The year is 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. His life is that of a perfectly ordinary army officer’s son: boarding school, good manners, a classical education – the backbone of the British Empire. But all that is about to change. With his father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously ‘unwell’, Sherlock is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire. So begins a summer that leads Sherlock to uncover his first murder, a kidnap, corruption and a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent . . .
 
Death Cloud is the first in a series of novels in which the iconic detective is reimagined as a brilliant, troubled and engaging teenager – creating unputdownable detective adventures that remain true to the spirit of the original books. 　


時值 1868 年，夏洛克‧福爾摩斯 14 歲。身為一位傳統軍官的兒子，他過著傳統大英帝國菁英學生的生活：在寄宿學校上學，遵守嚴謹的禮儀，並接受古典的教育。然而這一切都即將改變。由於父親忽然外調印度，母親也不知為何感到「身體不適」，夏洛克被送往漢普郡，和他個性古怪的叔叔及嬸嬸同住在一棟大房子中。在那裡，夏洛克度過了一個不平凡的夏天：他碰上生命中的第一起謀殺案，遭到綁架，並和一個陰險狡詐的惡徒鬥智鬥勇……

作為本系列書籍的第一部，本書憑藉想像力，描繪出家喻戶曉的偵探夏洛克‧福爾摩斯那天資橫溢，卻又麻煩不斷的少年時代；藉此呈現一個既忠於原著精神，又讓人欲罷不能的精采偵探冒險故事。