Story Summaries:
“The Case of Cardinal Tosca”
In this memorable year '95 a curious and incongruous succession of cases had engaged his attention, ranging from his famous investigation of the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca -- an inquiry which was carried out by him at the express desire of His Holiness the Pope . . . .
—Dr. John H. Watson, “The Adventure of Black Peter”
Pope Leo requests the aid of Sherlock Holmes to investigate the sudden and mysterious death of a member of his curia. Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson discover that the pen is definitely mightier than the sword in the hands of a murderous artisan whose intended victim is the Pope himself.
"The Vatican Cameos"
I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases.
—Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sherlock Holmes helps Pope Leo XIII recover a rare collection of ancient Roman cameos that has vanished en route to Queen Victoria. A gift with political implications, their loss could cost English Catholics their much-needed cathedral in London. Holmes travels to Rome to locate the stolen baubles, but when this theft quickly turns to murder, Holmes and the Holy Father realize this case is more treacherous than they imagined. Introduced and concluded by Dr. Watson, the bulk of the tale is told in the fatherly voice of the erudite and prolific Pope Leo XIII.
“The Second Coptic Patriarch”
You know that I am preoccupied with this case of the two Coptic Patriarchs, which should come to a head to-day.
—Sherlock Holmes, “The Retired Colourman”
When the famous Father Brown is imprisoned for the murder of a Coptic clerk, Brown’s ex-criminal friend Flambeau seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes to set him free. The case is a tangled problem that spans from the hearth of a simple family to the upper-echelons of the Church of Rome.
Read an excerpt from MURDER IN THE VATICAN, “The Death of Cardinal Tosca”:
“You’ve forgotten one detail, Padre,” said Holmes, in reference to the pope’s new attire.
“Che?”
“L’anello.” Holmes held up his right hand and pointed to his fourth finger.
“Ah.” Leo pulled the fisherman’s ring from his finger and dropped it into the left pocket of the black cassock. The young priest then handed him a tall black umbrella, and Leo set its end to the floor with authoritative thud.
It is amazing how clothes can change the appearance of a man. Where once stood the proverbial Vicar of Christ on Earth, now stood a simple, venerable Italian priest. Strangely, he resembled the aged Italian cleric persona Holmes once adopted to avoid the notice of Professor Moriarty.
Read the reviews!
"Engagingly written!"
--Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Even the casual reader of the Canon comes away noting that several of Holmes’s unpublished cases have to do with the Catholic Church. Lewis runs with this ecclesiastical hook, giving us a decent dose of Baker Street and three good mysteries, and even throws in a meeting with G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown. In addition, Rikki Niehaus illustrates the book with delightful period-style pen-and-inks."
–The Baker Street Journal
"It is only a subjective truth, and my own personal opinion, that Ann Margaret Lewis successfully captured the spirit and character of the original Holmes mysteries in her three stories, but all the same this is a book that I find myself re-reading with great pleasure."
--Catholic Phoenix
"[Murder in the Vatican] rawks. I liked it so much I offered it the greatest and most conflicting-to-authors compliment I could pay it: I passed it along as a gift to somebody else (in this case, Fr. Shane Tharp). 'Greatest' because the highest compliment you can pay a book is 'Hey! You gotta read this!' 'Conflicting' because, of course, pass-along readership means 'readers who don't pay you for your work.' "
--Mark Shea, Catholic author and blogger
"Some of the best fans to follow in Conan Doyle’s footsteps are Nicholas Meyer, August Derleth, Denis Green, and Anthony Boucher. With the publication of Murder in the Vatican, Ann Margaret Lewis can join the ranks of authors who have provided worthy additions to the adventures of Holmes and Watson."
--Chris Chan, American Chesterton Society
"Lewis's attention to historic details, combined with masterfully told stories, engaged me from the first page. I couldn't put the book down. Having some recurring characters appear in the stories helped to show their development; in addition, it was a nice to witness how the relationship between Holmes and Pope Leo evolved over time. As one would expect, the stories are eloquently told, spoken in a style that speaks to a by-gone era."
--The Book Connection (see full review here)
PURHCASE MURDER IN THE VATICAN AT AMAZON!
After attacking the Star Wars universe, Ann plunged into writing science fiction/fantasy, historical fiction, and, of course, mysteries. Her latest book is Murder in the Vatican:The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes published by Wessex Press. She is also co-writing a historical novel entitled Roman which tells the true story of a priest in 1840s southern Indiana who was accused of assaulting a woman in a confessional.
Ann is a classically trained soprano, and has performed around the New York City area. She has many interests from music to art history, to theology and all forms of literature. She is the President of the Catholic Writers Guild, an international organization for Catholic Writers and the coordinator of the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE. After living in New York City for fifteen years, Ann moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband Joseph Lewis and their son, Raymond. Together they enjoy their life in the heartland.
Visit her online at http://holmeschurchmysteries.com/.
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