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Oct 26, 2017Brontina66 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The reason why I gave this book a "good" rating is the obviously great amount of work and research that the author has done. There is a clear attempt to re-create a true "Sherlock Holmes" atmosphere and the addition of a woman sleuth is certainly welcome - at least for me. I have always thought that Conan Doyle's story - although intriguing and captivating - were a bit, well, patriarchal. There didn't seem to be much room for intelligent women in Baker Street, but this is just my opinion. "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" introduces a pleasant, funny character in Mary Russell and the bantering between her and Holmes is certainly entertaining. All this said, however, I found some parts of the story a bit strained. First of all, that fact that Mary is only 15. She is an independent minded young woman, true, but I really doubt that a Victorian teenager would have been able to spend all that time alone with an older man without any scandal or at least concern. However, we are required to suspend our disbelief, right? Then, overall, I didn't really have the impression that Mary (or Holmes, for that matter) were the great brilliant minds that we (or at least I) expected them to be. Sometimes, they both sounded rather obvious. However, the book was entertaining, well-structured, well-researched and I like the idea of a feminine perspective, so I certainly recommend it.