In a new novel of supernatural adventure, Sherlock Holmes faces his greatest challenge, to locate and defeat the wraith of a powerful wizard. With the assistance of an incorruptible saint, an immortal librarian, a troupe of ghosts, a Scotland Yard Inspector, and, of course, Dr. Watson, Holmes finds himself in a race against time to protect both the human world and the Shadows from "the most evil man who ever lived".

Why does a beautiful woman receive jewelry delivered to her pillow every night?

How do impossible actors bloody the stage of the Lyceum Theatre?

Why do dead men ramble the streets of Whitechapel?

Why are Palermo’s restless spirits whispering the name of Sherlock Holmes?

Just returned from their American adventure, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are quickly entangled in this web of seemingly unrelated events. With his innate knowledge of the secret world of the supernatural, Holmes quickly recognizes that these incidents hold dire portents: a powerful enemy, “the most evil man who ever lived”, has emerged from the dark realm of the Shadows. A close call with this foe sends Holmes in search of a missing spell, which is written on a page of the infamous Devil’s Bible. Should Holmes’s enemy reach this incantation first, his power will increase and both the mortal world and the Shadows could fall.

Holmes and Watson race against time to defeat their deadliest opponent to date, enlisting new helpers from the realms of spirits and shades. But their enemy also has an apprentice whose unnatural gifts may exceed Holmes’s powers. The darkness is closing in on Holmes and Dr. Watson senses that his friend may no longer be able to balance his mortal nobility against his Shadow inheritance.

From the comfortable Baker Street sitting room to the dark streets of Whitechapel and the terrifying crypts of Palermo, the chase is on to save the world…and the soul of Sherlock Holmes.