Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders — Larry Millett

When one of St. Paul's wealthiest scions loses his head, literally, it's up to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, to practice some cool sleuthing and track down a cold-blooded murderer.

Sherlock Holmes rides again in this delightful mystery, based on another "newly discovered" manuscript by his companion Dr. Watson. The year is 1896, and St. Paul's magnificent Winter Carnival is underway when Holmes and Watson are summoned by the city's most powerful man, railroad magnate James J. Hill. A wealthy young man disappears on the eve of his wedding--and his fiancee suspiciously discards her wedding dress. After a grisly discovery in the carnival's Ice Palace leads to a flurry of clues, Holmes is on the case. His pursuit of the murderer takes him through the highest echelons of St. Paul society and into cahoots with Shadwell Rafferty, a gregarious saloonkeeper and part-time private investigator whose quick wit and fast thinking make him a formidable rival and an invaluable ally.

This latest Holmes adventure offers an exhilarating portrait of America on the verge of a new century well as an intriguing mystery that is truly chilling.