Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first unveiled Sherlock Holmes to the world in 1887 there have been thousands of interpretations, imitations and homages to the great sleuth in a great many different forms. The detective and his faithful sidekick, Dr John Watson, have materialised in feature length films and television dramas (Holmes continues to be most filmed character in all of literary fiction), cartoons, computer games, stage plays and, of course, literary fiction.

Many of these homages have their roots in the UK – after all isn’t Sherlock Holmes a British institution? But the most fantastic thing about Holmes and the (fictional) world Doyle created around him was that he enjoyed a global following.

And to that international catalogue of Sherlock Holmes spin-offs the team here at Gallic Books are immensely proud to add ‘The Baker Street Phantom’ by French author Fabrice Bourland. Published last week, ‘The Baker Street Phantom’ comes hot on the tail of a Sherlock Holmes resurgence which seems to be sweeping the nation.

The BBC’s 'Sherlock' has proved a roaring success while ‘The Secret of Sherlock Holmes’ continues to pull in the crowds at London’s Duchess Theatre. The world’s favourite consulting detective has also even made an appearance on Channel 4’s Newsnight...

And so to celebrate the re-emergence of one of literary fiction’s greatest characters as well as the publication of Fabrice Bourland’s wonderful novel, we’ve decided to give away, starting today, one copy each day this week of ‘The Baker Street Phantom’.

In true 221B Baker Street style, we'll post a challenging question/puzzle on this blog each day this week. One winner, pulled at random out of a deerstalker, each day will be sent a copy of ‘The Baker Street Phantom’.

May the best sleuther win...

Tuesday, July 27

My first is in Moriarty, but not in Doctor
My second is in Mystery, but not in Thriller
My third is in Victoria, but not in Albert
My fourth is in Sherlock, but not in Holmes
My fifth is in Watson, but not in Friend
My sixth is in Five, but not in Orange Pips
My seventh is in Street, but not in Baker

Who am I?

Clue: yvaeh t’nia eh (He ain't heavy)

Answer: MYCROFT (Sherlock Homes' brother)

WINNER: Alison Eden (Flintshire)

Wednesday, July 28



There are five Sherlock Holmes/'The Baker Street Phantom' related words in the below wordsearch. Can you discover what they are?

Answers: 'Bourland', 'Doyle', 'Moriarty', 'Sherlock' and 'Watson'

WINNER: Freddie Watson (Tyne and Wear)

Thursday, July 30



Can you decipher the following words and find the name of a popular Sherlock Holmes adventure?



'Gsv Zwevmgfiv lu gsv Hkvxpovw Yzmw'

Clue: tebahpla (alphabet)


Answer: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

WINNER: Angela Spencer

Friday, July 30



We've hidden three images, all of our Gallic Times - Issue 2 catalogue (see above) on our site.

To be in with a chance of winning an exclusive copy of 'The Baker Street Phantom' by Fabrice Bourland simply search our site for the three pictures and e-mail the page links to svein@gallicbooks.com before 10pm today.

To receive your own free copy of Gallic Times - Issue 2 then simply drop svein@gallicbooks.com a line or download a free digital version here.