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Find out moreLaurie R. King has been writing crime fiction since 1987 and won many awards for her work in fiction including the prestigious John Creasey Dagger, the Edgar, the Nero and Macavity Awards. She is the author of highly praised stand-alone suspense novels and a contemporary mystery series, as well as the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series. She lives in North California.
Paris, 1929. For Harris Stuyvesant, his current assignment is a private investigator's dream - he's getting paid to trawl the cafes and bars of Montparnasse, looking for a pretty young woman. The missing person in question is Philippa Crosby, a twenty-two-year-old from Boston, whose family have become alarmed at her lack of communication. As Stuyvesant follows Philippa's trail through Paris, he finds that she is known to many of its famous - and infamous - inhabitants, from Shakespeare and Company's Sylvia Beach to the surrealist photographer Man Ray. But when the evidence leads Stuyvesant to the Theatre du Grand-Guignol in Montmartre, his investigation takes a sharp and disturbing turn.
June, 1925. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are enjoying a well-needed relaxing summer evening in their home on the Sussex Downs. However, Russell soon receives a desperate telephone call from an old friend. Veronica's aunt, Lady Vivian Beaconsfield, has disappeared following a supervised outing from Bethlem Royal Hospital. With Russell herself feeling less than balanced, the last thing she wants to deal with is the mad; however, she agrees to investigate. Having spent most of her adult life in and out of one asylum after another, Lady Beaconsfield at last seemed to be adjusting to her confinement at Bethlem. So why did she disappear? And why is there no trace of the nurse who accompanied her? In their search for the missing women, Russell and Holmes follow the trail from the cold, harsh wards of the hospital through to the ethereal beauty of Venice. Caught up in decadent soirees, the rising tide of fascism and the myth of a haunted madhouse, the pair will discover that there are secrets hidden in the lagoon and nothing is quite as it seems.
June, 1925. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are enjoying a well-needed relaxing summer evening in their home on the Sussex Downs. However, Russell soon receives a desperate telephone call from an old friend. Veronica's aunt, Lady Vivian Beaconsfield, has disappeared following a supervised outing from Bethlem Royal Hospital. With Russell herself feeling less than balanced, the last thing she wants to deal with is the mad; however, she agrees to investigate. Having spent most of her adult life in and out of one asylum after another, Lady Beaconsfield at last seemed to be adjusting to her confinement at Bethlem. So why did she disappear? And why is there no trace of the nurse who accompanied her? In their search for the missing women, Russell and Holmes follow the trail from the cold, harsh wards of the hospital through to the ethereal beauty of Venice. Caught up in decadent soirees, the rising tide of fascism and the myth of a haunted madhouse, the pair will discover that there are secrets hidden in the lagoon and nothing is quite as it seems.
In nine short stories and one brand new, never-before-seen Sherlock Holmes mystery, Laurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand, that begins with England's declaration of war in 1914. As told in Mary Russell's teenage diaries, the whip-smart girl investigates familial mysteries, tracks German spies through San Francisco and generally delights with her extraordinary mind - until an unimaginable tragedy strikes.
Mary Russell is well used to dark secrets - her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond. But what of the other person Mary Russell has opened her heart to, that third member of the Holmes household: Mrs Hudson? Blood on the floor, a token on the mantelpiece, the smell of gunshot in the air: all point directly at Clara Hudson - or rather, at Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street. The key to Russell's sacrifice lies in Mrs Hudson's past, and to uncover the crime, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper's secrets, to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away. There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed.
In nine short stories, seven of which have never previously been available in print, and one brand new, never-before-seen Sherlock Holmes mystery - available together for the first time - Laurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand. At the heart of the collection is a prequel novella that begins with England's declaration of war in 1914. As told in Mary Russell's teenage diaries, the whip-smart girl investigates familial mysteries, tracks German spies through San Francisco, and generally delights with her extraordinary mind - until an unimaginable tragedy strikes.
