Bøker av Hugh Ashton

Sherlock Holmes is well known to us through the adventures he shared with John Watson and related by the good doctor. But even before that fateful meeting when Holmes observed to the man who was to become his closest friend, "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive," the world's ¿rst consulting detective had already taken on and solved many baf¿ing cases. This book relates ¿ve of these early adventures, all of which were tantalisingly mentioned by John Watson in his accounts of the adventures, but not expanded upon. Instead, they were hidden in the infamous dispatch-box, to be discovered and edited by Hugh Ashton over one hundred years later. The Tarleton Murders : A horri¿c mass murder strikes Sherlock Holmes to the depths of his soul. The Case of Vamberry, the Wine Merchant : takes Holmes to Paris, where he uncovers a dastardly scheme which involves the Élysée Palace itself. The Singular Affair of the Aluminium Crutch : where Sherlock Holmes assists a "dismasted" former sailor and an entrepreneurial industrialist. The Case of the Abominable Wife : which brings Holmes face to face with the handiwork of a criminal gang. The Adventure of the Two Bottles : Three little children appear to have met their deaths through poison. But who would want to kill them? And why?

Brian Finch-Malloy: school chess and fencing champion, crack shot, former officer in the British Army’s Coldstream Guards, and private in the army of the Confederacy.He is now on the run from the British Secret Service, the Confederacy, and from Hermann Goering of the German National Socialist Workers' Party. Working with a group of Confederates and Germans, he must find a way to prevent an unholy alliance between President Jefferson Davis III’s Confederate States of America and Adolf Hitler’s Germany.David Slater: private in the Army of the Confederacy, with talents for chess and calligraphy, both of which take him on unexpected adventures; to Germany, and in the Zeppelin Bismarck, where he meets Hitler, Goering, and other Nazi functionaries.Beneath Gray Skies tells of a past that never happened, where the Confederacy survived into the 20th century, and a giant airship soars through the air, carrying a fabulous and mysterious treasure across the Atlantic. 

When his business card is found in the pocket of a man who has died under the wheels of a train at Shinjuku station in Tokyo, Kenneth Sharpe’s life takes a turn for the worse. The stakes start high, and rise higher, as Sharpe and his friends take on the might of the financial world against the backdrop of the 2008 Wall Street collapse, and the ruin of the global financial markets.     This edition includes an appendix containing sections of the original first draft written in 2007, which described an earthquake rocking Tokyo and causing a nuclear accident. These were replaced in the final published edition by descriptions of the effects of the Lehman Shock. However, with the events of March 11, 2011, the first draft has proved disturbingly prophetic.Best-selling Sherlock Holmes author Hugh Ashton  lived in Japan for over 25 years, working in the technology and financial services sectors. At the Sharpe End was his second published novel, following the acclaimed alternative history Beneath Gray Skies.

Another discovery from the vaults of Cox and Co., the old London bank which had forwarded the Deed Box of John H Watson to the author last year. The Dispatch Box contains all manner of illuminating documents about Messrs. Holmes and Watson.Of particular interest are what the author refers to as The Affair of the Vatican Cameos, the Reigate Poisoning Case, with a shocking conclusion, and a document apparently written by the man Holmes himself called 'the fourth smartest man in London', John Clay.

The second box ("the dispatch-box") to be discovered in the vaults of Cox & Co. of Charing Cross has been the source of even more discoveries concerning the celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes. Included in this volume are four tales, all referenced in the canonical originally published adventures:The Abernetty Horror: A bloody crime in a Welsh fishing village points to one seemingly obvious answer. Holmes brings his reasoning powers to bear on the parsley and butter to discover the true solution (mentioned in The Six Napoleons).The Finsbury House: "the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland, that so nearly cost us both our lives" (The Norwood Builder).The Curious Affair of the Archdeacon: Mentioned in passing at the beginning of the Red Circle, this case is more light-hearted than many of Holmes' adventures.An Account of the Victor Lynch Forgery: An account of an early case of Sherlock Holmes, related not by Watson, but by Inspector Lestrade, in the form of a letter to the good doctor, following the events at Meiringen. Mentioned in both Study in Scarlet and the Sussex Vampire.This collection includes a Foreword from consulting Sherlockian Dr. Philip. C. Eyster, who writes, "I had only read a few pages of his initial story, when I knew that Mr. Ashton has not only the skill but also the deep-felt desire to faithfully add to the canon the same Sherlock as came from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle over 100 years ago".

