The Sherlock Effect

Christopher Sherlock Webster always blamed his Holmes-obsessed father for burdening him with an embarrassing middle name. He spent his school days desperately trying to live it down.

But after his old man prematurely dies, Christopher finds that he has somehow inherited the very same obsession...

Teaming up with Mo Rennie, a marketing-conscious pal, he starts up an agency called Baskerville's, which specialises in the application of rigorous Holmesian method.

Here are five bizarre adventures from the files - a sumptuous feast upon which the gastronome of crime may gorge.

- A young beautician is stalked by a haunting stranger through the narrow streets of Cambridge. Yet he possesses love letters from the girl, ostensibly in her handwriting. How come?

- A science journalist disappears while investigating UFO sightings in Wiltshire. But is the explanation earthly or supernatural?

- When a pornographer receives death threats online he arranges protection 24/7. Will it work?

- A pop diva's boyfriend is kidnapped twice by animal rights extremists. Should the ransom be paid again?

- Everything in the garden seems rosy when a millionaire widower meets Miss Perfect through a dating agency. But the lady soon starts to behave oddly. Should the wedding plans be shelved?