A brand-new anthology of stories inspired by the Arthur Conan Doyle canonIn this follow-up to the acclaimed In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, expert Sherlockians Laurie King and Leslie Klinger put forth the question: What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories? While some are highly regarded mystery writers, others are best known for their work in the fields of fantasy or science fiction. All of these talented authors, however, share a great admiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and his greatest creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.To the editors' great delight, these stories go in many directions. Some explore the spirit of Holmes himself; others tell of detectives inspired by Holmes' adventures or methods. A young boy becomes a detective; a young woman sharpens her investigative skills; an aging actress and a housemaid each find that they have unexpected talents. Other characters from the Holmes stories are explored, and even non-Holmesian tales by Conan Doyle are echoed. The variations are endless!Although not a formal collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories, some entries do fit that mold while others were inspired by the Conan Doyle canon. The results are breathtaking, for fans of Holmes and Watson as well as listeners new to Doyle's writing.
Laurie R. King illuminates the hidden corners of her beloved Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series in this dynamic short story collection. In nine previously published short stories and one brand-new, never-before-seen Sherlock Holmes mysteryavailable together for the first timeLaurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand. At the heart of the collection is a prequel novella that begins with England's declaration of war in 1914. As told in Mary Russell's teenage diaries, the whip-smart girl investigates familial mysteries, tracks German spies through San Francisco, and generally delights with her extraordinary minduntil an unimaginable tragedy strikes. Here too is the case of a professor killed by a swarm of bees; Mrs. Hudson's investigation of a string of disappearing household itemsand a lifelong secret; a revealing anecdote about a character integral to The God of the Hive; the story of Mary's beloved Uncle Jake and a monumental hand of cards; and a series of postcards in which Mary searches for her missing husband, Sherlock Holmes. Last but not least, fans will be especially thrilled by Mary's account of her decision, at age ninety-two, to publish her memoirsand how she concluded that Ms. King should be the one to introduce her voice to the world. Praise for Laurie R. King's Mary Russell mysteries ';The most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.'Lee Child ';The great marvel of King's series is that she's managed to preserve the integrity of Holmes's character and yet somehow conjure up a woman astute, edgy, and compelling enough to be the partner of his mind as well as his heart.'The Washington Post Book World ';A lively adventure in the very best of intellectual company.'The New York Times ';Erudite, fascinating . . . by all odds the most successful re-creation of the famous inhabitant of 221B Baker Street ever attempted.'Houston Chronicle ';An engaging romp guaranteed to please . . . perfectly written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'USA Today, on Pirate King ';Mesmerizinganother wonderful novel etched by the hand of a master storyteller. No reader who opens this one will be disappointed.'Michael Connelly, on The God of the Hive ';Historical fiction doesn't get any better than this.'The Denver Post, on The Game
Collected in one volume, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, A Letter of Mary, and The Moor, featuring the retired Sherlock Holmes and his disciple Mary Russell, by New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King.A Monstrous Regiment of Women It is 1921. Mary Russell is on the verge of acquiring a sizable inheritance. Her attentions turn to the New Temple of God and its leader, a charismatic suffragette and a mystic. When four bluestockings from the Temple turn up dead shortly after changing their wills, could sins of a capital nature be afoot?A Letter of MaryIt is 1923. Mary Russell Holmes and Sherlock Holmes are visited by an old friend, an archaeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient, controversial manuscript. When their friend is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. The MoorIn the eerie wasteland of Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes summons Mary Russell to aid the investigation of a death and some disturbing phenomena of a decidedly supernatural origin. There have been sightings of a spectral coach made of bones carrying a woman long-ago accused of murdering her husband-and of a hound with a single glowing eye. Returning to the scene of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Russell investigate a mystery darker and more unforgiving than the moors themselves.
Mary Russell is well used to dark secrets-her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond. But what of the other person Mary Russell has opened her heart to, that third member of the Holmes household: Mrs Hudson? Russell has come to love-and trust-the long-time housekeeper like the mother she lost so long ago. Mrs Hudson, once the most long-suffering landlady in all of London, followed Holmes into his Sussex retirement back in 1903. Surely she had good reasons for that? Russell has never questioned why...until a man comes to the door one morning, claiming to be Mrs Hudson's son. What Samuel Hudson tells Russell shatters her childish faith. It cannot possibly be true, yet she believes him. She also believes his threats: both the gun in his hand, and the knowledge he holds.In a devastating instant of choice, Russell declares her loyalty and love, and everything changes.Blood on the floor, a token on the mantelpiece, the smell of gunshot in the air: all point directly at Clara Hudson-or rather, at Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street.The key to Russell's sacrifice lies in Mrs Hudson's past, and to uncover the crime, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper's secrets, to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away. There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed.And nothing will ever be the same.
