A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
Paperback, 464 pages
Published April 27, 2010 by Bantam.
The Language of Bees is a 2009 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Ninth in King's Mary Russell series, the story features detectives Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow soon after those found in King's preceding novel, Locked Rooms.
I was severely disappointed in this book. It took nearly a year for me to actually finish it, even though there was a large gap of no reading in there. I just don't like this series when Russell and Holmes are separated. Which doesn't bode well for the next book. The writing was still high caliber, I just didn't like the story.
I love the Mary Russell books madly. I read this in one day � which is foolish, of course. I should have slowed down to savor it. If you haven't read any of these, start with the first, 'The Beekeeper's Apprentice'. A mostly retired Sherlock Holmes, living in the country and keeping bees, takes the young Mary as his apprentice. She's smart, bitter, unconventional. This one has the usual elements. The evil doers are defeated by a combination of help from Mycroft, clever disguises, efficient martial arts, and brilliant analysis. Mary's scholarly element is brought in, as usual, with a trip to the university to pick the brains of a scholar.
