Silhouette (novel)

Silhouette was one of three Twelfth Doctor novels published in September 2014 as part of the BBC New Series Adventures line.

Publisher's summary
"Vastra and Strax and Jenny? Oh no, we don't need to bother them. Trust me." Marlowe Hapworth is found dead in his locked study, killed by an unknown assailant. This is a case for the Great Detective, Madame Vastra.

Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle boxer, has the life drawn out of him by a figure dressed as an undertaker. This angers Strax the Sontaran.

The Carnival of Curiosities, a collection of bizarre and fascinating sideshows and performers. This is where Jenny Flint looks for answers.

How are these things connected? And what does Orestes Milton, rich industrialist, have to do with it all? This is where the Doctor and Clara come in. The Doctor and his friends find themselves thrust into a world where nothing and no one are what they seem. Can they unravel the truth before the most dangerous weapon ever developed is unleashed on London?

Plot
In late Victorian London, Marlowe Hapworth rushes home after visiting the Frost Fair and the Carnival of Curiosities to write to Madame Vastra. His manservant Carlisle later finds him dead in his study, having been stabbed in the back by his letter-opener. Elsewhere, Rick Bellamy is reduced to skeletal remains by a mysterious figure after leaving the company of his friend Strax. Neither Hapworth nor Bellamy are the first murder victims of this nature and so the Paternoster Gang set out to investigate.

The Doctor refuses Clara's request to take her to visit King Arthur. Instead the Doctor is more interested in a power spike detected by the TARDIS in Victorian London. They are pointed to the Frost Fair and the Carnival of Curiosities where the Doctor is unimpressed by most of the entertainment on offer. He is intrigued by the Shadowplay, however, as he notes that there are clearly no strings attached to any of the shadow puppets. The puppeteer, a woman named Silhouette, does not reveal her secrets. Outside, the time travellers meet Jenny Flint who is questioning people at the Fair about Hapworth's murder while Vastra investigates the scene of the crime back at Hapworth's home. The Doctor heads off to meet with Vastra while Clara and Jenny speak about what has happened since their last meeting.

Meanwhile the investigations continue as Strax seeks to avenge Bellamy's death. He obtains a list of all of the recent murder victims yet finds no patterns linking them together, apart from that fact that they seem to have been down on their luck. He searches the ally in which Bellamy was killed and meets a strange man dressed as an undertaker but finds no answers. Elsewhere the Doctor meets Vastra as Hapworth's home. They rule out his death being accidental or suicide. They only clues they have are his ticket from the Carnival from the previous day and three origami birds found in his study that have now disappeared.

Back at the Fair, Clara meets a man who she is surprised to find out is named Oswald, as well as his employer, an industrialist named Orestes Milton. The Doctor swiftly reappears and speaks with Milton. Once Milton leaves, the Doctor ushers Clara along to follow him. The Doctor was made more than suspicious by Milton's vocabulary as he used words like "debrief" and "origami" which do not come into English use until the later stages of the Second World War and the 1950s respectively. They follow him to a street and see him leaving a house which they doubt is where he actually lives considering how run-down it is. They enter the house themselves and find some more origami birds by the window. At one point, they disappear. Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Clara, who exit the house and meet with Jenny once more before turning in for the night back at Paternoster Row, the paper birds fly off and return to Silhouette who has met up with Milton. One bird unfolds and on it is written the Doctor and Clara's conversation. Milton becomes worried that the two of them will stumble across something important and sends Silhouette away to talk to Affinity.

to be added

Characters

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Clara Oswald
 * Vastra
 * Jenny Flint
 * Strax
 * Silhouette
 * Orestes Milton
 * Oswald
 * Marlowe Hapworth
 * Rick Bellamy
 * Carlisle
 * Michael Smith

Continuity

 * Vastra is also known as the Great Detective. (TV: The Great Detective)
 * Strax recounts having fought the Headless Monks. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
 * The Doctor once again refuses to take Clara to meet the historical figure of her choice (this time King Arthur). (TV: Robot of Sherwood)
 * Clara and Jenny previously discuss their last meeting with each other. (TV: Deep Breath)
 * Clara remembers her and the Eleventh Doctor's visit to a haunted house. (TV: Hide)
 * Clara speaks about the Doctor becoming older. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
 * The Doctor touches upon Clara's job as a teacher at Coal Hill School. (TV: The Day of the Doctor, Deep Breath, Into the Dalek, Listen)
 * Upon meeting Michael Smith, the Doctor introduces himself as Doctor John Smith.
 * When the Doctor points out that Jenny is at the Carnival of Curiosities, Clara thinks he's forgotten her name again and reminds him that she's Clara. (TV: Deep Breath)

Audio release
to be added