The Case of the Missing Stradivarius

'The languorous sounds of Holmes’ violin floated mournfully through the brisk autumnal air of the beckoning day. The death of Moriarty had a left a vacuum... he was attempting to fill by a far more diligent attention to the Stradivarius he had so felicitously acquired some year before...'

Arriving in London for what he hopes will be the concert of all concerts, the performance that will give him his big break and establish him as the virtuoso don of professional violinists, Donato del Nero awaits his moment with bated breath...

Donato del Nero has honed his skills to perfection on his beautiful and priceless instrument, the Medici Stradivarius. 

This instrument, the once-secret treasure of Paganini, and Stradivarius’ masterpiece, rumour has it, possesses near-magical properties.

It is upon this instrument alone that Donato has realised his potential as a musical genius. So what will become of del Nero’s plans for a meteoric rise to musical success, if he cannot play the Medici Stradivarius? 

For, shock horror, his most prized possession has been stolen!

Fearing the crumbling of his talent into dust without the instrument, del Nero presses Sherlock Holmes – who has hitherto been languishing in ennui since the death of his nemesis, Moriarty, leading him to consider retirement from the detective business – into action.

Holmes’ investigation of the theft quickly assumes a simultaneous and fascinating inquiry into the best kept secrets of the music world, from the secrets of virtuosity and musical interpretation, to clandestine formulas for the perfect instrument observed by the violin-making industry.

Will Holmes succeed in his quest to recover the stolen musical treasure? Or will it be too late, leaving del Nero’s talent and musical career to wilt before it had fully bloomed...

Charming, witty, and exquisitely erudite, The Case of the Missing Stradivarius is sure to delight fans of music and Conan Doyle alike.