A STUDY IN TREASON by Leonard Goldberg

A stroke can be very devasting at any time and recovery is uncertain. Such is the case for John Watson Senior, the former longtime associate of the late Sherlock Holmes in 1914. While he is recovering some of his previous mental acuity, his daughter-in-law has been implementing the best medical advice given by a neurologist. They do this by using mental stimulation such as going over old cases involving Holmes and Watson to find out how the clues were gathered and then the case solved.

As Joanna Blalock, wife of the younger John Watson and the long-lost daughter of Sherlock Holmes, engages her father-in-law in these mental activities, Sir Harold Whitlock, First Sea Lord of His Majesty's Navy, unexpectedly arrives at their door in London. As they note he comes without any aides, they immediately assume espionage is involved. As top secrecy is a priority, Dr. Watson, his son, and Joanna are pressed into service to quickly find a missing unannounced treaty that would be highly explosive if it fell into the wrong hands. Will they be able to find it in time? Will Dr. Watson Senior be up to the challenge?

A STUDY IN TREASON is the latest novel from Leonard Goldberg as part of his Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series that is written in a similar style and voice as would have been used by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle while also being Goldberg's as well. As the novels are set around specific cases, A STUDY IN TREASON also works very well as a stand-alone mystery.

Right from the first sentence, I felt I was pulled right into the living room at 221b Baker Street in A STUDY IN TREASON, and fully captivated by how wonderfully Goldberg sets the scene, introduces his three main characters, and lets the sleuthing begins. While the main mystery involves the missing treaty, the story swirls around between the characters' past involvement with Sherlock Holmes, what they learned from him and how that influences their current lives. The characters are well developed and authentic to Doyle's style in their mannerisms and actions. I did find Joanna a bit too patronizing at times; yet, that may have been the author's depiction of how she has to deal with attitudes to women by the men in her times.

As the three main characters strive to solve the mystery of how a document gets stolen from a supposed locked room in a secure house, Goldberg keeps the momentum going and will keep you wanting to turn the pages to find out what is going to happen next. To tell more about A STUDY IN TREASON would only reveal guarded secrets from the past. So, get your copy ofA STUDY IN TREASON and enjoy solving this complex and baffling case!

A seemingly impossible mystery tests the keen mind and
forensic skills of Joanna Blalock, the daughter of Sherlock
Holmes and the heir to his unique talent for deduction, from
USA Today bestselling author Leonard Goldberg.

The following case has not previously been disclosed to the
public due to the sensitive information on foreign affairs.
All those involved were previously bound by the Official
Secrets Act. With the passage of time and the onset of the
Great War, these impediments have been removed and the story
can now be safely told.

When an executed original of a secret treaty between England
and France, known as the French Treaty, is stolen from the
country estate of Lord Halifax, Scotland Yard asks Joanna,
Dr. John Watson, Jr., and Dr. John Watson, Sr. to use their
detective skills to participate in the hunt for the missing
treaty. As the government becomes more restless to find the
missing document and traditional investigative means fail to
turn up the culprit, Joanna is forced to devise a clever
plan to trap the thief and recover the missing treaty.

Told from the point of view of Dr. John Watson, Jr. in a
style similar to the original Sherlock Holmes stories, A
Study in Treason is based partly on facts in our world
and partly on the facts left to us by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This cunning locked room mystery is sure to be enjoyed by
fans of Sherlock Holmes.