Deductive Reasoning and Bees

Finally, my new Mary Russell (Laurie R. King) came in from the library and I was so thrilled I devoured it all in one sitting, pretty much. A period of extensive waiting time during the afternoon helped as well.

For those who don't know, Laurie R. King is an American writer who has imagined Sherlock Holmes' life after the end of the Conan Doyle stories. What did Sherlock do in the 1920's? In His Last Bow, a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. John Watson indicates that Sherlock has retired to the countryside, where he divides his time between "philosophy and agriculture". In the story His Last Bow, collected in that volume, Dr. Watson learns that Sherlock has retired to study bees and in fact completed a monograph on them called Practical Handbook on Bee Culture with Some Observations on the Segregation of the Queen.

This is where Ms. King begins her study of Sherlock in the novel The Beekeepers' Apprentice. Sherlock has retired to the Sussex downs with his housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson. It is there that he meets Mary Russell, the narrator of the stories, and a young woman with an intellect to rival Holmes' own. This is where their partnership begins.

It continues through several books located both in England and abroad as the characters look into many varied mysteries - some taken from the Conan Doyle canon, and some from their own lives. The mysteries are fast-paced and exciting and as intricately plotted as anything Conan Doyle ever did in his day. It is a pleasure watching the smooth and quick intelligence of our two protagonists as they fight crime.

The most recent book (barring the one I just read) was The Language of Bees. I was a little disappointed with it when, as I approached the end, no solution seemed to present itself. I was surprised to discover that it was a cliff-hanger and so awaited the publication of the sequel with anticipation. Fortunately, The God of the Hive is excellent. Ensure two things before you have read this book. First, have read The Language of Bees very recently. (Presumably one would have read the other books in the series prior as well and I do recommend reading them all in a row. A working knowledge of the series is necessary - the books do interconnect and cannot really be read as stand-alone novels.) Second, be sure that you have a clear afternoon or two to devote to the book.

I will not go into specifics here because I know some of my readers will have not yet read the book! (Those that have are welcome to leave their opinions in the comments.) However, it is an interesting and exciting novel. Ms. King draws you deeply into the world she creates and it is easy to get lost in it. The mystery is deftly unraveled over the course of the novel without being rushed - the mystery does unwind over the course of two books, after all. The ending is interesting. I am not sure that I liked it - I did not dislike it but I am waiting for the next book. There have been major changes in the lives of these characters and the fallout was not adequately discussed in this book. I think what is needed next is a nice, at-home mystery (meaning not something with international dimensions, like a lot of the recent mysteries) where the reader can see how the fallout of the events of The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive have affected the characters and their relationship to one another.

For those of you who are book buyers (as opposed to me, who is usually just a reader), I definitely recommend purchasing the Picador paperback editions. The covers are beautiful stained-glass renderings of images drawn from the novel. They are a lovely addition to any mystery shelf.