Narrelle M Harris: writer | editor

The Adventure of the Colonial Boy & The Swordmaster’s Secret

Improbable Press’s second book, mm romance The Adventure of the Colonial Boy, is a Holmes/Watson romance set in Australian in 1893.

Murder! Dangerous sea voyages! Snakes! Honour, angst, and chases! Unrequited love, requited!

The Blurb

Dr Watson, still in mourning for the death of his great friend Sherlock Holmes, is now triply bereaved, with his wife Mary’s death in childbirth. Then a telegram from Melbourne, Australia intrudes into his grief:

“Come at once if convenient.“

Both suspicious and desperate to believe that Holmes may not, after all, be dead, Watson goes as immediately as the sea voyage will allow. Soon Holmes and Watson are together again, on an adventure through Bohemian Melbourne and rural Victoria, following a series of murders linked by a repulsive red leech and one of Moriarty’s lieutenants.

But things are not as they were. Too many words lie unsaid between the Great Detective and his biographer. Too much that they feel is a secret.

Solve a crime, save a life, forgive a friend, rediscover trust and admit to love. Surely that is not beyond that legendary duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson?

Buy The Adventure of the Colonial Boy

Already got your copy? A review of one or two sentences on Amazon and/or Goodreads can really help.

The Swordmaster’s Secret and Other Stories

I’ve written a whole bunch of other stories set after the end of The Adventure of the Colonial Boy – now collected into a new minibook!

The first story in this collection, “The Swordmaster’s Secret”, takes place a few months after Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson return to London in 1894 and have to solve a murder with two victims and no murder weapons. The stories continue down the years, including a meeting with Oscar Wilde, a special Christmas, cases involving vinegar valentines and a tale set in their retirement years in Sussex.

The story contains:

  • The Swordmaster’s Secret
  • A Less than Ideal Gentleman
  • God Rest ye Merry, Gentlemen 
  • The Case of the Vinegar Valentine
  • Winter Ice
  • Bored
  • The Beekeepers’ Children

Buy The Swordmaster’s Secret and Other Stories at:

INTERVIEWS

Reviews

Harris dramatizes the relationship between Holmes and Watson, often speculated as being homoerotic, into a fully consummated physical love between them. Their coming together is tenderly explored and the dialogue impeccable and in character. […] The writing is sensitive, intelligent, and informed as to the modes of speaking, physical details, and mores of the times. The Epilogue sums up wisdom about the love inherent in intense and deeply-held friendship, which many feel to be sacrosanct and sufficient in itself.– Kerry James, Sisters In Crime Australia

I admit to being wary about whether [Harris] could really, truly pull off a romance for Holmes and Watson. I am convinced. She more than pulled it off. She nailed it. And now I’m swept headlong into a vision of Holmes and Watson, forever changed. I’ll eagerly be re-reading ACD canon with a brand new understanding. I’ve no doubt that ACD’s stories will be utterly consistent with a Holmes and Watson in love – whether pre-consummation or post.– CoachJanette, Amazon.com

The biggest problem with this story is my inability to put the darn thing down. Needless to say it was read in one sitting.– cemm, Amazon.com

With heart and skill and passion for characters she clearly loves, Narrelle M. Harris shows us how John Watson and Sherlock Holmes prevail in a dangerous world of adders, gold fever, gruesome red leeches, and a murderous enemy bent on their destruction. Ooo now *that’s* romantic. Mysterious. And a damned awesome adventure.– Atlin Merrick, Goodreads

I bought the ebook because I couldn’t wait – and ended up reading it in one day.– Denise, Goodreads.