A Study in Silks

            What if Sherlock Holmes had a younger sister who decided to run off with a gypsy that had magical powers? What if they had a daughter that had all the wits of her Holmes relatives and all the magic of her father's kin? What if that daughter then had to enter "polite" society and helped her famous uncle on some of his cases?

            That is the basic idea of this steam punk Victorian novel. In this version of London, the world is controlled by the powerful steam barons who decide who gets power and who dies alone on the street. Needless to say they hate anyone that can use magic because magic is the one thing that can undermine their control on their world. Enter Evelina Cooper. Evelina is the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, and she can do magic. She also has some control over metal and the ability to control "spirits" by placing them in the metal creations she creates. Evelina must hide this gift from everyone because the steam barons would try to use her magic for their own ends, placing her forever in a laboratory to perform diabolical experiments on her.

            There is a love triangle going on between her, the son of a prominent family friend named Tobias and the boy from her past, Nick.

            Our story begins with the death of a maid. Evelina feels that as the niece of Sherlock Holmes she should be able to find out the culprit and prove herself worthy of her mother's family. She does solve the murder, but I'm not going to tell you who did it! Quite an enjoyable story.

            This is the first in a series of three with a short story collection published recently. I am currently reading the second one. It is available on Nook and Kindle as well as in paperback form.