Laurie R. King takes readers way back in her bestselling series with this exclusive ebook short story, as Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark upon the riskiest adventure of their partnership: their wedding. Includes a special preview of the highly anticipated new mystery from Laurie R. King, The Murder of Mary Russell! Though she cannot entirely discount the effects of the head injuries they were both suffering at the time, Mary Russell is delighted by Sherlock Holmes's proposal of marriage. After all, they have become partners-in-crime, and she has recently come into her inheritance: what remains but to confirm the union with her mentor-turned-partner through a piece of paper? Russell's pragmatic side tells her to head straight to the registry officeuntil Holmes surprises her with a sentimental wish to be married in the chapel of his ancestral manor. There's just the small issue of ownership: the house is not exactly his, and he is most definitely not welcome there. Of course, such obstacles have never deterred Sherlock Holmes before, and they certainly won't keep him from concocting an elaborate scheme to evade angry dogs and armed butlersall in the name of wedded bliss. Praise for Laurie R. King's Mary Russell mysteries ';The most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.'Lee Child ';The great marvel of King's series is that she's managed to preserve the integrity of Holmes's character and yet somehow conjure up a woman astute, edgy, and compelling enough to be the partner of his mind as well as his heart.'The Washington Post Book World ';A lively adventure in the very best of intellectual company.'The New York Times ';Erudite, fascinating . . . by all odds the most successful re-creation of the famous inhabitant of 221B Baker Street ever attempted.'Houston Chronicle ';An engaging romp guaranteed to please . . . perfectly written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'USA Today, on Pirate King ';Mesmerizinganother wonderful novel etched by the hand of a master storyteller. No reader who opens this one will be disappointed.'Michael Connelly, on The God of the Hive ';Historical fiction doesn't get any better than this.'The Denver Post, on The Game
In daring to re-imagine the life of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Sherlock Holmes, Laurie R. King's New York Times bestselling mystery series succeeds on the strength of its own now-beloved protagonist: Mary Russell, the young American who literally stumbles upon the great retired detective-turned-beekeeper. With the dazzling mix of suspense, period detail, and enthralling pace that is King's hallmark, these acclaimed novels follow Russell as she rises out of her mentor's shadow to form a long-running partnership with the always inscrutable and charismatic Holmes. Traversing such exotic locales as British-occupied Palestine, the Moroccan underworld, and the wilds of India amidst the turmoil of the early twentieth century, this convenient ebook bundle compiles nine of their most thrilling adventures: O JERUSALEM JUSTICE HALL THE GAME LOCKED ROOMS THE LANGUAGE OF BEES THE GOD OF THE HIVE PIRATE KING GARMENT OF SHADOWS DREAMING SPIES Also includes the ebook short story ';Beekeeping for Beginners' and a preview of the highly anticipated new mystery from Laurie R. King, The Murder of Mary Russell! Praise for Laurie R. King's Mary Russell mysteries ';The most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.'Lee Child ';The great marvel of King's series is that she's managed to preserve the integrity of Holmes's character and yet somehow conjure up a woman astute, edgy, and compelling enough to be the partner of his mind as well as his heart.'The Washington Post Book World ';A lively adventure in the very best of intellectual company.'The New York Times ';Erudite, fascinating . . . by all odds the most successful re-creation of the famous inhabitant of 221B Baker Street ever attempted.'Houston Chronicle ';An engaging romp guaranteed to please . . . perfectly written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'USA Today, on Pirate King ';Mesmerizinganother wonderful novel etched by the hand of a master storyteller. No reader who opens this one will be disappointed.'Michael Connelly, on The God of the Hive ';Historical fiction doesn't get any better than this.'The Denver Post, on The Game
1923. Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the retired Sherlock Holmes, are enjoying the summer together on their Sussex estate when they are visited by an old friend, Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an archeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient manuscript which seems to hint at the possibility that Mary Magdalene was an apostle - - an artifact certain to stir up a storm of biblical proportions in the Christian establishment. When Ruskin is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. This next installment is brimming with political intrigue, theological arcana, and brilliant Holmesian deductions.
