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Sherlock's Demon
A HORRIFIC GAME IS AFOOT… Joseph and April Hepworth are living their dream – turning the Manor House they have inherited into an organic farm. But it quickly turns into a nightmare. Joseph is possessed by the spirit of the world's most famous detective – Sherlock Holmes. But why? And to what sinister purpose? To find out, April calls upon an old flame, the charming ghost-hunter Byron Makangelo. She hopes his expertise for the paranormal will help solve the mysteries surrounding Fernvale Manor. But Byron is up against an opponent that would have baffled Holmes himself... Sherlock's Demon is a tense paranormal mystery thriller that will keep readers guessing to the last page. Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes but who also love a paranormal twist. Praise for Simon ‘A master of eerie thrills’ Richard Laymon. 'Britain's greatest living horror writer.' - SFX 'Inventive and fast moving - good old fashioned fun.' - The Washington Post. 'The hottest new purveyor of horrific thrills currently working on these shores' - The Big Issue 'An ingenious, inventive mystery' - Robert Foster, best-selling author of the The Lunar Code. Simon Clark is the highly-regarded author of numerous horror novels. His short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. His work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and he has written prose material for the rock band U2. He lives with his wife in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Simon Clark
212 books299 followersBorn, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 16, 2016
Review: SHERLOCK' S DEMON by Simon Clark
Contemporary ghost investigators are called upon to figure out a highly unusual case in an isolated Yorkshire manor, site of an organic farm endeavor. The owner of the manor farm seems to have become possessed--by the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. Vivid paranormal encounters and dangers are leavened with a thread of subtle humor throughout.
Contemporary ghost investigators are called upon to figure out a highly unusual case in an isolated Yorkshire manor, site of an organic farm endeavor. The owner of the manor farm seems to have become possessed--by the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. Vivid paranormal encounters and dangers are leavened with a thread of subtle humor throughout.
December 8, 2017
Not too serious ghost story
Haven't read the first novella about Byron Makangelo's ghost hunting team, but this second one is fairly light hearted fun, featuring the "ghost" of Sherlock Holmes himself, who actually helps save the day.
Noticed a couple of mistakes: hoard instead of horde and discrete instead of discreet. (They mean quite different things.)
Haven't read the first novella about Byron Makangelo's ghost hunting team, but this second one is fairly light hearted fun, featuring the "ghost" of Sherlock Holmes himself, who actually helps save the day.
Noticed a couple of mistakes: hoard instead of horde and discrete instead of discreet. (They mean quite different things.)
June 10, 2016
Simon Clark appears to be a well-loved author in the horror genre. Considering that I loathe anything scary, picking up this book was a bit of a dare for me. And the gods smiled at me since it turned out not to be horror so much as a sort of nice Ghost Buster story.
First Sherlock’s Demon is not some demon that haunts Sherlock, it is in fact set in present day England where it is Sherlock himself who is the demon! A terrible notion isn’t it? However, as the story progresses the author manages to make it all seem so logical that one feels much better about the whole thing. Yes, perfectly sane people can get very touchy about the treatment of their favourite fictional characters in print and the media.
So, the almost newlywed Hepworth couple inherit an old dilapidated house with beautiful extensive grounds and decide to fulfil their dream of growing organic vegetables there by building extensive polyhouses. They are hard-working and idealistic and things seem to be going well for them, until the resident ghost begins making its presence felt. What at first seems to be a joke rapidly disintegrates into a terrifying ordeal, especially for the wife, April. April finally decides to contact an old childhood flame who is now in the ghost hunting business, Byron Makangelo. He is a peer of the realm and it is not clear whether he was born to the title or was gifted it. He now has a team with whom he hunts ghosts and immediately flies to the rescue raising much speculation in his team about his past with his client. The team arrives and what follows is absolute mayhem.
It was an extremely short read and I actually checked twice to make sure I wasn’t missing something. The book plunges the reader into the drama at the Hepworth place from the very first page. It seems a little abrupt but then one settles into the rhythm of the story and begins to get the hang of it. It was fast and it was an alright book for a Sunday afternoon. The horror bit of the novella is not horrific at all. The ghostly shenanigans are a bit too much to swallow and the climax is overly dramatic to say the least. Perhaps if I had read it after dark on a cold and rainy night it would have seemed more terrifying, but I was so primed to be scared that I just did not dare to do that.
