When blackmail turns deadly, even Sherlock Holmes must dance on the edge of deception—and the truth is the most dangerous game of all.
Short story | pagg. 20 | 17/06/2025 | Giallo
In A Comedy about Blackmail and Murder, Dr. Watson recounts one of the most extraordinary cases he and Sherlock Holmes ever witnessed—a tale where justice, vengeance, and farce collide. When the notorious blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton meets a gruesome end at the hands of a vengeful victim, Holmes and Watson find themselves entangled in a web of secrets.
Holmes, disguised as a rakish plumber, has charmed Milverton’s housemaid to gather intelligence. But when the blackmailer is shot dead, the detective’s carefully laid plans unravel. With the police closing in and the housemaid desperate to find her vanished "fiancé," Holmes must spin a tale so convincing it risks exposing them all.
From a daring rooftop escape to a twisted game of misdirection, this darkly comedic story pits Holmes against his own methods—and leaves Watson questioning how far even the noblest lies should go. A masterclass in wit and suspense, this tale proves that in the world of blackmail and murder, the truth is rarely what it seems.
London businessman, Orlando Pearson is the creator of The Redacted Sherlock Holmes series, which buries forever the idea that Sherlock Holmes might not have been a historical person.
Do you want to see Sherlock Holmes come to the rescue of Queen Victoria, arrange the borders of post-war Europe, clear Macbeth of murder, unravel King Oedipus’s complexities, or provide advice to the Almighty? Then you will find all this and more in the seven collections of short stories, two novels, and the six plays in the series.
When not communing with the spirits of 221b, Orlando enjoys sport, music, and browsing price comparison websites.
He has written Sherlock Holmes stories on all these topics.