In the eerie wasteland of Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes summons his devoted wife and partner, Mary Russell, from her studies at Oxford to aid the investigation of a death and some disturbing phenomena of a decidedly supernatural origin. Through the mists of the moor there have been sightings of a spectral coach made of bones carrying a woman long - ago accused of murdering her husband - - and of a hound with a single glowing eye. Returning to the scene of one of his most celebrated cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Russell investigate a mystery darker and more unforgiving than the moors themselves.
1918. Forced to flee England, Sherlock Holmes and his young apprentice Mary Russell enter British - occupied Palestine under the auspices of Holmes's enigmatic brother, Mycroft. Their arrival coincides with a rash of unsolved murders that has baffled the authorities, yet no one is too pleased at Holmes's insistence on reconstructing the most recent homicide in the desert where it occurred. What they unexpectedly uncover will lead Russell and Holmes through an exotic gauntlet of labyrinthine bazaars, verminous hovels, cliff - hung monasteries - and into mortal danger. In the jewel - like city of Jerusalem, they will at last meet their adversary, whose lust for power could ignite a tinderbox of hostilities just waiting for a spark...
1925. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes arrive home to find a stone. The stone is inscribed with the same name that they last saw in the Tokyo garden of the future emperor of Japan. It is the first indication that the investigation they did for him a year ago might not be as complete as they had thought.In Japan there were spies; in Oxford there are dreams. In both places, there is a small, dark-haired woman, and danger...
The gripping debut of the Kate Martinelli mystery series won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery, generating wide critical acclaim and moving Laurie R. King into the upper tier of the genre. Now, for the first time, the first three books in this thrilling series are bundled together in one package:A Grave TalentA string of shocking murders has occurred, each victim an innocent child. Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide, must bring the murderer to justice, even if she knows it means losing everything she holds dear.To Play the FoolKate investigates the death of a homeless man, but the main suspect only speaks in quotations. Trying to learn something of his history leads her along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.With Child(Edgar Award nominee; Orange Award nominee) Kate's SFPD partner is getting married, and Kate agrees to take his new step-daughter during the honeymoon. Only the girl, already caught up in a missing persons case, goes missing herself.
Paris, 1929. For Harris Stuyvesant, his current assignment is a private investigator's dream - he's getting paid to trawl the cafes and bars of Montparnasse, looking for a pretty young woman. The missing person in question is Philippa Crosby, a twenty-two-year-old from Boston, whose family have become alarmed at her lack of communication. As Stuyvesant follows Philippa's trail through Paris, he finds that she is known to many of its famous - and infamous - inhabitants, from Shakespeare and Company's Sylvia Beach to the surrealist photographer Man Ray. But when the evidence leads Stuyvesant to the Theatre du Grand-Guignol in Montmartre, his investigation takes a sharp and disturbing turn.
In the eerie wasteland of Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes summons his devoted wife and partner, Mary Russell, from her studies at Oxford to aid the investigation of a death and some disturbing phenomena of a decidedly supernatural origin. Through the mists of the moor there have been sightings of a spectral coach made of bones carrying a woman long-ago accused of murdering her husband--and of a hound with a single glowing eye. Returning to the scene of one of his most celebrated cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Russell investigate a mystery darker and more unforgiving than the moors themselves.
Only hours after Holmes and Russell return from solving one riddle on the moor, another knocks on their front door - literally. It's a mystery that begins during the Great War, when Gabriel Hughenfort died amidst scandalous rumors that have haunted the family ever since. But it's not until Holmes and Russell arrive at Justice Hall, a home of unearthly perfection set in a garden modeled on Paradise, that they fully understand the irony echoed in the family motto, Justicia fortitudo mea est: Righteousness is my strength.
1923. Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the retired Sherlock Holmes, are enjoying the summer together on their Sussex estate when they are visited by an old friend, Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an archeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient manuscript which seems to hint at the possibility that Mary Magdalene was an apostle--an artifact certain to stir up a storm of biblical proportions in the Christian establishment. When Ruskin is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. This next installment is brimming with political intrigue, theological arcana, and brilliant Holmesian deductions.
