Irregular Lives

Book excerpt: Sherlock Holmes's relationship with the band of street Arabs known at the Baker Street Irregulars has largely been untold ... until now. Holmes sometimes relied upon a gang of adolescent boys and girls who he recruited from the slums of London. Indeed, some of Sherlock Holmes's most bizarre cases involved the irregulars: a hideous execution of a man who had been strapped to the barrel of cannon, a fiend who hoped he could live forever on the blood of others, and the largest jewel robbery in Britain. Irregular Lives begins in post WWI London, when Holmes visits a mysterious photography exhibit that has him recall adventures with Wiggins, Ugly, Kate, and other members of his urban army. But, his reminiscences are merely a prelude to a thrilling adventure that begins when a jolly reunion with the irregulars abruptly erupts in a terrible tragedy. If you were ever curious about how Holmes shaped and changed the lives of the irregulars, and how they transformed his life ... then, this is the book for you.