The Language of Bees: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

by Laurie R. King

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - " Laurie R.] King enriches the Sherlockian legacy."--The Boston Globe

For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve--the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes's beloved hives.

But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553588346
• ISBN13: 9780553588347
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Boring.

The only reason I finished this book was because I bought it. Too many descriptions and not enough plot. Easy to put down.

Another good Mary Russell novel

I loved this book. In fact, I have already pre-ordered the next one to see how the story continues. Anyone who loves this series will love this book as well.

Holmes outside his element in this excellent updating

Excellent updating of the Sherlock Holmes legend, told through the eyes of his young wife Mary Russell, who joins the master in this adventure which tours the mystical Stone Age sites around England and Scotland. In the end, well, lets just say there's a sequel coming soon (The God of the Hive: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes). If you are interested enough to read reviews of this updated Holmes, you know the basics of the Holmes legend (and thanks to the latest movie iteration can't help but picture Holmes as Robert Downey, Jr.). What makes the King extensions read-worthy: 1). Elementally not Doctor Watson. Russell is young, energetic, learned in theology (a helpful skiill in this adventure), not susceptible to drug use,--and female. In a word, most everything that Holmes and Watson are not, and thus provides companionship, challenges, and contributions to the mystery resolution that Watson can not. While she clearly loves Holmes as a husband and friend, and respects him as a detective, her voice is not that of the awestruck Watson serving a master, but a loving equal. She's a strong and attractive woman in every way. 2). Holmes outside his element. We see Holmes, with Russell about, as not just a calculating automaton, but as a fully-engaged human being who must act as a husband and lover. This expands Holmes by forcing him out of his "comfort zone", a well-worn cliche most appropriate here because of how well-worn was that single-minded path of mental exercise at the beck and call of crime detection. He is also older now, and has obligations (without giving way plot, it is safe to say these way heavily in this story) and limitations he never had before as a younger single man. 3). The world after war--Holmes is also out of his element as the stories move forward into the mid 1920's. Cars and telephones are no longer oddities, but common place tools in the detective's kit, and it is interesting to see Holmes and Russell use them. Airplanes are still a novelty, but figure heavily in this story. And the cultural landscape has changed--the Great War has shaped society, politics, the economy, demographics, and relationships--including Holmes's own. Modern extensions of the Holmes legend are a popular sub-genre in the mystery section, and popular updates like this might help fuel the sometimes unhealthy obsession Holmes fans have with the character. That's not King's fault, and this story is certainly worth reading--especially in preparation for the coming sequel which I am reading now after finishing this one. Check my review of that book, coming soon.

Worth The Price

Being a thrifty soul, it's rare that I indulge in a hardback book but for anything by Laurie R. King, I'm happy to plunk down my cash as soon as the hardcover is out - I can't wait for a paperback edition! Her characters are complex, quirky, humorous, intelligent, and her books are totally addictive. I've read every single thing Ms. King has written and I never tire of them. The Language of Bees doesn't disappoint, it has believable characters, great writing, and a mystery that will keep you guessing.

Thoroughly engrossing!

I got very little done today, because I was far too busy devouring the latest installment of Holmes' and Russell's adventures. Laurie R. King, after developing Mary Russell's past and vulnerabilities (and strength!) in _Locked Rooms_, undertakes a similar sort of character development for Holmes himself. I'm almost surprised that I enjoyed it so much. I'm not a Holmes purist, but even to me, this seemed like a risky gambit -- it has so much potential to change his character ... but I should not have been worried. What King accomplishes makes the character of Sherlock Holmes more richly complex, and in the course of doing so, provides a chilling mystery, of a different sort than has been featured in the earlier volumes of the series. If I'm vague, it's only that I'm trying to avoid spoilers. In this volume, readers are treated to more Mycroft (a treat!), Russell solving a different sort of mystery than usual, and a case involving an Aleister Crowleyesque cult. I felt as though there was a more meditative cast to parts of the book, which is to say that readers see Russell musing over human error, and forgiveness, and the ability to move past human error, and loneliness, a little more than in earlier entries of the series. But the book isn't dominated by these musings -- they are skillfully woven into the action. I was satisfied by the ending, despite the fact that the last words are "to be continued...". Sometimes novels that end with cliffhangers feel like half-books that were only published accidentally. _The Language of Bees_ is unquestionably a whole book, and one that I will no doubt read again, while waiting for the sequel. I only wish I knew when the sequel was due to be published!