Major's rightful reputation as a top class writer of fantastical fiction." Laura Mauro, author of Sing Your Sadness Deep
"Artfully written and brilliantly controlled from the first page, Hope Island explores unsettling territory through well-drawn characters, landscape and a powerful use of sound. But it's the central mother-daughter relationship that gives the book real heart – there's honesty, pain and beauty in here." M. T. Hill, author of Zero Bomb and The Breach
“I tore through Hope Island, unnerved by its escalating tension and its keen sense of isolation — I genuinely didn’t know what to expect whenever I turned the page.” Award-winning author, G. V. Anderson
“Clever, intriguing and suspenseful … a must-read book from a terrific new voice” Alison Littlewood on You Don’t Belong Here
“You Don’t Belong Here is a novel that dares to do something different” Ginger Nuts of Horror
“You Don’t Belong Here is that perfect blend of cautionary tale, psychological horror and introspective character study.” The Eloquent Page
“It has freshness and it’s fluently written entertainment.” Rising Shadow
“Strongly recommended for fans of original and uniquely weird fiction.” Ginger Nuts of Horror on Blighters
“Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end” Lynda Rucker on Carus and Mitch
A thrilling chase as Sherlock Holmes is set a fiendish puzzle by Irene Adler over a snowy London Christmas, in this stunningly packaged mystery.
Sherlock Holmes’s discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme of ‘theft without theft', such as a statue missing from a museum found hidden in the room it was taken from.
In the snowy London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes’s preoccupation with the "Adler Variations" risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep. Could they really be gifts from a strange spirit that has pursued Nansen since the completion of his expedition to cross Greenland? And might this case somehow be related to Irene Adler’s great game?
Creators
Tim Major is a writer and freelance editor from York, UK. His love of speculative fiction is the product of a childhood diet of classic Doctor Who episodes and an early encounter with Triffids. Tim’s most recent books include Hope Island and Snakeskins, short story collection And the House Lights Dim and a monograph about the 1915 silent crime film, Les Vampires, which was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award. Tim’s short fiction has appeared in Interzone, Not One of Us, Shoreline of Infinity and numerous anthologies, including Best of British Science Fiction, Best of British Fantasy and The Best Horror of the Year. He tweets @onasteamer.
"Holmes fans will be more than satisfied with this well-constructed homage to the great detective." - Criminal Element
"A fine addition to Holmes stories and should make a great brain teaser of a read!" - RunAlongTheShelves
"Fans of traditional Holmes stories should welcome a sequel." -Publishers Weekly
The Times
"Major has a special skill of weaving his characters' inner turmoils into the perils they face in the plot." Morning Star
"Refreshingly out of the ordinary." Sunday Sport
“Tim Major is an exceptional writer” Adam Roberts
"Hope Island is a masterfully tense tale, building a looming sense of dread and growing uncertainty. Disturbing and original, surprising and shocking, it's an excellent novel from a unique voice in the genre." Tim Lebbon, author of Eden and The Silence
"Hope Island is a deliciously creepy mystery. Tim Major knows how to wield the weird and the effect is an original novel that's unsettling and compelling at every turn. The silent children who stalk the island are a disturbing threat outside, and the threat within the family offers a richly-realised emotional disquiet. Prepare to be unnerved." D. K. Fields, author of Widow's Welcome and The Stitcher and the Mute
"Tense and compelling, the taut and tangled mysteries of eerie Hope Island conspire to create a roiling fever dream of a novel in which nothing is certain, and in which even one's own senses cannot truly be trusted. Beneath an authentic and empathetic portrait of a family falling apart lies a deeply intuitive, atmospheric enquiry into those truths which underpin all human relationships: the way we speak and listen, the things we say and the things we hide. Hope Island is a strange and brilliantly original novel which cements Tim Major's rightful reputation as a top class writer of fantastical fiction." Laura Mauro, author of Sing Your Sadness Deep
"Artfully written and brilliantly controlled from the first page, Hope Island explores unsettling territory through well-drawn characters, landscape and a powerful use of sound. But it's the central mother-daughter relationship that gives the book real heart – there's honesty, pain and beauty in here." M. T. Hill, author of Zero Bomb and The Breach
“I tore through Hope Island, unnerved by its escalating tension and its keen sense of isolation — I genuinely didn’t know what to expect whenever I turned the page.” Award-winning author, G. V. Anderson
“Clever, intriguing and suspenseful … a must-read book from a terrific new voice” Alison Littlewood on You Don’t Belong Here
“You Don’t Belong Here is a novel that dares to do something different” Ginger Nuts of Horror
“You Don’t Belong Here is that perfect blend of cautionary tale, psychological horror and introspective character study.” The Eloquent Page
“It has freshness and it’s fluently written entertainment.” Rising Shadow
“Strongly recommended for fans of original and uniquely weird fiction.” Ginger Nuts of Horror on Blighters
“Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end” Lynda Rucker on Carus and Mitch
