The notion was an odd one -- Sherlock Holmes in retirement. That alert mind occupied by nothing more than catching a local schoolboy poaching! It was indeed an odd notion to Dr Watson, who became worried that Holmes, without a challenging case,would soon be but a shadow of his former self. A chance meeting took Holmes and Watson to Singapore for a well-deserved rest -- a rest that was soon to be interrupted by murder ! John Hall spent many years in the civil service before becoming a professional writer specialising in crime fiction. His book Death of a Collector won the Sherlock magazine's competition for the best new fictional detective. John's favourite fictional detectives are Peter Wimsey (before he married that dreadful woman!), Poirot and, of course, Sherlock Holmes. John has a large collection of tobacco pipes and is a member of The International Pipe Smokers' Hall of Fame.