When I wrote my Russian thriller Saving Hope, I’d been living in Russia for several years. I had quite a bit of knowledge of the culture and the country. I was quite pleased when more than one reader from that country told me the novel brought back memories of their own childhood or struggles during that time.

When I came up with the idea of exploring Sherlock Holmes’s youth, I had to do a lot more research. I may have been to London, but not back in Victorian times. I had a friend who suggested one book, and now I’ve amassed quite a collection of reference books about both England in the 1800s as well as Sherlock Holmes. For Sherlockians are not a forgiving bunch when you get something wrong about their hero.

As I continued my research, I decided I had something to share with others. I’ve now gathered some of this into short essays about different aspects of Victorian life mentioned in the original stories. These, I’ve gathered into a book The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes. You can check them out at all major online bookstores.

Do you enjoy reading stories set in different place or times? What are your favorites?

READ the first chapter of Saving Hope for FREE here.