I rarely stray outside the Canon but one series of adventures that I thoroughly enjoy reading again and again are those of Mary Russell.

Mary (or Russell as Holmes always refers to her) was 15 when she first stumbled across Holmes in 1915 in Sussex. Holmes was in his fifties (my literary agent had exaggerated his age somewhat). The Valley of Fear was being serialised in The Strand at the time and I seem to remember Russell asking Holmes how it ended. He denied all knowledge of how it ended, suggesting I made more out of his cases than was necessary!

Russell and I met a few months later – September I think it was. Since that day she has referred to me, the “sweet bumbly man” as she described me in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, as “Uncle John”.

When not engaged with Holmes on some case or other she divides her time between his place in Sussex and her place in Oxford.

So far, nine major cases have been documented. Her literary agent, Laurie M King, has published them in the following order although chronologically, O Jerusalem should be second in the series.

1. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – The adventures begin in 1915 as young Russell meets Holmes and becomes his apprentice.
2. A Monstrous Regiment of Women – Russell is introduced to the leader of “The New Temple of God” a sect that appears to be involved in something sinister. Then several members are murdered and Russell faces her greatest danger yet.
3. A Letter of Mary – An amateur archaeologist brings Russell and Holmes a box containing a papyrus and then is murdered the next day. The scroll, apparently written by Mary Magdalene, could be a clue.
4. The Moor – Russell and Holmes revisit the scene of one of the most celebrated of his cases. An old friend is troubled by sightings of a ghostly carriage and a dog on the moor. Has the Hound of the Baskervilles returned?
5. O Jerusalem – Fleeing from England in 1918, Russell and Holmes enter Palestine with help from Mycroft to solve a series of murders that threaten the uneasy peace between the Jews, Muslims and Christians.
6. Justice Hall – Shortly after solving the riddle on The Moor, Russell and Holmes arrive at Justice Hall in England but soon they are involved in a mystery leading them to Paris and the New World.
7. The Game – Mycroft is gravely ill but has received a package containing the papers of the missing spy Kimball O’Hara (who was the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim”). They go to India in search of the missing Kim and the game is very much afoot!
8. Locked Rooms – Russell and Holmes are in San Francisco and Russell’s past is catching up with her. A mysterious stranger is waiting for them who may have the key to the locked rooms that are haunting Russell’s dreams.
9. The Language of Bees – The first part of an adventure which starts back in Sussex and an entire colony of bees has disappeared from one of Holmes’ hives. A bitter memory from Holmes’ past threatens their peace and Russell ends up on the trail of a killer that Holmes may be protecting. In The God of the Hive, the second part of the adventure, Russell, Holmes, and those they are protecting are scattered to the winds and Scotland Yard is after them from one side and a shadowy faction of the government from the other.

Russell’s literary agent has also drawn my attention to a story about Kate Martinelli, the San Francisco homicide detective, who encounters what appears to be a complete replica of our sitting room in Baker Street. The owner of the house has been murdered and amongst his collection of memorabilia is a manuscript written by Holmes. Not quite the textbook that Holmes said, in The Abbey Grange, would be the focus of his declining years, but The Art of Detection is a thrilling adventure nevertheless!

You can contact Laurie King here.