The Beekeeper's Apprentice

I recently finished reading a book called The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King, and really enjoyed it. I’d love to call it a discovery, but something tells me King has already been discovered by a good number of readers (she’s won at least one Edgar Award – which, in mystery novel circles, is apparently a big deal). I’ll settle for recommending the novel to anyone who hasn’t read it.

The novel, set during the later years of WWI, focuses on one Mary Russell, an Oxford student who meets the retired Sherlock Holmes, and who subsequently becomes his apprentice. The plot, which has them avoiding a series of traps laid for them by an unknown assailant, is good but almost incidental. The chief point of interest here is the relationship between Russell and Holmes, and King’s delineation of the role of women in the WWI world.

Though I have read some Holmes stories before, I am not what one could call an expert on (or even an avid fan of) Holmes literature. This book, however, is quite good, and it has made me rethink my interest in Holmes. King clearly loves the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, and has remained faithful to the original characters. By making a woman her central character, however, King has managed to find something new and interesting to say about the world of Holmes.

The book is well worth a look.