Crescendo

A Lost Hitchcock Film. A Deadly Secret. It's Murder in Hollywood

Robert J. Harris

When a struggling mystery writer is hired by Alfred Hitchcock to work on the script for his new film, a swirling maelstrom of madness and murder is his reward.

Hollywood, 1959.

When struggling mystery writer Bobby Burgoyne is hired by Alfred Hitchcock to work on the script for his new film Crescendo, he thinks his future success is assured at last. Instead he is swept into a swirling mystery of madness and revenge. Someone, it seems, is willing to kill to keep the film from being made and Hitch needs Bobby to find who or what is behind the sabotage.

With a ruthless killer in pursuit, Bobby discovers that behind the obscure novel that Hitch has based his movie on lies a cruel tale of abduction, amnesia, and murder. To save his own life as well as Hitch’s career, Bobby must penetrate the heart of the mystery and confront a final, shocking revelation.

Robert J. Harris has written numerous books with HarperCollins, including Leonardo and the Death Machine, Will Shakespeare and the Pirate's Fire, and, most recently, The Gravedigger's Club, first in a new series of mysteries starring a young Arthur Conan Doyle. Robert is also the designer of the bestselling fantasy board game Talisman. He lives in St. Andrews, Scotland.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Robert J. Harris’s A Study in Crimson:

"Harris’s take on the iconic characters is outstanding." BookPage

“Robert J. Harris’s lively Sherlock Holmes pastiche transports readers to a blacked-out London during World War II. A Study in Crimson achieves a similar mix of action-adventure, detective savvy and Holmesian surprise.” Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

"Besides providing the duo with a worthy challenge, Harris makes his Watson an intelligent and competent sidekick. Both the strong characterization and plot bode well for a sequel." Publishers Weekly (starred)

"Harris successfully captures Holmes’ brilliance, talent, and arrogance, as well as Watson’s dogged devotion to Holmes and the atmosphere in London during the dark days of war. The case he has imagined for Holmes to solve is both thoroughly challenging and pleasingly multilayered. A satisfying read." Booklist

"A Study in Crimson does right by its venerated source material while putting a new spin on Conan Doyle's characters by rejiggering their historical context. Harris's mystery is up to snuff." Shelf Awareness

"Fans of Sherlock Holmes will welcome this latest addition to the great detective’s myth.” Historical Novel Society

"Unmitigated pleasure is Harris's stock in trade. Harris revives Basil Rathbone's wartime Sherlock Holmes with great affection and peerless skill. A must-read for Homes aficionados and consumers of literary homage.” Anthony O'Neill, author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek and The Devil Upstairs

"Robert J. Harris captures the character of Holmes and Watson wonderfully well in this intriguing mystery.” Irish Independent

"A riveting read written in an engrossing and engaging manner, this book is a unique development of the Holmes novel and worthy of your time.” Journal of the Legal Society of Scotland