THE EDGAR AWARD-WINNING NOVELTHE FIRST KATE MARTINELLI MYSTERY In Laurie R. King's Grave Talent, the unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A series of shocking murders has occurred, the victims far too innocent and defenseless. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's a difficult case that just keeps getting harder.Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead: it seems that one of the residents of this odd colony is Vaun Adams, arguably the century's greatest woman painter and a notorious felon once convicted of a heinous crime.But what really happened eighteen years ago? To bring a murderer to justice, Kate must delve into the artist's dark past-even if it means losing everything she holds dear.
THE SECOND BOOK IN THE KATE MARTINELLI MYSTERY SERIESWhen a band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the authorities are willing to overlook a few broken regulations. But three weeks later, when the dog's owner gets the same fiery send-off, the SFPD has a real headache on its hands. The autopsy suggests homicide, but Inspector Kate Martinelli and her partner, Al Hawkin, have little else to go on: a homeless victim with no positive ID, a group of witnesses with little love for the cops, and a possible suspect, known only as Brother Erasmus, who proves both articulate and impossible to understand.Erasmus, has a genius for blending with his surroundings, yet he stands out wherever he goes. He is by no means crazy-but he is a Fool. Kate begins the frustrating task of interrogating a man who communicates only through quotations. In Laurie R. King's To Play the Fool, trying to learn something of his history leads Kate along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.
THE THIRD BOOK IN THE KATE MARTINELLI MYSTERY SERIESIn Laurie R. King's With Child, adrift in mist-shrouded San Francisco mornings and alcohol-fogged nights, homicide detective Kate Martinelli can't escape the void left by her departed lover, who has gone off to rethink their relationship. But when twelve-year-old Jules Cameron comes to Kate for a professional consultation, Kate's not sure she's that desperate for distraction.Jules is worried about her friend Dio, a homeless boy she met in a park. Dio has disappeared without a word of farewell, and Jules wants Kate to find him Reluctant as she is, Kate can't say no--and soon she finds herself forming a friendship with the bright, quirky girl. But the search for Dio will prove to be much more than both bargained for--and it's only the beginning. When Jules disappears while taking a trip with Kate, a desperate search begins...and Kate knows all too well the odds of finding the child alive...
The Twentieth-Anniversary Edition of the First Novel of the Acclaimed Mary Russell Series by Edgar Award-Winning Author Laurie R. King. An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee * Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto 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. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protegee and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes's past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the first book of the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is "e;remarkably beguiling"e; (The Boston Globe).This program includes a preface read by the author.
Winner of the Nero Wolfe AwardIt is 1921 and Mary Russell--Sherlock Holmes's brilliant apprentice, now an Oxford graduate with a degree in theology--is on the verge of acquiring a sizable inheritance. Independent at last, with a passion for divinity and detective work, her most baffling mystery may now involve Holmes and the burgeoning of a deeper affection between herself and the retired detective. Russell's attentions turn to the New Temple of God and its leader, Margery Childe, a charismatic suffragette and a mystic, whose draw on the young theology scholar is irresistible. But when four bluestockings from the Temple turn up dead shortly after changing their wills, could sins of a capital nature be afoot? Holmes and Russell investigate, as their partnership takes a surprising turn in A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King.
The third book in the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes series.It is 1923. Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the retired Sherlock Holmes, are enjoying the summer together on their Sussex estate when they are visited by an old friend, Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an archeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient manuscript which seems to hint at the possibility that Mary Magdalene was an apostle--an artifact certain to stir up a storm of biblical proportions in the Christian establishment. When Ruskin is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. A Letter of Mary is brimming with political intrigue, theological arcana, and brilliant Holmesian deductions.
In the eerie wasteland of Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes summons his devoted wife and partner, Mary Russell, from her studies at Oxford to aid the investigation of a death and some disturbing phenomena of a decidedly supernatural origin. Through the mists of the moor there have been sightings of a spectral coach made of bones carrying a woman long-ago accused of murdering her husband--and of a hound with a single glowing eye. Returning to the scene of one of his most celebrated cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Russell investigate a mystery darker and more unforgiving than the moors themselves, in Laurie R. King's The Moor.
