Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century

Gretchen is astonished by the detective fiction references in the three arrivals’ names, but they brush off her questions. Holmes asks about an odd smell; he is genetically hyperosmic, meaning that he possesses an usually strong and accurate sense of smell. Poe finds a clipping that reports a past unsolved murder in the building. Gretchen fears that this means the building will never sell, but the trio announces that they intend to purchase.

Poe admires the lettering of the now-open “Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations,” feeling confident that “today [i]s the day that w[ill] put them on the map” (22). Marple arrives, frowning at Poe’s latest expensive new muscle car; he collects them. Holmes enters, chiding Marple for her inflexibility.

The three drive to the NYPD headquarters, One Police Plaza; they are anxious about meeting Jack Boolin, the police commissioner, for the first time. They wish to discuss the high-profile disappearance of Sloane Stone, a young Black attorney who is a “Brooklyn girl made good” (23). The police are lost, but Holmes, Marple, and Poe have insight and intend to solve the case, regardless of whether they are hired.

Despite Poe’s smooth charm, Samantha, the commissioner’s assistant, is unimpressed when he insists on an immediate meeting with Boolin. She wonders if their business name is a joke but introduces them to Kristin Rove, a special assistant to the major, when they claim to have evidence about Sloane. When they insist on speaking only to Commissioner Boolin, Kristin dismisses them. Marple charms Samantha into admitting that the commissioner has gone home; the three detectives head to his house.

With Poe’s aggressive driving, the detectives travel to Boolin’s secluded estate and arrive before the commissioner himself. Boolin is initially irritated to see the detectives but becomes intrigued when they claim to know that Sloane is dead and that they know the location of her body. To “call [their] bluff” (31), Boolin tells them to explain.

Holmes is overwhelmed by the smells of the abandoned farm where they lead Boolin. He pauses to gather himself, nervous to be the lead on the team’s first official case. Detective Lieutenant Helene Grey urges Holmes to locate the body. Grey is suspicious that Holmes only knows Sloane’s location due to participation in the crime. Using his keen sense of smell, Holmes leads them through a mound of compost. Marple and Poe allow that Holmes is “not always” in good mental health but nevertheless “usually right” (34).

A Crime Scene Unit team works in the area that Holmes identified to uncover Sloane’s body. Holmes explains his deduction that Sloane was strangled by someone with small hands, but Grey remains suspicious of Holmes.

The next evening, the detectives report to Mayor Felix Rollins’s house, as does Grey. As Marple and Poe admire the antique furnishings, Grey reminds them that their invitation is a courtesy. Mayor Rollins enters with Kristin. When Grey reports that Sloane’s disappearance is now officially a murder, Rollins asks about suspects. Holmes implies that Rollins himself is a suspect.

Grey is shocked by Holmes’s audacious suggestion. Rollins, however, urges Holmes to speak. Holmes explains that the mayor’s personal car was recently in Armenia, New York, the town near where Sloane’s body was found, something he knows based on plant matter in the tire treads. He further reports that, despite the mayor’s insistence that he only met Sloane once at a charity event, multiple emails were exchanged between the two over the past year, always on their personal accounts. Holmes reveals that Kristin killed Sloane and attempted to frame the mayor. Kristin seizes a security guard’s gun and flees, with Marple in pursuit.

Marple catches up with Kristin, tackling her to the ground and knocking the gun away. Grey handcuffs Kristin and leads her away to interrogate her.

At their office, Poe and Marple criticize Holmes for not sharing his deduction with his partners in advance. He explains that he only recently determined the truth, when the commissioner’s assistant, Samantha, revealed to him that Kristin and Sloane had had a relationship, which Kristin kept secret, fearing anti-gay bias. When Sloane ended their relationship, Kristin killed her and framed the lecherous mayor. Poe and Marple remain irritated about Holmes keeping secrets but forgive him when he toasts them with an expensive bottle of wine.

The next day, the three detectives attend a press conference about Kristin’s arrest. When Boolin takes credit for the arrest, a journalist named Shelbi Scott protests, citing reports that private investigators broke the case. When Scott spots Holmes, Poe, and Marple, journalists insist on hearing from the trio despite Boolin’s protests. Poe introduces their detective agency, pleased at the publicity, though he recognizes that it has made Boolin an enemy.

Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations’ “company launch party” is well attended that evening (55), distracting Marple from her lingering sadness about Sloane’s death. Holmes speaks with reporters while Poe flirts with a woman who, Marple notes, resembles Annie, a woman Poe loved but who died.

Grey and Marple discuss the 1954 murder in the building, which Grey brushes off as being likely too old to solve. Grey wonders how the three detectives “got New York State PI licenses without leaving any of their fingerprints on file” and muses that they are hiding their true identities (58).

Dana Dufreign wakes after spending the night with Poe. She finds him mysterious and thoughtful, though she finds it odd that he, Marple, and Holmes all live above their office. She is alarmed when she finds a photograph of a woman she strongly resembles and leaves hastily.

Marple heads to the detectives’ private library, seeking quiet to “recharge her introvert batteries” (63). She browses the eclectic books, including robust collections on Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Edgar Allan Poe.

Poe muses on the unlikeliness of Dana’s return, wondering if he is truly “ready to be loved again” and lamenting the headache brought on by his overconsumption of alcohol (66), which he regularly misuses. Marple and Holmes fret over the post-party mess. Poe cringes, remembering that he was supposed to orchestrate the cleanup. Grey arrives, announcing that she has the detectives’ next case.

Marple is suspicious that Grey, who seems to not trust the private investigators, would give them business. Grey explains that someone stole a Shakespeare First Folio and a Gutenberg Bible from wealthy CEO Huntley Bain. Together, the antique books are worth tens of millions of dollars. Holmes counters that their cultural worth is actually invaluable. Bain is a major donor to both Rollins and the NYPD, so Grey urges discretion, as Bain wants the case to be kept quiet.

Marple feels immediate revulsion when she meets the self-important Bain. She manages to behave professionally, as she is the lead on this case, despite her hatred of Bain’s sexist comments about their previous case. Bain leads them to his library, where fake copies of the Shakespeare and Gutenberg texts are prominently displayed. Bain shows them the security protocols in his library. Despite the security and the trickery, the thief found the true manuscripts quickly. Marple cites their fee as $200,000, with another $200,000 when they retrieve the manuscripts. Bain initially refuses, but when the detectives suggest that Bain would get negative press for not caring about the priceless artifacts, he relents.

The partners return to their offices to find Grey waiting for them. Grey is annoyed that they have irked Bain. Poe finds himself romantically interested in Grey as the group reassures her that they are “worth every penny” (78). Poe asks Grey to dinner; she declines but offers that it would be “fun” to “drag race sometime” (78).

In their office, they listen to a message about a kidnapping case, which Poe will lead.

The three detectives visit Addilyn Charles, who reports that her 18-year-old daughter, Zozi, has disappeared with her stepfather, Eton, Addilyn’s second husband. Addilyn believes that they’ve been kidnapped, alluding to Eton’s work with drug cartels. Zozi’s dog, Toby, is also missing.

Poe and Holmes search Zozi’s room and find that her electronics are also missing. In the trash is a plastic object that Marple identifies as a vaginal contraceptive device.

Marple surprises her partners by splitting from the group, announcing that she has a date.

Marple meets a man named Finn at a bar near Sing Sing Prison. Finn, a former safecracker, believes that it’s impossible for someone to have broken into Bain’s safe so quickly.

The next morning, Marple visits Saint Celeste’s, a girls’ private school. She intentionally stumbles on the sidewalk, which gets the attention of three girls. She claims to be Zozi’s aunt; they call Zozi “The Legend” for being a “campus hero” (94). They haven’t heard from Zozi in several days but do not find this odd; however, one of the girls seems suspiciously nervous.

Holmes enjoys annoying Bain by making him repeatedly recount the details of the break-in and claiming that Bain himself is the likeliest suspect. Bain cites his girlfriend as his alibi, but Holmes and Poe suggest that the woman, who is actually a sex worker rather than a romantic partner, might be an accomplice.