Tales of Old Japanese is a collection of five short stories of the older generation living in contemporary Japan. The author spent over 25 years living in the country, working as a writer and journalist. Some of his impressions of Japan and of the people who live there have been recorded in: Keiko's House: An old house, its history, and the history of those who have lived there in the past. Haircuts: When 92-year-old Mr Kato changes his barber, his life takes on a surprising new meaning. Click: One photograph every day. The memories of twenty years, all neatly arranged in albums. Mrs Terada's camera sees everything. Mrs Sakamoto's Grouse: When Mrs Sakamoto sees a new brand of whisky on the shelves of her local neighbourhood shop, the result is unexpected. The Old House: Two boys play in the garden of a deserted house once owned by a notorious miser; which turns out not to be deserted after all.

Sherlock Ferret's well-whiskered friend Watson Mouse M.D. tells the story of how Mr. Montague Mole shows photographs of his family, but he has no idea who has taken them! Could it be a phantom photographer?As so often, the nefarious Moriarty Magpie appears to be involved, along with the mysterious Sir Basil Badger, who vanished several years before, after eating twenty-seven jam tarts (and lots of other delicious things!). But thanks to Sherlock Ferret's knowledge, his Big Books, and the Bakery Irregulars, all is put right in the end, and the Mole family can sleep safely all day (for the night is their busy time).

When Mrs. Fieldmouse visits Sherlock Ferret and his friend Watson Mouse M.D. and tells them that her twelve children have all fallen sick, Sherlock has to find out what has been going on. Together with Doctor Solomon Sloth, he discovers the cause of their illness.Then Lestrade, a rhinoceros friend (though not a very big one) tells him of mysterious doings at the pond. Sherlock and Watsaon meet large nefarious beasts, and the scurrilous Moriarty Magpie.Hermie, the caterpillar with a surprising trick, ancd two more of Sherlock's friends, Beatrice and Benedict, help to solve the mystery and make the poisoned pond safe again.This is the third book in the popular Sherlock Ferret series, which introduces the world of detection to younger readers in a way that also delights any adults who read the books.

The first of these, "The Case of the Russian Bear", involves the British Government, as represented by Mycroft Holmes. The circumstances surrounding it are mentioned in "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", where Holmes mentions to Watson that it would be impossible for him to leave London while "old Abrahams" is in such danger. We are not told any more about Abrahams in the Canon, but he may be identified as Sir David Abrahams, who makes his appearance in "The Enfield Rope". In it, we see Holmes' varied interests, including Kaballah, and some knowledge of the anarchist and revolutionary movements in Russia at the end of the 19th century (the last no doubt at least as the result of his work for Mycroft). There can be little doubt in my mind that Watson witheld publication of this adventure on account of its political sensitivity. The second adventure recorded here, "The Hand of Glory", is a purely domestic adventure, taking place as it does in a small unnamed Warwickshire market town, which it is impossible to identify from the sketchy description here. Holmes' knowledge of the esoteric superstitions of the past stands him in good stead here, and leads him to a satisfactory elimination of a criminal conspiracy, set up and masterminded for reasons of personal revenge. The grisly elements in this story are beyond anything described elsewhere by Watson, surpassing even "The Cardboard Box" and "Black Peter" in their gruesome nature. It seems to me that this would form a reason for this adventure to remain unpublished by Watson. Lastly, we turn to the "Disappearing Spoon"¿; a light-hearted look at a very minor incident in which Holmes renders assistance to a former schoolfellow. Disappointingly, though, we are not informed which school he attended (my personal belief is that Holmes was educated at Stonyhurst College, but there is no way of verifying or disproving this from the material available here).