The Byron is projected as suave and debonair and possibly the kind of man women swoon over, only he came across as bland and definitely lackluster. The other members of his team seemed more interesting and better scripted. And I completely failed to understand the addition of the monkey. Was that supposed to win the peer cuteness points much like Ross Geller? It feels as if the novel has been put together rather hastily. The Hepworths are a nice couple and their greedy relatives make a fun addition to the whole.
Despite the many shortcomings I have listed above, I liked the overall story and only wish the author had done a better job of terrifying me. It could have been longer for starters and perhaps the horror bit could have been either downplayed or taken to another level completely.
First Sherlock’s Demon is not some demon that haunts Sherlock, it is in fact set in present day England where it is Sherlock himself who is the demon! A terrible notion isn’t it? However, as the story progresses the author manages to make it all seem so logical that one feels much better about the whole thing. Yes, perfectly sane people can get very touchy about the treatment of their favourite fictional characters in print and the media.
So, the almost newlywed Hepworth couple inherit an old dilapidated house with beautiful extensive grounds and decide to fulfil their dream of growing organic vegetables there by building extensive polyhouses. They are hard-working and idealistic and things seem to be going well for them, until the resident ghost begins making its presence felt. What at first seems to be a joke rapidly disintegrates into a terrifying ordeal, especially for the wife, April. April finally decides to contact an old childhood flame who is now in the ghost hunting business, Byron Makangelo. He is a peer of the realm and it is not clear whether he was born to the title or was gifted it. He now has a team with whom he hunts ghosts and immediately flies to the rescue raising much speculation in his team about his past with his client. The team arrives and what follows is absolute mayhem.
It was an extremely short read and I actually checked twice to make sure I wasn’t missing something. The book plunges the reader into the drama at the Hepworth place from the very first page. It seems a little abrupt but then one settles into the rhythm of the story and begins to get the hang of it. It was fast and it was an alright book for a Sunday afternoon. The horror bit of the novella is not horrific at all. The ghostly shenanigans are a bit too much to swallow and the climax is overly dramatic to say the least. Perhaps if I had read it after dark on a cold and rainy night it would have seemed more terrifying, but I was so primed to be scared that I just did not dare to do that.
The Byron is projected as suave and debonair and possibly the kind of man women swoon over, only he came across as bland and definitely lackluster. The other members of his team seemed more interesting and better scripted. And I completely failed to understand the addition of the monkey. Was that supposed to win the peer cuteness points much like Ross Geller? It feels as if the novel has been put together rather hastily. The Hepworths are a nice couple and their greedy relatives make a fun addition to the whole.
Despite the many shortcomings I have listed above, I liked the overall story and only wish the author had done a better job of terrifying me. It could have been longer for starters and perhaps the horror bit could have been either downplayed or taken to another level completely.
July 25, 2016
If you go into this eBook with no expectations other than an entertaining read then you will not be disappointed. Despite the title, the book is about battling evil ghosts rather than having much of anything to do with Sherlock Holmes. This is NOT a pastiche. It's like the Scooby Gang collides with Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes -- at a time when Holmes is flying on cocaine.
Only there's no dog, either. So, it's a bit like a coked-up Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes being dragging into a more modern-day Scooby Gang:
The main point thing is that this eBook features a strong ensemble cast of characters easy to care about (and sometimes laugh at.) And one of the characters is a man who (sometimes) thinks that he is Sherlock Holmes. Now, granted, I also wrote an eBook (Not the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) about a man who (always) thinks that he is Sherlock Holmes, but mine did not have any ghosts in it. Clark treated the same situation but treated it in a creatively twisted way.
This is also a surprisingly positive eBook (unlike mine.) It is hopeful without being sappy -- which is very hard to do.
This is a first (?) eBook in a series of this international Scooby Gang. A teaser for the second book is included. That does not have anything to do with Sherlock Holmes though. What a tease!
Only there's no dog, either. So, it's a bit like a coked-up Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes being dragging into a more modern-day Scooby Gang:
The main point thing is that this eBook features a strong ensemble cast of characters easy to care about (and sometimes laugh at.) And one of the characters is a man who (sometimes) thinks that he is Sherlock Holmes. Now, granted, I also wrote an eBook (Not the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) about a man who (always) thinks that he is Sherlock Holmes, but mine did not have any ghosts in it. Clark treated the same situation but treated it in a creatively twisted way.
