The Dead Can Wait

von Robert Ryan

Deep in England's green and pleasant land something evil lurks... Dr John Watson, Sherlock Holmes' stalwart companion, is back home, fresh from his time in the trenches of Flanders Fields. The horrors of war weigh heavy on his mind, and now his task is to help rehabilitate soldiers suffering from the crippling effects of shell-shock. But the war is not yet over and in one corner of England lies a secret, one that the establishment is determined to keep under wraps. For in the woodlands of the lush countryside, the government is building the secret weapon which will win the war for Britain. Here, they are developing the land ship - never-before-seen 'tanks' which the army is convinced will end the stalemate on the Western Front. But then disaster strikes. After a training exercise in one of the tanks, eight men are mysteriously struck down, seven of them dead. There is just the one survivor, and he's not talking. It is clear something is horribly wrong, and the army calls in the only man who will know how to solve the mystery: Dr John Watson.Praise for The Dead Can Wait: 'The Dead Can Waitis in no sense pastiche, but a seriously good, very readable, well-researched novel incorporating the First World War, detection and espionage' The Times'In a year when there are going to be thousands of books about WWI published, this will be one of the first, and I am prepared to bet, one of the best. It's a cracking, fulfilling, utterly satisfying read and you should get a copy now...' Manda Scott Praise for Dead Man's Land: 'A hugely powerful depiction of wartime horror, a cunning murder mystery and a brilliant re-invention of Dr John Watson. Conan Doyle would most definitely approve!' Mark Billingham