The year is 1886.

In the early month of 1886, celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson are called from their rooms in 221b Baker Street one morning by Inspector G. Lestrade of Scotland Yard.

A young man has been found dead in his chambers at Kings, Cambridge.

The cause?

A single gunshot wound to the head.

But is it self-murder or something more sinister?

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Originally written by Dr. A. I. Jackson for broadcast on Broken Oars Podcast, The Mystery of the Cambridge Bow became one of the most downloaded episodes of 2023. Having having revised the original recording manuscript for publication, this stirring addition to the post-Doyle Holmes and Watson canon is now available as an ebook from here on The Landing Stage or as a paperback.

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Critical reaction to The Mystery of the Cambridge Bow

‘Linguistically and stylistically accurate for the time period, what Hear The Boat Sing types will appreciate with The Mystery of the Cambridge Bow, I dare say, is that both Freddie Pitman and Stanley Muttlebury were real persons and rowed in the 1886 Light Blue crew, winning the Boat Race on 3 April … Working with the ideas that the late-Victorians were wrestling with: the rise of sport and leisure time; what it meant in terms of class/country; and the Boat Race as being an event of national importance at the time; and the perennial question of why rowers row … The Northern One of the brilliant Broken Oars Podcast [has produced] a story worth many readers.’

(Goran Buckhorn, Hear The Boat Sing, April 2024)

'Written with an academic’s eye for the details of the period, a writer’s understanding of mystery and suspense forms, and an evident love for Conan Doyle’s creation, Dr. Jackson’s Oxford / Cambridge Boat Race mystery is a stirring and worthy addition to the post-Doyle canon.’

(The Sherlock Holmes Society of London)