The Bee-Keeper's Apprentice: Book Review

Summary

This reinvisioning of Sherlock Holmes imagines a world where, upon retirement, the famed detective has become a humble country bee-keeper. It's there that he meets and partners with a highly intelligent young-woman by the name of Mary Russel. Russel teaches Holmes to respect a woman in a way he never has before while Holmes fills the void left by Russel's lost family. Together they solve cases, encounter old friends, and face new enemies.

Overview

I was skeptical about the Author's note. I'm not a huge fan of pretending the story was written by someone else. But once I got into the book itself, I liked the characters and the relationship between Russel and Holmes. I enjoyed the language but only one case involving a kidnapping made me feel any desire to read faster. I didn't care for the overall mystery, which is rather important in a mystery book. But it was enjoyable so my ranking puts it on level with other books that have made me happy.

8/10 stars * * * * * * * *

Spoilers (Highlight to read)

I didn't like having Moiarty's daughter be the villain. It wouldn't have been so bad if there'd been clues other than the person mentioning Moiarty. Because the original Moiarty didn't have a family, so it felt pulled out of nowhere. I was hoping it would be Irene Adler, or at least someone they'd mentioned previously.