In this sociology textbook/mystery novel, students can join Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they discover a new area ripe for acrimony and intrigue: social theory. In 1910, the most prominent social theorists in the world gather in London for a conference on the new science of sociology. Things rapidly fall apart, though, as a fight breaks out, a jewel is stolen, and famous sociologist Emile Durkheim disappears. As Sherlock Holmes and Watson investigate, it appears that social theory may not only explain actions-in this case, it may be the cause of them. So Holmes and Watson investigate social theory itself, learning directly from those creating it: W.E.B. Du Bois, Sigmund Freud, Vladimir Lenin, Beatrice Webb, Georg Simmel, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. The theories, lives, and passions of each sociologist are revealed as Holmes and Watson learn first-hand just how influential social theory can be.

阿瑟·伯格（1933－ ），舊金山大學廣播與電子傳播藝術教授，一個機智而風趣的老頭兒。他涉獵廣泛，文學和哲學是他學生時代的主修專業，媒體傳播學又是他執教的學科。身在學院，他身上卻沒有被絲毫學院氣，他主張以輕鬆的方式引導學生進入一個學科領域，激發他們的興趣，他更主張學術的自律和尊嚴，所以，在他的作品中，總是充滿瞭對學術界的荒謬、腐敗的辛辣揭露和嘲諷。或許，我們會發現這些現象也發生在中國。“謀殺”，是他的作品的主題。而謀殺可能是一個喜劇，謀殺之後的解剖更是令人痛快淋灕。學術，也許正在經曆這樣一次謀殺……

他的作品，已有德語、瑞典語、意大利語、韓語、印度尼西亞語譯本，中文譯本正在陸續齣版。