Sherlock Holmes had never met a writer who had ridiculed him as bitterly as Samuel L Clemens had For that matter Holmes had never met a writer who fancied himself a detective Yet Sam Clemens not only unraveled Holmes investigation into the murder of the hotblooded woman on Thor Bridge but also while writing as Mark Twain belittled Holmes highlytouted detecting skills In this recently discovered narrative Doctor Watson sets the record straight He reveals other crimes related to the original murder while relating what prompted Clemens in a 1902 short story to deride the famous detective Spurred on by such criticism as well as by clues discovered in a classic tale by Bret Harte Sherlock Holmes begins a new investigation one that leads Holmes and Watson from the gardens of Windsor Castle to the spires of Oxford University in their efforts to track down a deranged assassin bent on wreaking even more havoc