London, 1926. Harris Stuyvesant, agent of the US Bureau of Investigation, is on a mission. A series of bomb attacks on American soil, thought to be enacted by an up-and-coming British politician, have left him with a vendetta more personal than professional. But when his search for answers leads him to government official Aldous Carstairs, the US agent may find himself in over his head. At Carstairs' recommendation, Stuyvesant enlists the help of Bennett Grey, a man with unique abilities. After the Great War left him with an excruciating sensitivity to human deceit, Grey has withdrawn from the world. Now, however, he must help the American insert himself into the terrorist's rich and radical social circle. Here Stuyvesant uncovers hidden secrets, a horrifying conspiracy, and wonders if he can trust his touchstone, Grey, to reveal the most dangerous player of all ...
In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding at the door. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper showing a mysterious symbol. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north. Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt. He badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he discovers, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it's too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.
It is 1921 and Mary Russell--Sherlock Holmes's brilliant apprentice, now an Oxford graduate with a degree in theology - is on the verge of acquiring a sizable inheritance. Independent at last, with a passion for divinity and detective work, her most baffling mystery may now involve Holmes and the burgeoning of a deeper affection between herself and the retired detective. Russell's attentions turn to the New Temple of God and its leader, Margery Childe, a charismatic suffragette and a mystic, whose draw on the young theology scholar is irresistible. But when four bluestockings from the Temple turn up dead shortly after changing their wills, could sins of a capital nature be afoot? Holmes and Russell investigate, as their partnership takes a surprising turn.
When Mary Russell is called upon to investigate the criminal activities that surround England's silent-film supremo Randolph Fflytte, she finds herself travelling undercover to Morocco, as chaperone to the stars of his latest extravaganza, Pirate King, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's masterful The Pirates of Penzance. Nothing seems amiss until the cameras start to roll and Mary feels a storm of trouble brewing...a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance - and where is her husband Sherlock Holmes? As film fiction becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout...
1918. Forced to flee England, Sherlock Holmes and his young apprentice Mary Russell enter British-occupied Palestine under the auspices of Holmes's enigmatic brother, Mycroft. Their arrival coincides with a rash of unsolved murders that has baffled the authorities, yet no one is too pleased at Holmes's insistence on reconstructing the most recent homicide in the desert where it occurred. What they unexpectedly uncover will lead Russell and Holmes through an exotic gauntlet of labyrinthine bazaars, verminous hovels, cliff-hung monasteries - and into mortal danger. In the jewel-like city of Jerusalem, they will at last meet their adversary, whose lust for power could ignite a tinderbox of hostilities just waiting for a spark...
In this crackling novella, New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King reveals an unforgettable new twist in the adventure that led supersleuth Sherlock Holmes to discover his first (and finest) apprentice, Mary Russell.Sherlock Holmes is fending off a particularly dark mood as he roams the Sussex Downs, in search of wild bees. The Great War may be raging across the Channel, but on the Downs, the great detective nears terminal melancholia - only to be saved by an encounter with headstrong, yellow-haired young Mary Russell, who soon becomes the Master's apprentice not only in beekeeping but in detection.Holmes instantly spots her remarkable ability, but his sharp eyes also see troubling problems. Why is this wealthy orphan who lives with her aunt so shabbily dressed? Why is she so prone to illness and accident? Is she herself the center of a mystery? These are questions that the great detective must answer quickly lest his protegee, and his own new lease on life, meet a sudden, tragic end.The tale of their meeting has been told from Russell's point of view, but even those who have never met the famed Russell-Holmes pair will read this tale with delight-and, as its climax builds, with breathless excitement.
BONUS: This eBook includes an excerpt from Laurie R. King's Pirate King.In this crackling short story, New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King reveals an unforgettable new twist in the adventure that led supersleuth Sherlock Holmes to discover his first (and finest) apprentice, Mary Russell.Sherlock Holmes is fending off a particularly dark mood as he roams the Sussex Downs, in search of wild bees. The Great War may be raging across the Channel, but on the Downs, the great detective nears terminal melancholiaonly to be saved by an encounter with headstrong, yellow-haired young Mary Russell, who soon becomes the Master's apprentice not only in beekeeping but in detection.Holmes instantly spots her remarkable ability, but his sharp eyes also see troubling problems. Why is this wealthy orphan who lives with her aunt so shabbily dressed? Why is she so prone to illness and accident? Is she herself the center of a mystery? These are questions that the great detective must answer quickly lest his protegee, and his own new lease on life, meet a sudden, tragic end.The tale of their meeting has been told from Russell's point of view, but even those who have never met the famed Russell-Holmes pair will read this tale with delightand, as its climax builds, with breathless excitement.
