This eagerly awaited sequel to The Beekeeper's Apprentice finds Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes' young apprentice, is about to come into a considerable inheritance, but she still enjoys nighttime prowls through London's grimy streets. There, she encounters an old friend, who introduces Mary to a temple led by an enigmatic woman. Suddenly, Mary's friend suffers a near-fatal accident, or so it seems. Russell and Holmes launch a quiet investigation--one that may bring the newly rich Russell closer to heaven than she would like. Martin's Press.

Winner of the Nero Wolfe Award

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 in A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King.