The Beekeeper's Apprentice - Mary Russell, Bk 1
Author: Laurie R. King

Subtitle: On The Segregation of the Queen. — What would happen if Sherlock Holmes, a perfect man of the Victorian age--pompous, smug, and misogynistic--were to come face to face with a twentieth-century female? If she grew to be a partner worthy of his great talents? In 1914, a young woman named Mary Russell meets a retired beekeeper on the Sussex Downs. His name is Sherlock Holmes. And although he may have all the Victorian "flaws" listed above, the Great Detective is no fool, and can spot a fellow intellect even in a fifteen-year-old woman. So, at first informally, then consciously, he takes Mary Russell as his apprentice. They work on a few small local cases, then on a larger and more urgent investigation, which ends successfully. All the time, Mary is developing as a detective in her own right, with the benefit of the knowledge and experience of her mentor and, increasingly, friend. And then the sky opens on them, and they find themselves the targets of a slippery, murderous, and apparently all-knowing adversary. Together they devise a plan to trap their enemy--a plan that may save their lives but may also kill off their relationship. This is not a "Sherlock Holmes" story. It is the story of a modern young woman who comes to know and work with Holmes, the story of young woman coming to terms with herself and with this older man who embodies the age that is past.

It is 1915, a year into the Great War, when young 15-year-old Mary Russell literally stumbles into a retired Sherlock Holmes who is busy studying bees in Sussex Downs. Thus begins the friendship and apprenticeship of Mary to the great Sherlock Holmes. You see, Mary seems to be the equal in intellect to Holmes and thus becomes a very suitable partner for him who can actually help him in any cases he may get involved with in his retirement. This of course is in contradiction to Dr. Watson, who was Holmes chronicler but only participated in his cases to a very minor extent.

So this is the first of a series of books featuring Russell and Holmes. I actually read another one of these several years ago, The Moor, which I remember enjoying but don't remember any of the details of the story. This one actually covers about four years from 1915 thru 1919 with Mary waiting patiently to come of age and receive her inheritance. In the meantime, she becomes fast friends with Holmes and actually works with him on his cases. She is instrumental in rescuing a young girl who has been kidnapped and then comes someone who is out to kill both Holmes and Russell as well as Dr. Watson. But who is this fiendish person who starts out by bombing Holmes' beehives and then sets a bomb for Mary in her rooms at Oxford? And what is the motivation?

I rather enjoyed this Holmes pastiche and I have a few others in the series that I look forward to reading.

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7/25/19: Adding to the Surprise Paperback Bookbox. Enjoy!

took from surprise paperback bookbox

I found this to be a fun read

releasing at the Little Library in Aloha