Reviews

Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King

maferg01's review against another edition

5.0

This was an amazing short story that gave life to part of the 1st Mary Russell story that had not been explored but had been wondered about. I love when Holmes narrates. It was a very nice change of pace in this novella and the previous two novels to have his POV intermingled with that of Russell. It was great at this point in the series to go back to see a younger version of Russell. She was so young and vulnerable at the beginning and to find out that Holmes was contemplating suicide was a revelation. An excellent short read.

tracey_stewart's review

5.0

I do enjoy alternate angle on scenes. I like it when that sort of thing shows up as a special feature on a DVD, and it's even more fun – and I imagine much easier to accomplish – when it's a new point of view on a book. It's a hallmark of fan-fiction to take a well-known story and spin it around (and I just saw something about a book from Jacob Marley's POV). Beekeeping for Beginners is a short story-slash-novella which does just that for the beginning of [b:Beekeeper's Apprentice|91661|The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell, #1)|Laurie R. King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298438298s/91661.jpg|891863]. Why exactly was Holmes sitting out there on the downs for Mary Russell to trip over, and what did he know and what did he really think about her private life? This novella (or short story, depending on how you look at it) is a gem.

Also included with the ebook was a transcription of a Twitter interview with Mary Russell (heh) and the first two chapters of the wonderful [b:Pirate King|4768530|Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mystery, #4)|Josh Lanyon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1222641709s/4768530.jpg|4833345]. Thanks to Netgalley for the digital galley.

danapr's review against another edition

3.0

A short story about Sherlock Holmes meeting Mary Russell told from Sherlock’s perspective. This book is number 10.5 in the series and seemed like going backwards but was still entertaining and offered new information that Mary was not aware of in the first book of the series. Will be glad to get back to Mary Russell’s narration as the series continues.

cherjbb_55's review against another edition

5.0

Loved this but it just left me wanting more!

coops456's review against another edition

4.0

This is a short story, published electronically only, forming an interesting snippet for fans of King's Mary Russell series ([b:Mary Russell Collection: The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the Language of Bees, Locked Rooms, the Game|10801142|Mary Russell Collection The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the Language of Bees, Locked Rooms, the Game (Mary Russell Mystery)|Laurie R. King|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51znn8bVHdL._SL75_.jpg|15714435]).

At just £1.50 it might even be enough to entice new readers to the series.

kwheelies2495's review against another edition

3.0

Not wild about this particular Sherlock retelling. This Sherlock is older and idk I just didn’t like the writing!

alisonb's review against another edition

5.0

4.5✨’s

An extremely short story about when Sherlock and Russell first met when she was a fifteen year old child. This was a great refresher on how they began because it has been many years since I started this series and some details grow foggy.

vireogirl's review against another edition

5.0

Delightful short story. From Holmes’ perspective on how they met.

wifeslife's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

bhagestedt's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5