The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King **** (of 4)

The first book in a long series by Laurie R. King involving a retired Sherlock Holmes and his soon-to-be protege Mary Russell. Sherlock is tending bees at his remote countryside home, and obviously bored, when 16-year-old Mary, head buried deep in a book, literally trips over the old man while rambling the downs. The two quickly deduce everything necessary about one another from scuffs on shoes, tiny callouses on fingers, creased brows, and stamped footprints in the earth. Vintage Holmes. Only what ensues is a verbal sparring match that most certainly would have given Watson apoplexy had he been there to witness it.

Over the course of three increasingly entangling cases Holmes and Russell (Holmes always refers to the young woman as Russell, just as he always called Watson, Watson) spar, deduce, disguise themselves, and hound after bad guys across Britain. With time the rest of Holmes's entourage join the fray -- Watson, Holmes's housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, his brother Mycroft, and his longtime nemesis, Moriarty. The mysteries are fun, the relationship between mentor and mentee is heartwarming, and the dialogue riveting. Arthur Conan Doyle would have approved.