It began as a problem in one of Holmes' beloved beehives, led to a murderous cult, and ended - or so they'd hoped - with a daring escape from a sacrificial altar. Instead, Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, have stirred the wrath of those they've thwarted. Now they are separated and on the run, and pursued across the Continent by a ruthless enemy with powerful connections. Unstoppable together, Russell and Holmes will have to survive this time apart, and with Holmes' young granddaughter in her safekeeping, Russell will have to call on instincts she didn't know she had. From secret rooms in London to rickety planes over Scotland, Russell and Holmes work their way back to each other in the most complex, shocking, and deeply personal case of their career.
New Year 1924. Mary Russell is drawn into a new intrigue when she and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, pay a visit to Holmes' gravely ill brother, Mycroft. Mycroft has received a strange package that contains the papers of a missing English spy named Kimball O'Hara, the hero of Rudyard Kipling's Kim, who is feared to have been taken hostage - or even killed. Mary and Sherlock embark on a search for the missing operative, which takes them on a perilous journey through sun-drenched India. But when a twist of fate forces the couple to part ways, Russell learns that in this faraway place it's often impossible to tell friend from foe, and that some games must be played out until their deadly end.
In 1924, San Francisco is booming. The great fire and earthquake of 1906 cleared the ground for a modern city, but the closer she comes to the place she used to call home, the more troubling Mary Russell's dreams become. As Russell and her husband, the great detective Sherlock Holmes, attempt to settle their affairs in the City by the Bay, Mary's past isn't the only thing that catches up with them - a mysterious stranger is waiting for the pair, and may be the only one who holds the key to the locked rooms that have been haunting Mary's dreams...
1915. The great detective Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honey bees 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 protegee and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator's daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary - a bomber who has set trip-wires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership.
For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad is a delicious anticipation. But the longed for sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a bitter memory from her husband's past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, but the talented and troubled young man is enlisting her help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child. From suicides among the Standing Stones to a bizarre religious cult, from the heart of Bohemian London to dark secrets on the streets of Shanghai, Russell will find herself on the trail of a killer more dangerous than any she's ever faced - a killer Sherlock Holmes himself may be protecting for reasons near and dear to his heart.
The latest in Laurie R King's hugely popular Mary Russell mystery series: `Beguiling variation on Sherlock Holmes sequels... civilized, ingenious and engrossing' - Literary Review Hours after Holmes and Russell return from solving the murky riddle of The Moor, a bloodied but oddly familiar stranger pounds desperately on their front door, pleading for their help. When he recovers, he lays before them the story of the enigmatic Marsh Hughenfort, younger brother of the Duke of Beauville, returned to England upon his brother's death, determined to learn the truth about the untimely death of the hall's expected heir... a puzzle he is convinced only Holmes and Russell can solve. It's a mystery that begins during the Great War of 1918, when young Gabriel Hughenfort, the late Duke's only son, died amidst scandalous rumors that have haunted the family ever since. While Holmes heads to London to uncover the truth of Gabriel's war record, Russell joins an ill-fated shooting party. A missing diary, a purloined bundle of letters, and a trail of ominous clues comprise a mystery that will call for Holmes's cleverest disguises and Russell's most daring journeys into the unknown... from an English hamlet to the city of Paris to the wild prairie of the New World. The trap is set, the game is afoot, but can they catch an elusive villain in the act of murder before they become his next victims?
Latest in Laurie King's popular and much admired Mary Russell crime series: `Beguiling variation on Sherlock Holmes sequels... civilized, ingenious and engrossing' - Literary Review Rumours of a ghostly carriage and a huge `devil dog' on a moonlit moor lead Sherlock Holmes and his wife and sleuthing partner Mary Russell back to the eerie scene of one of his most celebrated cases. And when the body of tin miner Josiah Gorton is found surrounded by oversize paw prints, it looks as if the Hound of the Baskervilles has returned to haunt Dartmoor once more. Attempting to unravel the mystery, Holmes and Russell find themselves caught up in local legend, myth and folklore as a devilish pattern begins to develop against the backdrop of the dark, foreboding Devonshire moor. True to their expectations, events have a real-world explanation, but it is one that combines more wild emotion, surprise, and frightening suspense than any ghost story could.
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