This is also a surprisingly positive eBook (unlike mine.) It is hopeful without being sappy -- which is very hard to do.
This is a first (?) eBook in a series of this international Scooby Gang. A teaser for the second book is included. That does not have anything to do with Sherlock Holmes though. What a tease!
February 13, 2016
Sherlock’s Demon by Simon Clark
Lord Byron Makangelo’s team of ghost hunters includes tech man Kit, demonologist Fletcher, and a beautiful young woman from Somalia named Ashara as a second investigator. They have produced several ghost hunting documentaries and hope to get a TV show.
An old friend of Lord—excuse me, he prefers just Byron—named April Hepworth calls requesting assistance. Her husband Joseph appears to be possessed. But he believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes…
Makangelo and company have seen many wild and wonderful things in their cases. Fletcher has a sixth sense and has known how to battle every type of demon since he was a teenager. Kit has captured anomalies on his cameras and experienced hauntings first hand. And Ashara’s grandmother back in Somalia was a sort of witch doctor who taught her many things.
How do you fight the ghost of a fictional character?
This story is well written, well paced and with just enough spooky stuff to spice up the tale. The haunting is a mystery, and suspense builds as things unfold like a flower opening in the morning light. The question of sanity is raised, and there are other matters that mix with the rest to make a verbal tapestry that simply shines!
This is only one of this author’s tales, and I hope to read more from Simon Clark. This book is well worth your time and money! I give it five stars!
Quoth the Raven…
Lord Byron Makangelo’s team of ghost hunters includes tech man Kit, demonologist Fletcher, and a beautiful young woman from Somalia named Ashara as a second investigator. They have produced several ghost hunting documentaries and hope to get a TV show.
An old friend of Lord—excuse me, he prefers just Byron—named April Hepworth calls requesting assistance. Her husband Joseph appears to be possessed. But he believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes…
Makangelo and company have seen many wild and wonderful things in their cases. Fletcher has a sixth sense and has known how to battle every type of demon since he was a teenager. Kit has captured anomalies on his cameras and experienced hauntings first hand. And Ashara’s grandmother back in Somalia was a sort of witch doctor who taught her many things.
How do you fight the ghost of a fictional character?
This story is well written, well paced and with just enough spooky stuff to spice up the tale. The haunting is a mystery, and suspense builds as things unfold like a flower opening in the morning light. The question of sanity is raised, and there are other matters that mix with the rest to make a verbal tapestry that simply shines!
This is only one of this author’s tales, and I hope to read more from Simon Clark. This book is well worth your time and money! I give it five stars!
Quoth the Raven…
November 5, 2013
Joseph and April Hepworth are living their dream - turning the Manor House they have inherited into an organic farm.
But it quickly turns into a nightmare.
Joseph is possessed by the spirit of the world's most famous detective - Sherlock Holmes.
But why? And to what sinister purpose?
To find out, April calls upon an old flame, the charming ghost-hunter Byron Makangelo.
She hopes his expertise for the paranormal will help solve the mysteries surrounding Fernvale Manor.
But Byron is up against an opponent that would have baffled Holmes himself.
'Sherlock's Demon' is a tense mystery thriller that will keep readers guessing to the last page.
Despite the shortness of the book I found that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit that when I reached the end I was left wanting more so it looks like I have found another author whose books I will be hunting out. Don't be put off by the title and you are in for a good read, with some great characters.
But it quickly turns into a nightmare.
Joseph is possessed by the spirit of the world's most famous detective - Sherlock Holmes.
But why? And to what sinister purpose?
To find out, April calls upon an old flame, the charming ghost-hunter Byron Makangelo.
She hopes his expertise for the paranormal will help solve the mysteries surrounding Fernvale Manor.
But Byron is up against an opponent that would have baffled Holmes himself.
'Sherlock's Demon' is a tense mystery thriller that will keep readers guessing to the last page.
Despite the shortness of the book I found that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit that when I reached the end I was left wanting more so it looks like I have found another author whose books I will be hunting out. Don't be put off by the title and you are in for a good read, with some great characters.
