Sherlock Holmes: Silver Blaze

By Alex Woolf and Eve O'Brien

Join world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his ever-loyal sidekick Dr. Watson as they embark on a daring adventure.

The famous race horse Silver Blaze has disappeared, and the horse's trainer, John Straker, has been murdered. The great detective travels to Dartmoor to investigate. Can he discover who killed Straker and track down Silver Blaze ... before it's too late?

This thrilling tale has been retold and adapted with new illustrations, making it perfect for younger readers. Adapted by award-winning children's fiction author Alex Woolf, it will delight bright young things aged 7+.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398818354

Alex Woolf

Alex Woolf is a senior lecturer in history at the University of St Andrews. He holds a BA in Medieval History and Medieval English, an MPhil in Archaeology and a PhD from the University of St Andrews. He is the author of a number of articles and books on medieval Scottish history, including From Pictland to Alba: Scotland, 789 to 1070, Scandinavian Scotland: 20 Years After and Beyondthe Gododdin: Dark Age Scotland in Medieval Wales.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Horse and His Trainer

The story had gripped the nation. In late September 1890, all anyone was talking about was the disappearance of the great racehorse Silver Blaze and the tragic murder of his trainer.

We shall have to go, Watson, my friend Sherlock Holmes said to me as we sat down to breakfast one morning.

Go? Where to?

To Dartmoor, to see if we can solve this Silver Blaze business.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. As England’s greatest detective, it was only natural that Holmes should wish to take on this case.

And so it was that an hour or so later, Holmes and I found ourselves in a compartment of a first-class carriage flying toward Exeter. Holmes spent the first half of the journey with his sharp, eager face buried in newspaper reports of the crime. Finally, he shoved these under his seat and turned to me.

It seems, he said, "that Silver Blaze was the expected winner at the Wessex Cup horse race next Tuesday. He is the nation’s top racehorse, and the public had bet enormous sums of money on him. That means that rival stables would have been glad if he didn’t compete.

"Of course, the owner of Silver Blaze, Colonel Ross, knew this, and he made sure the horse was well guarded at his stables at King’s Pyland. The people in charge there were the trainer, John Straker, and three stableboys. Straker had worked for the colonel for thirteen years—five as a jockey and seven as a trainer—and had always shown himself to be honest and dedicated. The stableboys are also, apparently, of good character. One of the lads sat up each night in the stables while the other two slept in the loft. Straker lived in a small villa about two hundred yards from the stables. He had a wife, no children, and one maidservant.