Coming Soon: Sherlock Holmes and the Aeronauts by Linda Stratmann

Published by Sapere Books, 

5 June 2026

    Book 11 in the Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

1879

The death of a young mathematician, Aubrey Soames, appears to be accidental, but Sherlock Holmes suspects a cleverly planned murder may have taken place.

The son of Sir Finlay Soames, a senior official at the War Office, Aubrey was helping the intrepid aeronaut Lord Callender to design a dirigible balloon.

Adventure magazine is offering a prize of £1,000 to the first Englishman to fly across the Channel from France to England, attracting huge wagers on the outcome.

And Lord Callender has been preparing to take part.

Despite Aubrey’s death, Callender is still planning to enter and Sherlock sends his good friend Mr Stamford to spy on the test flights at Callender Hall. 

Linda Stratmann was born in Leicester in 1948 and first started scribbling stories and poems at the age of six. She became interested in true crime when watching Edgar Lustgarten on TV in the 1950s. Linda attended Wyggeston Girls Grammar School, trained to be a chemist’s dispenser, and later studied at Newcastle University where she obtained a first in Psychology. She then spent 27 years in the civil service before leaving to devote her time to writing. Linda loves spending time in libraries and archives and really enjoys giving talks on her subject.  

www.lindastratmann.com