October 18, 2013
I don't know what happened to old school leisure horror published Simon Clark with his original and awesome stand alones. Now he writes series and there is never a single thing special about them. Sherlock's Demon is a second book in the Byron Makangelo ghost hunting series. Wherein the first one, Spirited Sea, had some redeeming qualities, this book has none. It's silly and trite and it plays out like a G rated halloween tv special. Neither the characters nor the idea behind the paranormal investigators are original enough, I don't know why Clark chose to serialize this. I'm always excited to read a new offering by an author I used to like back in the day, but this was just another disappointment. It wasn't a terrible read by any means and very quick at that, it just didn't stand out in any way. Decent way to pass an hour ad a half, but not if there are better books around.
November 26, 2013
Cool concept, well-paced, scary enough but not too gory.
I believe I bought this one when it was on a free promotion and I picked it up on my Kindle soon after - I do have a soft spot for Sherlock Holmes.
It's a pretty cool story, though short, that reads like the pilot episode of a series like Supernatural, Ghostbusters or X-Files. If it were a TV series, I'd certainly be looking for the next episode - as a book, I suspect I'll be looking for the next one soon.
I don't want to write spoilers, though I'm dying to say how Joseph managed to become possessed by a fictional character. I shall resist, and recommend you read it for yourself.
I believe I bought this one when it was on a free promotion and I picked it up on my Kindle soon after - I do have a soft spot for Sherlock Holmes.
It's a pretty cool story, though short, that reads like the pilot episode of a series like Supernatural, Ghostbusters or X-Files. If it were a TV series, I'd certainly be looking for the next episode - as a book, I suspect I'll be looking for the next one soon.
I don't want to write spoilers, though I'm dying to say how Joseph managed to become possessed by a fictional character. I shall resist, and recommend you read it for yourself.
May 18, 2016
This book has a very Gothic horror story, ghost story feel. I picked it up because I thought the concept of a person being possessed by the ghost of Sherlock Holmes sounded kind of funny. This is the second book in a series about a group of ghost hunters trying to get their ghost hunting documentary on television. I don't think those ghost hunter shows are very scary, anything that happens is probably clever editing after the fact. The beginning of the book was spooky enough to grab my attention. I've never read anything else by this author but I thought this book was really interesting. This is a fast paced, well-written, short read. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. 4 stars.
May 18, 2016
This book has a very Gothic horror story, ghost story feel. I picked it up because I thought the concept of a person being possessed by the ghost of Sherlock Holmes sounded kind of funny. This is the second book in a series about a group of ghost hunters trying to get their ghost hunting documentary on television. I don't think those ghost hunter shows are very scary, anything that happens is probably clever editing after the fact. The beginning of the book was spooky enough to grab my attention. I've never read anything else by this author but I thought this book was really interesting. This is a fast paced, well-written, short read. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. 4 stars.
May 29, 2016
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
Sherlock's Demon is technically a ghost story and doesn't involve any demons. It started out promising, with a crackpot team of paranormal investigators and an intriguing enough storyline about the spirit of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes possessing an innocent victim. Things just never came together for me. The story was dry and not remotely scary. Characters were highly one-dimensional. There was no scare factor. The ending was super rushed. There was no build-up to a major climax and resolution. I always make an effort to finish books I receive for review, so I did finish this one.
Sherlock's Demon is technically a ghost story and doesn't involve any demons. It started out promising, with a crackpot team of paranormal investigators and an intriguing enough storyline about the spirit of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes possessing an innocent victim. Things just never came together for me. The story was dry and not remotely scary. Characters were highly one-dimensional. There was no scare factor. The ending was super rushed. There was no build-up to a major climax and resolution. I always make an effort to finish books I receive for review, so I did finish this one.
July 9, 2016
I actually got this book for my daughter, who is 11, though I read it as well. I was actually bored a little ways in, but it may be since I had read Simon Clark before so I started with higher expectations. This is definitely not his best work. My daughter, on the other hand, gushed about this book for two days, which is saying something since this is well outside her preferred genre. Bottom line, adults may not care for it, but it is a great YA book.
August 24, 2015
Er...I don't know what the usually excellent Mr Clark was thinking with this piece of nonsense. Avoid this one.
November 19, 2015
This book is published by Venture Press.
November 5, 2013
Contrived and overly simplistic. Very disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews