- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Bantam (28 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553804545
- ISBN-13: 978-0553804546
- Product Dimensions: 15.9 x 3.7 x 23.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 244,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Language of Bees
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Product Description
Product Description
In a case that will push their relationship to the breaking point, Mary Russell must help reverse the greatest failure of her legendary husband’s storied past—a painful and personal defeat that still has the power to sting…this time fatally.
For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve—the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes’s beloved hives.
But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a galling memory from her husband’s past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, when the promising surrealist painter had been charged with—and exonerated from—murder. Now the talented and troubled young man was enlisting their help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child.
When it comes to communal behavior, Russell has often observed that there are many kinds of madness. And before this case yields its shattering solution, she’ll come into dangerous contact with a fair number of them. From suicides at Stonehenge to a bizarre religious cult, from the demimonde of the Café Royal at the heart of Bohemian London to the dark secrets of a young woman’s past on the streets of Shanghai, Russell will find herself on the trail of a killer more dangerous than any she’s ever faced—a killer Sherlock Holmes himself may be protecting for reasons near and dear to his heart.
For Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, returning to the Sussex coast after seven months abroad was especially sweet. There was even a mystery to solve—the unexplained disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of Holmes’s beloved hives.
But the anticipated sweetness of their homecoming is quickly tempered by a galling memory from her husband’s past. Mary had met Damian Adler only once before, when the promising surrealist painter had been charged with—and exonerated from—murder. Now the talented and troubled young man was enlisting their help again, this time in a desperate search for his missing wife and child.
When it comes to communal behavior, Russell has often observed that there are many kinds of madness. And before this case yields its shattering solution, she’ll come into dangerous contact with a fair number of them. From suicides at Stonehenge to a bizarre religious cult, from the demimonde of the Café Royal at the heart of Bohemian London to the dark secrets of a young woman’s past on the streets of Shanghai, Russell will find herself on the trail of a killer more dangerous than any she’s ever faced—a killer Sherlock Holmes himself may be protecting for reasons near and dear to his heart.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Laurie R. King's books are a continuing delight. The original Holmes stories, although interesting were distinctly masculine in tone and I suspect I read them as a teenager mainly because my brothers did. The continuation of the Holmes saga with Mary Russell as his wife and partner in crime seems to lift the whole project to a new and more interesting level. It is perhaps presumptious of me to speak on his behalf but I'm sure that Conan Doyle would have approved, and if he didn't then Mrs. Hudson certainly would have. The 1920's atmosphere of this one makes a perfect background and feels completely authentic.
I would normally only want to review a book that I wished to award five stars to, but have made an exception here because this is the first of this series I have bought on Amazon and I wanted to say something about them. The reason I downgraded this particular book to four stars was the fact that it turns out to be simply part 1 of 2. That wouldn't have bothered me so much if it had been made clear in the advance publicity (Yes I know I should have read the Amazon reviews - hey ho)
If anyone is interested I have put in a product link at the bottom to a 5 star review I have just given to another good read.
Rude Awakening
I would normally only want to review a book that I wished to award five stars to, but have made an exception here because this is the first of this series I have bought on Amazon and I wanted to say something about them. The reason I downgraded this particular book to four stars was the fact that it turns out to be simply part 1 of 2. That wouldn't have bothered me so much if it had been made clear in the advance publicity (Yes I know I should have read the Amazon reviews - hey ho)
If anyone is interested I have put in a product link at the bottom to a 5 star review I have just given to another good read.
Rude Awakening
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read all of Laurie King's books in the Russell/Holmes series and this is, I suppose, a natural progression of the storyline. Some things are good and some are not. It is good to have Russell and Holmes back on Sussex/London territory and it is good to see Mycroft taking part in the story. The leap of a past relationship and offspring is a bit of a stretch. Sadly, though this story is about relationships, to me there was little between Holmes and Russell. For the most part they worked separately. I also missed Mrs. Hudson and Dr. Watson and Russell's own profession as an academic has disappeared. Good, but not the best.
Format:Paperback
Holmes and Russell return home to Sussex to discover that Laurie King has made a major addition to general Holmes canon - a son. Some might be put off by this, but that element works well. Holmes has always been a mysterious character in his personal life, concealing what emotion he feels, even in the original Conan Doyle stories.
From here the hunt for a daughter-in-law and potential grandchild lead them into the path of mysterious cult. Bodies turn up at prehistoric sites and the sacrifices that the cult alludes to might be more than merely spiritual. The Aleister Crowley style shenanigans fit well with both the Holmes stories more gothic elements and with the spirit of the mid-1920s when odd religious movements flourished (much like current 'new age' beliefs). But the book is actually somewhat lacking in atmosphere. The religious movement never develops into the ominous force it might.
