A Scandal in Battersea
by Mercedes Lackey
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Pub Date Oct 17 2017 | Archive Date Nov 17 2017
Description
Christmas is a very special time of year. It is special for Psychic Nan Killian and Medium Sarah Lyon-White and their ward Suki, who are determined to celebrate it properly. It is special for their friends, Doctor John Watson, and his wife Mary, both Elemental Masters, who have found great delight in the season seeing it through young Suki’s eyes.
It is also special to others...for very different reasons.
For Christmas Eve is also hallowed to dark forces, powers older than mankind, powers that come awake on this long, cold night. Powers best left alone. Powers that could shake the foundations of London and beyond.
It begins slowly. Women disappearing in the dark of night, women only missed by those of their own kind. The whispers only begin when they start to reappear—because when they do, they are no longer sane. And when Nan and Sarah and the Watsons are called on to examine these victims, they discover that it was no ordinary horror of the streets that drove them mad.
But then, the shadows reach for other victims—girls of good, even exalted families, who vanish from concerts, lectures, and evening balls. And it will take the combined forces of Magic, Psychic Powers, and the world's greatest detective to stop the darkness before it can conquer all.
Advance Praise
Praise for the Elemental Masters series:
“Lackey’s fantastical world of Elementals, plus her delightful Nan and Sarah, create an amusing contrast for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and John Watson…. The mix of humor, history, fantasy, and mystery is balanced in a way that any reader could pick up the book and thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end.” —RT Reviews
“The Paris of Degas, turn-of-the-century Blackpool, and the desperation of young girls without family or other protection come to life in a story that should interest a broad readership.” —Booklist
“All in fine fairy-tale tradition…. It’s grim fun, with some nice historical detail, and just a hint of romance to help lighten things.” —Locus
“The action and dialogue flow freely, mingling with beautiful descriptions of European countryside and just a hint of romance.... A well-developed heroine and engaging story.” —Publishers Weekly
“The fifth in the series involving the mysterious Elemental Masters, this story of a resourceful young dancer also delivers a new version of a classic fairy tale. Richly detailed historic backgrounds add flavor and richness to an already strong series that belongs in most fantasy collections. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal
“The Elementals novels are beautiful, romantic adult fairy tales. Master magician Mercedes Lackey writes a charming fantasy.” —Worlds of Wonder
“Ms. Lackey is a master in fantasy, and this visit to an alternate historical England is no exception. Vivid characterization and believable surroundings are flawlessly joined in a well-detailed world.” —Darque Reviews
"I find Ms. Lackey's Elemental Masters series a true frolic into fantasy."
—Fantasy Book Spot
Marketing Plan
- For fans of Kristen Britain, Anne McCaffrey, Hilari Bell, Elizabeth Moon, and Kelly McCullough
- For readers of classic epic fantasy with high emotional stakes
This twelfth novel in the bestselling Elemental Masters series, returning to Lackey's reimagined Sherlock Holmes in a magical early 20th-century London.
In this Victorian historical fantasy novel, a member of the famed Bloomsbury writers' group attempts to conjure a doppelganger--an Earth Elemental Golem--to do his writing for him while he enjoys the London social scene. When a shadow image of himself knocks on his door some nights after his invocation, he lets it into the house thinking that his ritual has been a success, not realizing that the Golem is actually inhabited by the ghost of a murderous fiend--part Jack the Ripper and part Mr. Hyde.
Mary and Dr. Watson are called in to investigate a serial killer in Battersea, a rough neighborhood in London. They discover that many more women are missing than have turned up actually dead. Meanwhile, their colleagues Nan and Sarah, a Psychic and a Medium, are tracking down a villain who is causing scandal by seducing young ladies of quality and then vanishing. The girls all report gaps in their memories, but the common thread is that they all met this rake at public lectures, and the next thing they knew, they were waking up in seedy Battersea hotel rooms, alone and naked. Most suspiciously of all, none of them can remember just what their seducer looks like.
Nan, Sarah, and the Watsons discover that they are hunting the same man--who isn't a man at all. It will require Elemental Magic, Sarah's mediumistic powers, and all of their combined wit and cunning to destroy the Golem...before all of London succumbs to its powers.
REIMAGINES THE LEGEND OF SHERLOCK HOLMES--each book centers on new popular canonical character or fairytale
BESTSELLING SERIES: Each Elemental Masters novel has been a B&N and Locus bestseller
SHERLOCK HOLMES SALES BOOST: This series' sales numbers saw a significant bump with the previous book, A Study in Sable, thanks to public interest in all things Sherlock Holmes. The next season of BBC Sherlock will air in 2017.
INCREASE OF SALES of hardcover A Study in Sable due to use of Sherlock and Watson meant Lackey returned to those characters in this new novel
HISTORICAL FANTASY & STEAMPUNK: popular subgenres
CROSS-SELL with mass market of A Study in Sable
EXCELLENT REVIEWS: the Elemental Masters regularly receives rave reviews
Praise for A Study in Sable:
- "Her adventures are exciting, with some charming bits of local period color...." --Locus (Blood Red)
- "The mix of humor, history, fantasy, and mystery is balanced in a way that any reader could pick up the book and thoroughly enjoy it from beginning to end." --RT Reviews (A Study in Sable)
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780756408732 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |
