I read this book about 1-May-2007. This is the first time I've read this book. The book is copyright 1994. This note was last modified Tuesday, 12-Jun-2007 19:49:43 PDT.
Sherlock Holmes pastiche. He encounters a female (and in fact actively feminist) heiress in his retirement keeping bees up on the moors, and takes her on as his apprentice.
It's structured as episodes retold (with a framing story about how the author got the manuscript, but never mind that); the first few are their meeting and setting the basis of their relationship, then he starts involving her in his cases.
There's a bit of a feel of "Mary Sue" to it, but it doesn't go over the top; they don't ever end up in bed, for example, and Holmes' attraction to her is only referred to obliquely.
It ended up having a rather pleasant feel, for me, though I'm not rushing out to locate the rest of them (two more I believe).