by H. F. Heard
First published 2016
Sydney Silchester lives as a hermit in a peaceful English village, emerging from his cottage only when necessity demands. His quiet existence depends on local honey suppliers until tragedy strikes: his regular beekeeper dies from bee stings beside her own hive. The search for replacement honey leads Sydney to an extraordinary man whose sharp intellect will drag him into mortal danger. This brilliant stranger is Mycroft Holmes, and he suspects the beekeeper's death was no accident. Someone has weaponized bees as instruments of murder. Mycroft recruits the reluctant Sydney to help unmask a killer who operates without clear motive, using methods that defy conventional detection. Together they must identify a murderer clever enough to turn nature itself into an assassin. As they investigate the village's secrets, Sydney discovers that his new companion possesses a mind that rivals even his famous younger brother Sherlock.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, unlikely-allies
Setting: England, Village
Period: 19th-Century, 20th-Century
186 pages · Kindle Edition · MysteriousPress.com/Open Road