Blog Tour Review: Three Locks

The Three Locks
Bonnie MacBird

A brand-new Sherlock Holmes novel by award-winning Hollywood screenwriter Bonnie Macbird

“A captivating three-card monte of murder, mystery and magic”

Hardback publication 18 March 2021

Published by Collins Crime Club in hardback (£14.99; ebook £8.99 and audio download £12.99)

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The Three Locks – a gripping new Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird – is published by Collins Crime Club, an imprint of HarperCollins, on 18 March 2021. It is the fourth in her acclaimed series.

The year is 1887 and an Indian Summer broils London and Cambridge. A mysterious impregnable box arrives for Watson, locked and with a secret from his past. Then a famous escape artist/conjurer fails to unlock his “cauldron” and burns to a crisp during a performance at Wilton’s Music Hall. And in Cambridge, three suitors including a priest, an aristocrat and a young physicist vie for the love of a spiteful beauty, who vanishes after her lookalike doll is found dismembered in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. The cases convolve as Holmes and Watson tangle with clergy, police, academics and scheming siblings, risking life and limb to solve the murders and to keep the innocent from the gallows.

MacBird’s stylish updates to Conan Doyle’s canon bring all the wit, camaraderie and deductions one expects from Holmes and Watson, but with the extended arc of a novel allowing not only more character development but also action, which carries them far beyond the locked room mystery and into danger.

Each of MacBird’s four Holmes books explores a theme. Just as Art in the Blood revealed the perils and gifts of the artistic temperament, Unquiet Spirits uncovered the danger of letting ghosts of the past lie unresolved, and The Devil’s Due touched upon the cost of corruption, The Three Locks examines the risk of keeping dark secrets locked away.

Meticulous research and attention to period detail enrich the reading experience. The Three Locks is a must-read for fans of the original Sherlock Holmes adventures and for readers new to the genre.

My Review

What a treat it is to dive into a new adventure with Sherlock and Watson! Bonnie MacBird has done a wonderful job of captivating the world of Sherlock and his shenanigans. I really enjoyed the writing style, it was intriguing and had that touch of whimsy one would expect from a book like this. It is clear that Bonnie MacBird has a passion and love for the Sherlock Holmes Adventures.

The story is captivating with a lot of action. There are parts that made me laugh out loud and a couple stories lines filled with mystery and intrigue. Within The Three Locks you will find many pieces to a puzzle that won’t be completely revealed until the end of the story.

This is the fourth installment of Sherlock Mysteries from Bonnie MacBird and I look forward to reading the others! A great part to these is they can be read as standalones so if you enjoy The Three Locks be sure to check out Art in Blood, Unquiet Spirits: Whiskey, Ghost, Murder and The Devils Due.

Author Biography

Bonnie MacBird was born and raised in San Francisco and fell in love with Sherlock Holmes by reading the canon at age ten. She now lives in London and Lost Angeles. Her long Hollywood career includes feature film development at Universal, the original screenplay for the movie TRON, three Emmy Awards for documentary writing and producing, numerous produced plays and musicals, and theatre credits as an actor and director. In addition to her work in entertainment, Bonnie teaches writing at UCLA Extension, as well as being an accomplished watercolourist.

She is active in the Sherlockian community in both the UK and the US, and lectures regularly on Sherlock Holmes, writing, and creativity.

Bonnie’s previous three Sherlock Holmes adventures are: Art in the Blood; Unquiet Spirits and The Devil’s Due. Her books are now available in 17 languages worldwide.

For further information about Bonnie MacBird visit: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook 

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