The Beekeeper's Apprentice

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes--and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. But even in their first case together, the pair face a truly cunning adversary who will stop at nothing to put an end to their partnership.

Edgar Award-winning author Laurie R. King

Sherlock Holmes meets his match in a formidable new enemy--
and his surprising new partner

"Rousing...riveting...suspenseful." --Chicago Sun-Times

"The Beekeeper's Apprentice has power to charm the most grizzled Baker Street Irregular." --Daily News, New York

"If there is a new P. D. James... I would put my money on Laurie R. King, whose A Grave Talent kept me reading deep into the night."
--The Boston Globe

"Amazing first novel with intelligence, intrigue, and intricacy...This work exhibits strong psychological undertones, compelling urgency, and dramatic action. [Laurie King is] a writer to watch." --Library Journal

"Wonderful: an intelligently and imaginatively crafted novel that's also great fun." --The Drood Review of Mystery (Editors' Choice of 1994)