In 1888 Sherlock Holmes is languishing for a criminal case worthy of his powers, then one materializes, heralded by the spatter of gore and the shriek of headlines. For in vice-ridden Whitechapel, three female paupers of dubious morals have been murdered, their bodies hideously defiled. And in taunting letters their killer announces his intention to strike again-and signs his name Jack the Ripper.

As conceived by the award-winning mystery writer Michael Dibdin, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story is a brilliantly inventive updating of the Holmes legend. Pitting master detective against archfiend, steely rationalism against satanic depravity, Dibdin gives us a Holmes who is more complex, more human, and ultimately more fascinating than the one imagined by Arthur Conan Doyle. Here is a riveting combination of history and fiction that confirms Dibdin’s reputation as one of the most imaginative and atmospheric crime writers now at work.