A Mystery in Key West - Inspired by “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” by Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes IV

By Andrew Delaplaine

In "A Mystery in Key West," inspired by Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot," Holmes's doctor orders him to take a short holiday in Key West, and while there, Holmes is called on to look into a case in which three people involved in a Santería ritual died with no explanation.

Sherlock Holmes IV is a direct descendant of the famed detective whose daring exploits were so vividly chronicled by Dr. John Watson and related to us by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 


This new Sherlock Holmes owns a small hotel (The Fleming House named after Ian Fleming of James Bond fame) on Miami's South Beach, and this Sherlock is just as renowned in the present day as his illustrious ancestor was in his. 

 

"Imagine Sherlock Holmes—or rather, his great-great-great-grandson—living on South Beach and solving crimes and mysteries with the same aplomb as his famous forebear and you'll get the picture of what's going on here…"
                        --Bartholomew Fox, author of "Deadlock"


"Witty and clever, with a whole new cast of characters to support this new Holmes and this new Watson. They live in a small boutique hotel on Lincoln Road called Fleming House (named after Sherlock the IV's love for James Bond author Ian Fleming). Holmes paces about in the penthouse while Watson (yes, he's a direct descendant of Dr. Watson) manages Fleming House. The cast of supporting characters, from the unseen brilliant but tempestuous Chef Hilario to the colorful Bjorn Karlsen, the gay manager of the Crown Colony restaurant in the hotel who has to put up with the irascible Cuban chef, are refreshing and contemporary."
                 --Renee Rodgers, author of "A Tuned Body"
 

"There have been countless mutations of the iconic Holmes over the last century, but none has this contemporary approach using not merely a reworked manifestation of the original character, but a descendant of the first Holmes."

--- Nathaniel Pembroke, author of  "A James Joyce Chronicle"

"You'll like not only this new Sherlock Holmes, but the hip new world he finds himself living in… South Beach. Lady Gaga even makes an appearance in 'The Red-haired Man'!"
            --Sophie Charpentier, author of "Country Club Tennis Rules"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gramercy Park Press
• Release date: Dec 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386087403

Andrew Delaplaine

Delaplaine lives on South Beach, Miami’s Billion Dollar Sandbar. He writes in widely varied fields: screenplays, novels (adult and juvenile) and journalism. He also has a series of Long Weekend Guides covering some 50 cities around the world. Email: [e-mail] He writes several series: The “JACK HOUSTON ST. CLAIR” political thriller novels. “THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES IV,” a series of novels starring the great-great-grandson of the famous consulting detective. “THE ANNALS OF SANTOPIA” series, an epic that follows a Santa born in 1900 through to his death 82 years later. The AMOS FREEMAN police thrillers. Other novels: “The Trap Door” follows a boy who is taken back in time to 1594 and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. “The Meter Maid Murders,” a comic look at a detective trying to nab a serial killer on South Beach who only murders meter maids. Has written and directed three features (one doc, two narrative features), as well as several short films and won several awards for his film work. (See imdb.com for details).  His latest film, “Meeting Spencer,” starring Jeffrey Tambor, won the prestigious Milan International Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay.  DELAPLAINE’S “LONG WEEKEND” GUIDES These no-nonsense guides contain Delaplaine’s recommendations and advice for travelers visiting these places for 3 or 4 days. As "The Food Enthusiast," he writes a series of restaurants guides, updated annually. He has no hobbies.

Book preview

The Adventures of

Sherlock Holmes IV

A MYSTERY

IN

KEY WEST

Inspired by The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Andrew Delaplaine

Table of Contents

Background Information

Chapter 1

Doctor’s Orders

Chapter 2

Key West

Chapter 3

The Strangest Thing

Chapter 4

Casa de los Vientos

Chapter 5

The Hemingway House

Chapter 6

The Man from Africa

Chapter 7

A Sudden Twist

Chapter 8

A Dangerous Experiment

Chapter 9

The Who?

Chapter 10

The Why?

Author’s Note

Background Information on

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes IV

SINCE THIS BOOK IS one in a series on the exploits of Sherlock Holmes IV, it might be useful to the Reader to know how he came to find himself in Miami and how he came to find himself associated with Watson and Lestrade. 

Some of this backstory cannot be revealed at this moment because it is integral to developments that occur in books in the series yet to be written. This is how Holmes relates the story in The Red-haired Man:

I was just explaining to Mr. Janklow here that I emigrated from London to South Beach strictly because of Inspector Lestrade. It really was quite astonishing, Mr. Janklow. I was returning from a case in Ecuador, and I had to change planes here in Miami. I knew that Lestrade had come over from London years before when he married a Cuban woman, and since I was here for a couple of days, I decided to look him up.

That’s exactly right, Mr. Holmes, said Lestrade with a thin-lipped smug grin.

I’d never met the descendant of my ancestor’s colleague at Scotland Yard, Holmes went on, and I thought as the opportunity for me to return to Miami might not arise again, I ought to look him up.

And what does he do, Mr. Janklow? Lestrade said, leaning forward for emphasis, "he goes and buys this hotel on Lincoln Road and moves here!"

And even stranger, Mr. Janklow, two years after I opened Fleming House, John Watson comes here for a visit and ends up staying on as my general manager!

I’d read of course about the reunion of the descendants of Holmes and Lestrade, said Watson, and when I had a one-week holiday, thought I’d come over to meet them both.

And when he got here, Holmes took over the narrative, it turned out that he was a top manager at the Connaught. I was having the devil of a time managing Fleming House, so I offered him a berth here and that pretty much brings us up to date.

And that, dear Reader, as far as it goes, brings you up to date as well.

Chapter 1

Doctor’s Orders

Watson enjoyed walking down Lincoln Road enjoying the gorgeous March weather. He had just left the bank on the far side of Alton Road and had passed the Regal Cinema on one side and perhaps the most famous parking garage in the world at the 1111 Building, designed by the international firm of Herzog & de Meuron.

He waved to Aaron Hyatt, manager of the Japanese restaurant Doraku, where he and his friend and employer Sherlock Holmes IV had met one of the main characters in Holmes’s case described in The Bornholm Diamond.

He pushed on down Lincoln Road, pausing on the corner of Jefferson Avenue. He took a good look at Fleming House, the five-floor boutique hotel owned by Holmes. He took particular note of the vines that covered a portion of the west side of the building. To his eye, they seemed to need a little trimming around the windows on the fourth floor. He made a mental note to discuss it with the man who handled the lush plantings adorning Fleming House inside and out.

Bjorn Karlsen, manager of the Crown Colony, the fancy eatery in Fleming House, stood outside under the hunter green-and-white striped awning with Lupe, the maître d’, deep in conversation.

And what are the two of you gossiping about, if I might ask?

Oh, Mr. Watson, it was nothing, said Björn. We were just betting five dollars on how long it would take Mr. Holmes to throw Nina Ocon out into the street.

Nina Ocon was a reporter for The Miami Herald, and not one to be easily avoided.

Watson had long been amused at Holmes’s horror of the press. He was repulsed by publicity, even though his every activity attracted so much attention.

To his somber and cynical spirit, the media glare was abhorrent, and nothing amused him more at the end of a successful case than to hand over the details to some brainless official like Inspector Lestrade who would then expose them to the general public. Holmes then would watch with a mocking smile as the misplaced congratulation was awarded.

Bjorn nodded toward the lobby and now Watson could hear Holmes’s raised voice coming in his direction.

You know perfectly well that I don’t like interviews, Nina, said Holmes, coming out into the sunlight and reacting to it like a bat dragged out of its cave by some supernatural force. In