Thank Holmes It's Friday - 10th July- Sherlock & Sport

It's that time again, Thank Holmes it's Friday and "the game is afoot!"

If there was ever a time to echo Sherlock Holmes’s rallying cry, it is right now. We are living through a truly historic summer of sport. From the absolute theatre of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the anticipation building for the fairways of The Open Championship (the British Open), fans across the globe are on the edge of their seats.

If you tuned in to watch England’s breathtaking 3-2 victory over Mexico, you witnessed a masterclass in resilience. Surviving a red card in the roaring atmosphere of the Azteca Stadium to secure a spot in the quarter-finals? That is a display of tactical brilliance and pure grit that would have made the Great Detective himself nod in clinical approval!

While Holmes famously claimed in The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter that "the football match does not come within my horizon at all," we know that his brilliant creator, Conan Doyle, felt entirely otherwise.

The Ultimate Sporting Creator

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wasn't just a master storyteller; he lived a life steeped in athletic pursuits. His peers described him as the "keenest of sportsmen," a Victorian powerhouse who threw himself into physical activity with boundless, infectious energy. Doyle was a founding member and the original goalkeeper for the amateur Portsmouth Association Football Club. A gifted cricketer, he played first-class matches for the MCC and achieved the ultimate bowler's dream by taking the wicket of the legendary W.G. Grace. He was a formidable amateur boxer, a relentless cyclist, and he famously popularised downhill skiing for the British public after conquering a treacherous Swiss alpine pass and writing about it for The Strand.

Doyle’s deep love for physical prowess bled directly into his writing. While Holmes may have feigned indifference to popular spectator sports, he possessed the brawn to match his big brain. He was a master of the martial art baritsu, an expert boxer, a tireless single-stick player, and a formidable athlete when a case demanded it.

Score a Literary Hat-Trick: Our 3-for-2 Summer Special!

We are in the middle of a truly spectacular month of sport, and we have curated a special collection of gripping mysteries where physical grit meets mental genius to match that competitive energy.

Our curated collection includes thrilling pastiches, modern reimaginings, and specialised rugby and sporting histories for those who share Conan Doyle's original athletic passions.

Not quite your pace?

Even if this specific sporting collection isn't for you, you don't have to miss out on the summer action. Our 3-for-2 site-wide offer covers our entire back catalogue - just enter promo code "everything" at checkout.. Whether you want to dive into traditional Arthur Conan Doyle pastiches, alternative Watsonian chronicles, or deep-dive Sherlockian biographies, you can mix and match across hundreds of titles site-wide to build your own perfect summer reading stack.

 Don't wait until the final whistle - this exclusive offer ends July 31st.

SCORE YOUR 3-FOR-2 DEAL

Remember, the deal scales with your order! Add 3 books, get 1 free; add 6 books, get 2 free; add 9 books, get 3 free—with no overall limit!