1st September 2022 – The sixth Mrs Hudson novel – Mrs Hudson and The Christmas Canary – is now available for pre-order. Here’s a sneak preview of the cover…
December in London, and someone is sending eminent members of society strange deliveries of live poultry; a famous violinist has gone missing; and a minor magician has had his boater stolen on the train to Bognor Regis. At a stately home in Sussex, Christmas trees are being decapitated. And in his lavish studio in St John’s Wood, a prominent artist tells Flotsam the story of an unsolved 23-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of a priceless ornament…
8th November 2021 – In a close race, Sherlock Holmes is said to be the second most frequently portrayed fictional character in films and television, with Count Dracula a little ahead of him. Here are a few familiar – and one or two less famous – Sherlocks for you to identify…
5th November 2021 – Announcing the launch of the fifth Mrs Hudson novel!
Autumn in London, and George Dashing – radical politician and society heart-throb – returns to London from a foreign posting. But not everyone is pleased to see him back. The Home Office believes foreign agents are plotting an assassination, and the authorities turn to Baker Street for assistance. George Dashing’s removal would certainly benefit Sir Henry Catanache, his political arch-rival – but when Sir Henry’s housemaid vanishes in suspicious circumstances and his son is arrested for her murder, he too turns to Sherlock Holmes for help. But Holmes and Watson are rushed off their feet, and Mrs Hudson is busy making jam; Flotsam fears that if the handsome Mr Dashing is to be saved, she must take matters into her own hands….
13th August 2020
Flattered to discover that “The Conjuror’s Bird” is mentioned in an impressive scientific work, one that contains a section about the Mysterious Bird of Ulietea. Feels strange (but pleasing) to see it sitting in such company…
Thanks to Mike Lee for pointing out the reference. I’m looking forward to reading his recent book about French explorers in the South Seas in the Joseph Banks/Captain Cook period…
1st August 2020
I loved this article in The New York Times magazine. I’ve always been fascinated by swifts…
27th June 2020
‘Fourteen weeks of lockdown and I still haven’t read Ulysses.’
20 June 2020 – Ever since I discovered his amazing book The Red Tree, I’ve been a massive fan of Shaun Tan, who has now won the Kate Greenaway Medal. His Tales from Outer Surburbia is one of my very favourite books.
15th May 2020 – Current lockdown reading:
7th April 2020 – Strange times… The book currently by my bedside is:
20th March 2020 –
Some lovely reviews in for “The Samarkand Conspiracy”, and thanks to Goodreads readers for their comments and ratings. “Oh my goodness, but I LOVE this series!! ..Mrs. Hudson and Flotsam are, in a word, delightful.”
12th March 2020 – The big day! Summer in London, and it’s so hot even the criminals have left town. Bored and restless, Sherlock Holmes frets while Dr Watson studies the papers for possible cases. But when, in the distant Carpathians, a train disappears in a tunnel, never to be seen again, the authorities are quick to turn to the great detective. A British agent carrying a vital coded message is missing, a diplomat’s wife is being blackmailed, peculiar telegrams are arriving from Romania – while in a sleepy English village, a rural vicar is perplexed to find that his spectacles keep going missing…
5th March 2020 – One week to go until Mrs Hudson and The Samarkand Conspiracy hits the shelves (and tablets)!
1st March 2020 – My new website is now under construction and will be appearing soon. In fact, if you’re reading this, it has already appeared. Hurrah!
Martin Davies 