My latest book, The Deadly Stingaree, takes place in 1891. Which just happens to be the first year of what is known as The Great Hiatus of Sherlock Holmes.

What was The Great Hiatus you might ask? Well, it’s the time between what was believed to be Sherlock Holmes’ death as described by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Final Problem and Holmes’ reappearance in The Adventure of the Empty House many years later. The Final Problem was published in 1893 but the events described in the story took place in 1891, after which Holmes disappears for a number of years. But where did he go?

When Holmes reveals himself to Dr. Watson in The Final Problem, he tells Watson, “You may have read of the remarkable explorations of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure that it never occurred to you that you were receiving news of your friend.”

The narrator of The Deadly Stingaree, Johnny Cong, meets a man who identifies himself as “John Sigerson” and tells Cong that he is a Norwegian explorer who has come to San Diego to recover from a somewhat mysterious illness he refers to as lethargy. As we learn later in the story, Mr. Sigerson hardly lacks for energy and enthusiasm. He shows no signs of a lethargic condition.

Which brings us to the question. Could Sherlock Holmes have visited San Diego in 1891? We know from the literature that he wasn’t in England and that the timeline of The Great Hiatus makes it a possibility.

Over the course of the book the narrator provides some additional information that connects the mysterious Mr. Sigerson to Sherlock Holmes. But you’ll need to read The Deadly Stingaree to find out more.