Instead, the threat is contained to just one individual within the cult. The motivation for what he does remains unclear. We are told that the thoughts behind the religious movement are muddled at times and that details are fudged in terms of a greater truth - but that appears to be a good excuse to allow King to do whatever she wishes. Quotes from the religious text at the start of each chapter add some flavour but never really give any sense of what the cults and its leader's aims are. An interest in Norse myth is bad, we are told by an expert, because that means 'Ragnarok, of course' - suggesting a desire to usher in the end of the world - but the Vikings were far from the only people to believe in a final apocalypse (Christianity has its own fine and scary vision of the end of the world); why should anyone leap to that assumption? The Norse elements do not appear otherwise to be significant. It feels just a little half baked.
The problems are broader: Holmes spends much of the book out of the way investigating other aspects of the case. But Holmes is always the star turn in any book he appears in and Russell's investigation meanders somewhat. When he does appear he is often reduced to either smoking his pipe but achieving little or, alternatively, acting as something of a deus ex machina, wrapping up elements just a little too easily.
There is a lengthy sub-plot at the beginning of the book about a mysteriously failed bee-hive. One might hope that the solution of this would have some bearing on the main mystery but by the end of the book it appeared not have done. Perhaps this will be remedied in the next part, 'The God of the Hive'.
The book is entirely readable - and I will certainly go on to the next part - but it fails to completely satisfy. King's books in general do not seem to have the feeling of being a well crafted machine that some mystery stories do - a style that the original Holmes stories helped to create. That is a shame, particularly here where the story seemed to promise a lot and never totally delivered.
From here the hunt for a daughter-in-law and potential grandchild lead them into the path of mysterious cult. Bodies turn up at prehistoric sites and the sacrifices that the cult alludes to might be more than merely spiritual. The Aleister Crowley style shenanigans fit well with both the Holmes stories more gothic elements and with the spirit of the mid-1920s when odd religious movements flourished (much like current 'new age' beliefs). But the book is actually somewhat lacking in atmosphere. The religious movement never develops into the ominous force it might.
Instead, the threat is contained to just one individual within the cult. The motivation for what he does remains unclear. We are told that the thoughts behind the religious movement are muddled at times and that details are fudged in terms of a greater truth - but that appears to be a good excuse to allow King to do whatever she wishes. Quotes from the religious text at the start of each chapter add some flavour but never really give any sense of what the cults and its leader's aims are. An interest in Norse myth is bad, we are told by an expert, because that means 'Ragnarok, of course' - suggesting a desire to usher in the end of the world - but the Vikings were far from the only people to believe in a final apocalypse (Christianity has its own fine and scary vision of the end of the world); why should anyone leap to that assumption? The Norse elements do not appear otherwise to be significant. It feels just a little half baked.
The problems are broader: Holmes spends much of the book out of the way investigating other aspects of the case. But Holmes is always the star turn in any book he appears in and Russell's investigation meanders somewhat. When he does appear he is often reduced to either smoking his pipe but achieving little or, alternatively, acting as something of a deus ex machina, wrapping up elements just a little too easily.
There is a lengthy sub-plot at the beginning of the book about a mysteriously failed bee-hive. One might hope that the solution of this would have some bearing on the main mystery but by the end of the book it appeared not have done. Perhaps this will be remedied in the next part, 'The God of the Hive'.
The book is entirely readable - and I will certainly go on to the next part - but it fails to completely satisfy. King's books in general do not seem to have the feeling of being a well crafted machine that some mystery stories do - a style that the original Holmes stories helped to create. That is a shame, particularly here where the story seemed to promise a lot and never totally delivered.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sherlock mysteries
I am getting a real taste for this Author, read one while in hospital and have gone after the rest. Service from Amazon first class, aand the only reason for four stars rather than... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ralark
At last, an answer to a tantalising clue...
Ever since I read A Monstrous Regiment of Women, I've wondered about a throwaway line - (paraphrasing) when Holmes and Russell are discussing helping a young man with a drug... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jessica Hale
Bee feature
The 9th Mary Russell book, or alternatively, you could think of it as the first half of the 9th book as this one ends on a big TBC. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Michael Finn
Back in form!
"Russell and Holmes are back home in Sussex to solve the mysterious disappearance of an entire colony of bees from one of their beehives, and end-up chasing a much more mysterious... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by Giovanni Anchois
a bit below expectations
I was looking forward to this book tremendously, but I really felt let down. It began well but it takes quite a leap of faith to suddenly be presented with a previously unknown son... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by Joyce Holmes
It is only half a book
When a book ends "to be continued" you know you are only half way there. The book is merely OK - not as good as Justice Hall or Locked Rooms which were powerful and well done. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2009 by Sk Picot
Loved this book
I thought this was definately one of Laurie R Kings best(along with my personal favorite O Jerusalem). Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by L. Cameron
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