THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE by Laurie R. King

Títle: The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Series: Mary Russell Novels
Author: Laurie R. King
Year: 2007

I frowned when I read the brief at the back of the book. Teenage, orphaned, half-american girl almost outsmarting Sherlock Holmes? Sounded a bit like a fanfic to me, but I was assured that the book was great and I should read it.

So I did, and they were right: the book is really good and I came to love Mary Russell (the aforementioned teenager). It's a smart book with a plot intricate enough to keep reading but easy enough not to bore you or make you feel stupid. In my humble opinion, it's more of a suspense novel than a mistery novel: it's not about guessing who the bad guys are and whom will they kill next and why, but what smart move will they make not to be discovered.

It's very well written and features a whole lot of references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books (the original Sherlock Holmes). Unfortunately, I've not read the original saga but I know enough of them to catch the references. I do believe I would have enjoyed them better if I had read Conan Doyle's books first. I didn't like how Mary constantly diminished Watson's role, though.

I was quite content with the book until I made the fatal mistake of checking it out on the internet. I found out there are 11 sequels (soon to be more). This was, at first, exciting. I couldn't help myself and started reading a couple spoilers... and I didn't like what I read. I'm not sure now that I'll read the sequels. I'm curious as to how the author will get away with it, but it's certainly not a priority now.