British secret agent Brian Finch-Malloy (described by one reviewer as "a 1920s James Bond") was introduced in Beneath Gray Skies, set in an alternate history where the American Civil War never happened. Red Wheels Turning takes place in the same historical timeline, and features some of the same characters. With a backdrop of Tsarist Russia prior to the events described in Beneath Gray Skies, Red Wheels Turning once more mixes real historical characters with fictional characters and events in a an entertaining adventure featuring two of the most extraordinary weapons ever developed - the massive "Netopyr" and the rail cruiser "Zaamurets". Finch-Malloy battles against the maniacal gangster-turned-Bolshevik revolutionary Kolinski in a contest of wits to determine who will have control of these incredible machines. Described by readers as "a ripping yarn" and a "page-turner", Red Wheels Turning continues the tradition of high adventure, espionage and treachery, mixed with steampunk-like technology in a genre best described as "steampulp" which Ashton began in Beneath Gray Skies.

Sherlock Ferret and his well-whiskered friend Watson Mouse M.D. visit the Museum, where they look at many paintings, including the famous Ferret Before a Mirror, by Pablo Pigasso. Sherlock discovers that, though it is meant to be an old picture, the painting in the Museum is new! What is the secret of this, and the other paintings by Pigasso? Sherlock and Watson investigate, together with their rhinoceros friend (although he is not very big) Lestrade. They talk to Moriarty Magpie and other nefarious characters, and Watson spends a very uncomfortable time in Pigasso's house before the answer is discovered.

The boxes once belonging to Doctor Watson containing notes related to cases and adventures of his friend, Sherlock Holmes, are still not empty. Here we find five such adventures, four of which are mentioned in the original collections published through Watson's literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and brought together here. The Adventure of the Broken Door is mentioned briefly (but not by that name), in The Norwood Builder. The Adventure of the Green Dragon has an oriental flavour and is referenced (though the reference is obscure) in The Cardboard Box. The Adventure of John Vincent Harden is mentioned in by name in the Solitary Cyclist. The Adventure of the Copper Pins is mentioned (but not by that name) in The Five Orange Pips. The Adventure of the Deceased Doctor is unusual, as it occurs some two and half years after His Last Bow, when Holmes and Watson are both serving their country in the Great War.

The good news: Leo has finally walked out on his wife after years of misery.The bad news: he finds his girlfriend in bed with another man.The good news: he's got £3,000,000 in the bank.The bad news: the bank is in Japan, he has no money to get there, and the money isn't really his anyway.The good news: he's taken on as a Killer Rabbit.The bad news: he doesn't know what a Killer Rabbit does.Is Leo's luck about to change, as he travels the byways of rock 'n' roll with Pig, Scuzz, Chick, Lurch, and Chaz? And what's Bobby's little secret, anyway?Leo's Luck has been described as "deep-fried sushi" - by someone who knows what he's talking about. A surreal romp through the worlds of music and disorganised crime, not to mention the paranormal and a little romance.

Miss Leticia Rabbit leaves her gold necklace on the grass outside her house one evening. When she gets up in the morning, it is gone! To help her get it back, she asks Sherlock Ferret, who lives with his well-whiskered friend Watson Mouse M.D. (a Doctor of Mousology) in rooms under Mrs. Hudson's baker's shop. Sherlock and Watson, and their friend Lestrade, who is a rhinoceros (even though he is not a very big one) set out to find the necklace for her, meeting several interesting and nefarious characters, such as Moriarty Magpie, and the frightening Colonel Sebastian Moorhen as they do so.

A Papal legate, on a secret mission to England from Rome, is discovered dead. How did he die? And why? Mycroft Holmes, master of many of the secrets of the realm, calls in his younger brother Sherlock to discover the answer to these questions.When he arrives at the scene of the crime, Sherlock Holmes discovers that the Cardinal's corpse has been moved - inside a locked room. A search for a missing document which may prove to be the clue to this riddle - but Holmes and Watson find themselves caught in a tangled web of mystery and political intrigue as they investigate The Death of Cardinal Tosca.

