"The Crack in the Lens" Pushes Sherlock Holmes to the Brink of Madness -- Novel About the Traumatic Romance That Leads Holmes to Become a Detective

LITTLETON, CO, February 13, 2011 (Press-News.org) "The Crack in the Lens," a new novel by attorney, movie producer and life long Sherlockian, Darlene Cypser, explores nine months in the life of 17 year old Sherlock Holmes that changes his life forever.

The Crack in the Lens is set in the wild and lovely countryside of Yorkshire, England, the same country made famous by James Herriot's books and movies, and classic novels such as Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden. The novel tells a tale of love and deceit in which Sherlock's secret romance with Violet Rushdale, the daughter of a tenant farmer, is on a collision course with the efforts of the young Professor Moriarty to undermine the tenuous relationship between Sherlock and his father, the Squire of Mycroft Manor. The story culminates in a wild ride over the moors in a blizzard by Sherlock and Violet from which only one of them returns. Found half frozen by his brother Sherrinford the next day, Sherlock lingers near death while men search the moors for Violet. Illness and shock drive Sherlock deep into the dark recesses of his mind. Can even Mycroft bring him back?

The title of The Crack in the Lens is based on a line written by Dr. Watson (courtesy of Arthur Conan Doyle) in "The Scandal in Bohemia": "Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his high powered lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his." The book explores why Sherlock Holmes was forced to shut down his more emotional side to continue functioning, why he avoids personal relationships with women and finally why he decides to become a detective.

Darlene became an avid follower of Sherlock Holmes when she was in high school and she attended some meetings of the Hudson Valley Sciontists in her teens. Since then she has corresponded with a number of Sherlockians around the world and been a member of a number of Sherlockian groups including Dr. Watson's Neglected Patients and the Hounds of the Internet. Darlene's first contact with the Baker Street Irregulars was an exchange of correspondence with Dr. Julian Wolff in the 1970s and she wrote two "trifling monograms" which were published by the Baker Street Journal in the mid-1980s when Philip Shreffler was the editor. She is writing a sequel trilogy which follows Sherlock Holmes through his years at the university and into his early career before meeting Dr. Watson.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but daughter of an IBMer, Darlene grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York before returning to Norman, Oklahoma for college. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Colleges of Law and Arts & Sciences, Cypser practiced law in Boulder, Colorado for ten years before moving to the Denver metro area to work on other businesses. She currently lives in Douglas County.

Darlene is also in the midst of producing a movie set in 18th century England based on Alfred Noyes' famous poem, The Highwayman.

The Crack in the Lens is available from Amazon.com and a number of other online sellers in the USA and UK. It is also available in a growing list of brick and mortar book stores. Consult the website www.thecrackinthelens.com for the latest information on the bookstores carrying the book.