Retired to a life of beekeeping in Sussex, Sherlock Holmes is drawn back into detecting by his encounter with an orphan, Mary Russell, who is as keen an observer as he is. Their friendship blossoms, and, despite a significant age difference, Russell and Holmes fall in love. King does an excellent job of presenting an older Holmes, and Mary’s intelligence surprises many people who underestimate her, including Holmes. King clearly knows the original stories, as well as other detective fiction set in the early 20th century. She draws on this literature in an understated fashion, never bringing in a reference that is not needed. 1994, M KING, 347 p.
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I’m normally skeptical of books that continue a character after the author dies but Laurie Kelly does a terrific job. Mary Russell is an excellent character in her own right and I think Holmes is spot on.
I think that King’s success results from her building off of the original Holmes stories rather than simply telling new stories in the same setting and style. She creates a completely believable, but older, Holmes and Watson, and then integrates the Mary Russell character into that new world.
[...] to be one of my favorites. Laurie R. King’s The Language of Bees is a wonderful addition to her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. Over her eight previous novels in the series, King has created a future life for Holmes that [...]