Sherlock Holmes is suffering from a dangerous malady…

Excessive indulgence in his ‘addictions’ and the strain of over-work have led to him sinking into a deep depression.

He is unable to sleep or eat, and has wasted away to become a shadow of his former self.

Watson is desperately concerned for his friend’s welfare, fearing his sanity and even his life may be at stake…

Desperate to help his friend regain his joie de vivre, Holmes seizes on an opportunity presented to him when a widow, shrouded in black, drops a left-luggage ticket by his feet…

Instead of handing the ticket in to the proper authorities, Watson puts his friend’s welfare before his love of propriety, and collects the luggage himself.

The luggage takes the form of a hat box, but with a heavy object inside – could this be the clue Holmes needs to revive him from his torpor?

At first, Watson’s tale does nothing to arouse Holmes’s interest, but when the hat box reveals a blood-stained dress and butcher’s knife, he finally stirs from his listlessness to correct Watson’s false deductions, showing far more than a flicker of his old self…

Despite being weak, Holmes recovers at a remarkable rate once his interest has been captured by the unusual and intriguing case…

Examining the facts with careful logic, Holmes deduces from a hidden bridge toll ticket that their search for the mysterious Black Widow, and the owner of the blood-stained dress, must take them to the South Coast.

The two friends take the train the following morning, but only after Holmes has been fortified by one of Mrs Hudson’s hearty meals.

Holmes and Watson put up at an inn called the Jolly Smugglers, and soon learn from talking to the landlord of some strange tenants living across the way, in a rented bungalow called Mon Repos – a husband and wife, who look very similar and who have never been seen in the same room together…

Is this mysterious couple connected to the apparent murder of a woman?

Will this case restore Holmes to his previous state of health?

And can Holmes and Watson avoid incrimination themselves, once they finally reveal the facts of the case to the proper authorities?

The Torment of Sherlock Holmes is a case with many twists and turns, that will keep readers guessing right up until its exciting conclusion.

Val Andrews (15 February 1926 – 12 December 2006) was a music hall artist, ventriloquist and writer. Andrews was a prolific writer on magic, having published over 1000 books and booklets from 1952. He also authored Sherlock Holmes pastiches and Houdini's novels.