Rating: 
Summary: A fun read, but hard to swallow the final mystery
Review: When I began this story, I was frankly setting myself up for a boring read. Instead, I was soon 'grabbed' by the quality of the writing and the increasing involvement of the intelligent young woman into SH's crime solving. But wasn't it quite a stretch for Moriarity's daughter to make a game out of trying to avenge her father's end at the hands of the master Holmes? Although it made for a topnotch story, it would seem that a heartbroken child would want to nail her victim ASAP. Nevertheless, I so like Laurie King's writing, that I am going to start 'A Monstrous Regiment of Women' as soon as I end this review. Cheers!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful - who wouldn't watnt to work with SHolmes?
Review: Laurie King does one better on Harriet Vane. She has her character meet, greet, work with, enjoy the mental exercise of working with SH. And she falls in love with him, and he her and treats her like an intelligent human being even if she is a woman. What a fantasy! Who wouldn't want this?
Rating:
Summary: Thank you to Laurie King for bringing Holmes back to life.
Review: I wanted to take a moment to write, really, a letter of thanks to Laurie King for this book. Since the death of Jeremy Brett, my family has mourned the death of a great character--for to us he was Sherlock Holmes. Ms. King's characterization seemed a perfect resurrection of Brett as Holmes, in all his cantankerous splendour, with his ever-present undercurrent of suppressed humanism. Ms. King, please take very good care of yourself so we can continue to enjoy your wonderful writing
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: Having recently discovered this book through the email column "Catt's Claws", I have read it three times and found it more interesting each time. This character driven book reveals human nature, the nature of intelligence, and why humans crave adventure. I adore this book and have since read everything written by Laurie R. King and have never been disappointed
Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes meets his protege in the autumn of his life.
Review: An incisive mind and a gift for detailed observation are the hallmarks of the world's most famous detective, and Scotland Yard's rescue ranger. It is no wonder that this Detective par excellence is riveted intellectually and emotionally by the chance meeting of a mere wisp of a girl ... on the cusp of womanhood. The passive, serene and peaceful existance which Sherlock has designed for his retirement years is soon jettisoned into numerous adventures that establish his young protege as equal to the task of being his star pupil in the art of detecting. Credit is due Laurie King for the artful way in which she has incorporated Mary Russell into the genre of the Holmes tradition. Bravo! and Encore
Rating:
Summary: The game's afoot when Holmes is brought back to life by King
Review: How often does a reader happen upon a book which is both literate and entertaining; a book in which style and substance are in perfect balance? No very, is the answer.
Happily, anyone who picks up a copy of Laurie King's
The Beekeeper's Apprentice will be in for just such a gratifying experience. This is a gem to be enjoyed for its charm, its respect for the language, its most accessible characters - even the ever irascible Sherlock Holmes - , and its just plain excellent story-telling. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Very good! Pulls off a tricky premise with remarkable skill.
Review: As something of a Sherlockian fundimentalist, I had serious doubts about this book. The idea of Holmes, the quintessential mysogonist, teaming up with a precocious young girl sounded more like the plot for a failed sitcom than for a serious novel. Fortunately, I was wrong. King keeps the revisionism to a minumum and shows great respect for both Conan Doyle's creations and for those of us who have come to love them. The characters read true (with even the often-maligned Watson being given his fair due) and the plot(s) are engrossing and well-reasoned. I'm just now starting on the sequel, _A Monsterous Regiment of Women_
Rating:
Summary: New, compelling addition to Sherlock Holmes lore
Review: I began this book with some trepidation. Giving Sherlock Holmes a heretofore unheard of female assistant seemed as if it might be a stretch. However, I was riveted to this book - and, later, its sequel - from beginning to end. Laurie King is a top-flight writer, who handles both plot and character well. Definitely a must-read
Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes meets his match: a new partner & a new enemy
Review: Although not Canonical, this tale fits well with the adventures
of Holmes and Watson by presenting a retired Holmes with a new challenge in the form of a young woman of kindred spirit. Holmes'
tutelage of his young protege, and the resulting friendship, lead
the pair into confrontation with Holmes' greatest and most
insidious enemy. Solving the mystery of the adversary's identity quickly becomes
more than an excercise in detection when seemingly random attacks swiftly escalate past annoyance to a truly threatening level.
Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes Fans, Rejoice!
Review: OK, I confess. I grew up on Sherlock Holmes, but hated the detective himself. As a young girl, I just couldn't stand that smug, holier-than-thou, male-chauvinistic attitude. But the stories... ah, the stories. They were intense and thoughtful, academic and surprising. And they always made me think. Sometimes I think I learned
more obscure facts about the world from those stories than from the rest of my education.
Laurie King has worked a miracle in The Beekeeper's Apprentice. She has managed to
revisit Holmes' world -- seen through the eyes of a precocious 15-year-old girl --
and recapture the magic, mystery, style, and intelligence of Conan Doyle's original stories. Best yet,
that young girl is just as infuriated by his chauvinism as I was as a youngster. The difference is that
she confronts him
about it. The treat comes in seeing a crotchety old Holmes
(20 years past retirement) forced to question and explore
some of his assumptions about the world.
But Laurie King doesn't let her story get bogged down by this part of the plot. After
all, it IS a mystery. Instead, she introduces a mysterious new villain (or is it?!),
danger, romps through the countryside, the best of Holmes' disguises, and all of our
old favorites.
If you even just LIKED Conan Doyle's Holmes stories, you'll LOVE Laurie King's. All we
can hope is that there will be a lot more to follow.
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