Gemma and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention in the fifth installment in the bestselling Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries

Will Gemma's father take the fall for a felonious forger's fatality during a visit to historic 221 Baker Street?

The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes's birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. It's a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma's father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than 30 years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents.

Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man's career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It's up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the "lowest and vilest alleys" of London to save her father from prison.

Vicki Delany began her writing career as a Sunday writer: a single mother of three high-spirited daughters with a full-time job as a computer programmer. The years passed, as they tend to do, and the three daughters, somewhat hesitantly, flew the coop, leaving Vicki more time to devote to her writing. She was able to write three novels of suspense, set in Ontario, two of which, Scare the Light Away and Burden of Memory, were published to critical acclaim by Poisoned Pen Press of Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2007, In the Shadow of the Glacier, the first book in a police procedural series set in the British Columbia Interior was published. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Vicki was raised mostly in Ontario. Vicki majored in modern history at Carleton, her interest more in the lives of ordinary women and men and the circumstances of their times than ‘big men’ and their wars. It was on a canoeing trip in Algonquin Park that Vicki, realizing that she was doing for fun what people in the past would have considered a hardship, told her trip mates stories about the incredible difficulties people endured in their attempts to get to the Klondike in search of gold, and the idea for a series of Klondike Gold Rush mysteries was set.

Vicki Delany's profile page

Praise for There's A Murder Afoot:
"A treat for Holmes fans with plenty of twists and turns in the best Sherlock-ian style."
—Kirkus Reviews
"The smart Gemma, the steadfast loyalty of her circle, and the intriguing art milieu keep the reader turning the pages. Cozy fans who are Sherlockians will have fun."
—Publishers Weekly

“A fun read...This book is for any reader who likes Sherlock Holmes, whether a dyed-in-the-wool devotee of the Great Detective or merely having a passing acquaintance.”
—New York Journal of Books
"There’s a Murder Afoot is another fun read in this smart series."
—MyShelf

“As soon as you start reading you feel like you are back with some old friends...I could not turn the pages fast enough.”
—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
“The perfect read for cozy lovers as it’s a mystery about family that’s funny, emotional, and full of heart." —Manhattan Book Review
Praise for the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries:
“Delightful…Cozy fans fond of Sherlock Holmes will have fun.”
—Publishers Weekly, on The Cat of the Baskervilles
“A twisty plot and an engaging main character. This series will appeal both to cozy readers and to Holmesians.”
—Booklist, on Body on Baker Street
“These books are so much fun and so well-done, it is clear that Delany is in love with her characters as much as her die-hard fans are.”
—Suspense Magazine, on Scandal in Scarlet
“[Gemma Doyle] instantly became one of my favorite sleuths…Elementary, She Read is cozy in the best possible way…Holmes enthusiasts will enjoy Gemma’s almost Sherlockian attention to detail as well as the many nods to those who have created pastiches of the world created by Arthur Conan Doyle.”
—Fresh Fiction, on Elementary, She Read