Book description
It is 1890. One woman rules the British Empire; virtually all other
women rule domains no larger than their own kitchens. The widow of
Constable Tobias Hudson has other ideas and has made other plans. She
has organized the first of its kind consulting detective agency,
combining her own unique powers of observation and vast knowledge of
criminal investigation with the careful selection of an essential male
figurehead. Sherlock Holmes possesses the language and bearing of a
gentleman, as well as a haughty self-confidence that clients find
reassuring. He brings with him the level-headed Dr. Watson, an addition
Mrs. Hudson finds reassuring. Together they will investigate the death
of Sir Stanley Parkerton who met his fate after a family dinner in which
he had the same food and drink as the assembled guests. When the
Parkertons' coachman, who drinks too much and knows too much, is
murdered as well, the game is truly afoot. To solve the mystery, Mrs.
Hudson and her colleagues must not only sort through the intrigues of
both staff and family, they must also contend with the danger posed by
the unexpected arrival of the White Rajah of Sarawak and the sudden
intrusion of headhunters into the English countryside. The chronicler of
these events, BARRY S. BROWN, has spent most of his professional life in
the area of research into social problems. He has worked in mental
hospitals, prisons and drug abuse treatment agencies, and has published
more than 100 papers and chapters based on his studies in those areas.
He now lives with his wife, Ann, in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, a
safe distance from the mayhem of Victorian England.
