Four fictional characters are interviewed in this profile of the adventurous sleuth, by the New York Times–bestselling author of A Sunlit Weapon. The historical mystery Maisie Dobbs was first published in 2003, introducing readers to an inquisitive, young, English, working-class woman as she opens her own London detective agency following World War I. Jacqueline Winspear's debut won her the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and led to a New...

"Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death--an investigation that leads her to a doomed affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse"--Provided by publisher.

"USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the story of the renowned Sherlock Holmes upside down... With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her...

Russell heads for Oxford to resume her long-delayed studies when she comes face-to-face with a young Japanese woman who is not all that she seems. Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, are swept up in a baffling case that will lead them from the idyllic panoramas of Japan to the depths of Oxford's most revered institution. Aboard the steamer Thomas Carlyle, Holmes recognizes the Earl of Darley, whom he suspects of being an occasional blackmailer....

Agatha has fallen head over heels in love--again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man--including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap....

"Mary Russell is 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. And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple's longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell's faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs....

"The Great War may be over, but for many, there are still obstacles on the home front. Reconciling with her estranged husband makes Verity sympathetic to her friend Ada's marital difficulties. And when Ada's Marquess husband is discovered shot through the heart with Ada's revolver, it's up to Verity to prove Ada's innocence. But Verity is called upon for another favor: investigating the death of a girl who censored soldiers letters during the war."--Publisher....

During World War I, fifteen-year-old Mary Russell, walking the fields near her home, meets the famous (and now retired) detective, Sherlock Holmes. Mary does not immediately recognize him. She replies to his condescending remarks with brilliance and biting wit. Holmes is astounded by the young woman's intelligence and soon takes Mary and her education under his charge. When not studying university texts, she assists him on local cases. But then...

"When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems. The factory mystery soon turns to murder and a bad-tempered donkey turns Agatha into a national celebrity, before...

The Witches' Tree continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series--now a hit T.V. show. Cotswolds inhabitants are used to inclement weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They strain to see the road ahead--and then suddenly brake, screeching to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow...