A queen， a castle， a dark and ageless threat—all await Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes in this chilling new adventure。

The queen is Marie of Roumania: the doubly royal granddaughter of Victoria， Empress of the British Empire， and Alexander II， Tsar of Russia。 A famous beauty who was married at seventeen into Roumania’s young dynasty， Marie had beguiled the Paris Peace Conference into returning her adopted country’s long-lost provinces， singlehandedly transforming Roumania from a backwater into a force。

The castle is Bran: a tall， quirky， ancient structure perched on high rocks overlooking the border between Roumania and its newly regained territory of Transylvania。 The castle was a gift to Queen Marie， a thank-you from her people， and she loves it as she loves her own children。

The threat is 。 。 。 well， that is less clear。 Shadowy figures， vague whispers， the fears of girls， dangers that may be only accidents。 But this is a land of long memory and hidden corners， a land that had known Vlad the Impaler， a land from whose churchyards the shades creep。

When Queen Marie calls， Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are as dubious as they are reluctant。 But a young girl is involved， and a beautiful queen。 Surely it won’t take long to shine light on this unlikely case of what would seem to be strigoi？