Samantha Buswell

Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers. And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life.

All Bob Hoon ever wanted was a good whisky, and some peace and quiet. But, when Hoon hears that his friend and MI5 agent, Miles Crabtree, has gone missing in the United States, he is dragged back into action once more. The hunt leads him to the Florida Everglades, and into conflict with the violent locals, the terrifying wildlife, and a Sheriff with a sinister agenda of his own.

After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amid a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychiatrist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there, and soon enough he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation. In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community, and the Garda are running out of time.

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can it be explained by science? An exquisitely crafted multilayered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age.

Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her 80th birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass—the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island—is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in, they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer.

Park Lane, 1905. The grandest house in Mayfair has just dismissed its housekeeper. All manner of treasures lie behind the pillared doors - and scandalous secrets too. With the event of the season looming, nothing must go wrong. But what no one knows is that Mrs King will be back that night. She has an outlandish plan in mind...and knows just who to recruit to help her clean up. Housekeeper. Sewing maid. Kitchen girl. Thief. Never underestimate the women downstairs.

In 2019, Kate flees an abusive relationship in London for Crows Beck, a remote Cumbrian village. Her destination is Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt, Violet, an eccentric entomologist. As Kate struggles with the trauma of her past, she uncovers a secret about the women in her family. A secret dating back to 1619, when her ancestor Altha Weyward was put on trial for witchcraft.

Edinburgh, 1853. Mesmerism is seeing a revival across the city. While most scientists avoid engaging with such quackery, the respected Dr Simpson has kept an open mind, testing hypnosis on his patients. But when Cora Carlton, socialite and wife of a wealthy entrepreneur, is mysteriously found dead in her home, whispers turn to rumours and rumours turn to fact, with all fingers pointing to her Doctor, Simpson. Desperate to clear their mentor's name, Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher join forces to find the truth about Cora's death.

Clem knows every inch of Watersmeet like the back of his hand. After all, he’s controlled crime here for most of his career. But after a shock murder, he meets jaundiced yellow eyes shining out of the darkness beyond the houses on the village’s eerie southern slopes, and everything he thought he knew about the place is thrown into question. Clem’s grown up with local legends, just like everyone else. But could the River Man be real, and might this creature be behind the recent mysterious killings?

Emmy award-winning actor Sir Derek Jacobi reads all 12 stories from this last collection to feature Holmes and Watson.