HARPER
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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
FIRST EDITION
© Tom Cutler 2015
Illustrations © Bart Aalbers
Match diagrams © Alexei Penfold
Cover layout design Holly Macdonald © HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Tom Cutler asserts the moral right to be
identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780008157210
Ebook Edition © November 2015 ISBN: 9780008157203
Version: 2016-02-25
This book is dedicated to Dr John H. Watson,
‘the one fixed point in a changing age’.
‘How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?’
Sherlock Holmes, in The Sign of the Four (1890),
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Tom Cutler began his career with numerous false starts, as a teacher, set designer, speechwriter, printer, wine waiter, City drone and radio reporter, before settling down in book and magazine publishing. After building up extensive scar tissue he finally threw caution to the wind and launched himself as a humorous writer upon a reading public that had done nothing to hurt him.
Tom’s books cover a variety of subjects, including language, sex and music. Among his several international bestsellers are, A Gentleman’s Bedside Book and the Amazon number-one blockbuster, 211 Things A Bright Boy Can Do. His work has been translated into more languages than you can shake a stick at. Tom has written for the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Huffington Post and BBC radio, and he has a regular column in The Chap magazine.
He is a practising magician and member of the Magic Circle, as well as a detective story fan and longstanding Sherlock Holmes aficionado. A lifetime’s experience as a very devious bugger has helped him in the writing of this book.
Tom lives at the seaside, where he enjoys kicking pebbles.
Contents
The sailor who ate the cream tea
The riddle of the Burns supper
The annoying computer password
The fastest beard in the world