The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Ratings44
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings44
Average rating3.8
Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes's pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.
Series
18 primary books24 released booksMary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is a 25-book series with 18 primary works first released in 1994 with contributions by Laurie R. King, Marcia Muller, and Bill Pronzini.
Reviews with the most likes.
This was an excellent female extension of Conan Doyle's work. I enjoyed the mystery greatly.
This was compelling enough that I let the kids stay up late so I could read the end, but lacking enough that I was ultimately a bit disappointed.
Anyone who likes Holmes and doesn't mind some tinkering with him should check it out. I think the main character is a little too much a Mary Sue, and could have used a few more realistic flaws in place of her Tragic Backstory, but just when I would think, “Mary is just too insufferable,” the author would make her look a bit foolish or awkward, and she'd become more sympathetic.
I had figured out the basics of whodunnit pretty early, and I'm not a great hand at that sort of thing, but the ride was pretty absorbing regardless. I appreciate the dual challenge of writing Holmes anew, while creating a character who's his match without being off-putting. In the end, I think Conan Doyle made the right choice to narrate through the approachable Watson, but Mary is fun in her own way too.
Sherlock Holmes, in retirement, meets a misfit teenage girl, Mary Russell, and takes her on as an apprentice. Before long they have cases to solve and things get complicated. I was skeptical about this, but I actually liked it. Mary is as much of an over the top character as Holmes in her own way, and I read the book as a kind of commentary on the original. The apprenticeship of Mary involves plenty of explanation of methods and convoluted exercises in detection (my favorite: Mary comes to visit Holmes at his cottage and finds a note that says “Find me. –SH”) I didn't like the book's dismissive attitude toward Dr. Watson and I thought Mycroft was portrayed as overly hospitable. The author has a disclaimer at the beginning saying that this is not Conan Doyle's Holmes, but I'd say he has enough in common with the original Holmes to make this a pretty satisfying entertainment.
