The Scottish Ploy

In The Scottish Ploy, British sleuth Mycroft Holmes and his associates contend once more with the sinister agents of the secret organization known as the Brotherhood.Seemingly unconnected events pull Mycroft in several directions at once. To prevent the leaders of an anarchist group from reaching England's shores, Mycroft must, much to his dismay, become part of the intended reconciliation of a husband and wife. Then there are the minor puzzles: Why is gentleman who claims to be Turkish seeking his supposedly kidnapped brother in London? Why does an eminent phrenologist urgently want Mycroft's opinion on the inhabitants of his asylum? Who has been following Mycroft and his estimable secretary, the amiable Paterson Guthrie, through London's foggy streets? What motivated the attempted assassination of an Admiralty courier on Mycroft's own doorstep? When the lovely Penelope Gatspy saves Guthrie's life, is it because of the attraction between them or on orders of the mysterious "lodge" she serves?

But, most important to Mycroftwho is behind the kidnapping of his old friend, the actor Edmund Sutton, who was in the midst of a triumphant run as Macbeth in Shakespeare's infamous "Scottish Play"?

FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF PHILIP TYERS:

It is almost eight and Sutton has not returned from the Diogenes Club; he has maintained MH's habitual visits to the minute before now, which should have brought him back here no later than seven-forty-three or -four. I am somewhat troubled by this unprecedented delay. It is most unlike Sutton, who, if nothing else, is punctual. If I cannot find Sutton on the street, I will ask for himin the persona of MHat the club. If I can learn nothing there, I will speak to the Golden Lodge guards, to find out if they noticed anything irregular. I do not like to assume the worst, but I am truly worried that I have not seen him, even if he decided, for some unknown reason, to approach the flat from the rear ...

Review Quotes:

"Authorized by the Conan Doyle Estateand great fun to boot."Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer

"Mycroft relies on action, negotiation, and manipulationrather like John Le Carré's Smiley. The book is appealing, with a nice dash of actual Victorian political characters and events. It's fun to read."San Jose Mercury News

"Any Sherlock Holmes fan will want to read Quinn Fawcett's homage to the great detective."Midwest Book Review

"The star is Holmes, and the narrator is his sidekick. But the Holmes is Mycroft, Sherlock's older, smarter brother; and the narrator is Paterson Erskine Guthrie, not Dr. Watson. Absorbing."Publishers Weekly

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