The Revenant of Thraxton Hall: The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Entwistle’s absorbing first in a paranormal series featuring Arthur Conan Doyle finds the celebrated author having a “beastly day” after killing off Sherlock Holmes in “The Final Problem.” First, a spiritualist medium, later identified as Lady Hope Thraxton, lures Doyle to a darkened London house where she demands his help in preventing her murder at a forthcoming séance. Second, he must contend with angry Holmes fans outside the Strand magazine offices. Finally, Doyle accompanies fellow writers J.M. Barrie and Oscar Wilde to a risqué music hall performance, after which they learn of a conspiracy against Lady Hope, who will be hosting a meeting of the Society for Psychical Research at her Lancashire manor house in two weeks. Entwistle (Angel of Highgate) assembles an intriguing cast, including a levitator whose acts go awry, an enigmatic foreign count, and a Russian mystic who warns of dangerous revenants (returning spirits), for his whimsical plot. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron and Associates. (Mar.)