Brimstone

The scent of brimstone lingers in the air. A young woman, heavily pregnant and completely distraught, begs for forgiveness as she stands over the body of her husband. Does the brimstone emanate from the gunshot that killed him, or the open door to Hell? Anna Perenna is destined for the inferno by way of the gallows unless Louise Hawkins (later Louise Conan Doyle) can prove her innocence.

Through mathematical and scientific inquiry, Louise will first prove to herself, and then to David Lindsey, a London newspaper publisher with a deep secret of his own, that someone else murdered William Perenna. Louise and David together will try to convince the lawyers, police and courts involved of Anna's innocence, only to run into mockery and obstruction at every turn. Will they be able to break through and save her in spite of her silence? Or will Anna hang?

Set in 1879 Victorian England, Brimstone introduces a fictionalized version of the true creator of Sherlock Holmes, Louise Conan Doyle. She's the intrepid investigator of a series of mysteries, ably assisted by her brother Jeremy, an epileptic savant, brilliant and eccentric. Get to know Louise as the intelligent, scholarly, and enlightened visionary she was, hidden by her modesty and the eagerness of Arthur Conan Doyle to take credit for her work.

Read more about the startling and controversial assertion that Louise Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes in Shadow Woman, by John Allen. Available now on Amazon.