The deed box of Dr. John Watson, entrusted by him over a century ago to Cox & Co. of Charing Cross, and which made its way to Hugh Ashton in Kamakura, Japan, continues to yield treasure.The box proved to have a false bottom, under which lay the manuscript of a full-length adventure of Sherlock Holmes, in which the great detective needs all his cunning and detective powers to unravel the mysteries at Hareby Hall.Mentioned in passing by Dr. Watson in his account of A Scandal in Bohemia, The Darlington Substitution is a tale of deceit, treachery, and murder most foul, set in the wild Border country of northern England. Holmes and Watson encounter a centuries-old legend which tells of the future extinction of an ancient noble family, and set themselves against one of the most ingenious and fiendish villains ever to cross the path of Sherlock Holmes.Holmes and his faithful biographer come to life again in this case, following in the tradition already set in the three volumes of the "Deed Box" series of shorter Holmes adventures published by Inknbeans Press. These have been extremely favorably received by readers and reviewers, with one commenting, "I would have assumed that they were indeed previously undiscovered Doyle originals," and another, "The author has followed the approaches of the original Doyle stories to the extent that these could have been easily included in the original works".

1894 - the year that Sherlock Holmes returned to London, after the Great Hiatus that followed the plunge into the Reichenbach Falls. Doctor Watson, though astounded at his friend's reappearance, nonetheless retained his composure enough to record the adventures that he shared with the famous sleuth in that year. Though he alludes to many of them, he never presented these to his literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Hugh Ashton has come into possession of one of the notebooks where Watson wrote up these cases, and has presented five of the adventures that Watson mentioned in The Golden Pince-Nez: The Red Leech, The Addleton Tragedy, The Ancient British Barrow, The Smith-Mortimer Succession, and The Boulevard Assassin.In addition, the volume contains the adventure of The Two Coptic Patriarchs, as mentioned in The Retired Colourman.The book has been produced following the style of the Strand magazine, and the cover features a facsimile of the memorandum book of Doctor Watson in which the adventures were first written, including the mark of a glass from which Watson no doubt refreshed himself while engaged in his literary labours.Here, then, are some of Holmes' adventures in 1894, the year in which most biographers agree he returned to London from his apparent death, to defeat Colonel Sebastian Moran, and to once again confound the wiles of the criminals and evil-doers of the realm.The Adventure of the Red Leech: Though Lestrade brings the case to Holmes' attention, he plays a relatively small part in the unmasking of the villain. Watson's skills as a physician are evident here, though with his usual modesty he fails to draw attention to them.The Adventure of the Addleton Tragedy: Though not a tragedy in the usual sense of the word, both Holmes and Watson describe the events set down here as a tragedy, though each man ascribes a different meaning here.The Adventure of the Ancient British Barrow: Holmes and Watson leave London to explore the past. This adventure is set in the East Anglian countryside. Holmes' deductive skills and his scientific expertise are shown here, as is his interest in history and archeology.The Adventure of the Smith-Mortimer Succession: Holmes as a gambler is an unusual depiction of the great detective, but the result of Holmes' efforts in this case rests on a throw of the dice.The Adventure of the Boulevard Assassin: More of a police adventure than a criminal investigation, Holmes and Watson act as special constables assisting Inspector Stanley Hopkins in his pursuit of an international terrorist.The Adventure of the Two Coptic Patriarchs: Mentioned in the Adventure of the Retired Colourman, Holmes uncovers a most ingenious attempt at a crime.In my opinion, these cases are as interesting as those that were published by Watson through Sir Arthur, and it must have been fear of exposure of the principals that prevented them from being published in Watson's lifetime. In the case of Addleton, it is an interesting irony that Holmes demolishes the idea of Spiritualism, given Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's later espousal of it.

Three adventures of Sherlock Holmes, very much in the style of the original stories, by a writer who has been acclaimed as the reincarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.The Odessa Business introduces a new member of the Holmes clan, as Sherlock Holmes investigates a death at an academy for young ladies, which opens more doors than were previously suspected.The Case of the Missing Matchbox reveals the truth about the "remarkable worm, said to be unknown to science", which drove men to insanity.The Case of the Cormorant takes Holmes and Watson to Cornwall, where dark doings are afoot, which nevertheless must be kept hidden from the public.