1915. The great detective Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honey bees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes - and match him wit for wit.
Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator's daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary - a bomber who has set tripwires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership.
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I was fifteen when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and nearly stepped on him.- CHAPTER ONE, TWO SHABBY FIGURES
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(@AllisonandBusby, 27 October 2010, e-book, 370 pages, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveInc, #POPSUGARReadingChallenge, a book you should have read in high school)
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I really enjoyed The Beekeeper's Apprentice, a bite more than some of the actual Holmes books and stories. Mary is a great character, the perfect opposite of Holmes. I loved the way their relationship develops across the book as they grow close and he starts to trust her more and more. The book briefly covers a few cases they solve together but the main thread is the mad bomber who wants them both dead. The revelation of the bomber's identity in the final pages is perfectly executed. This is a fun read but quite dark as well. I thought it was great and would recommend it.
