The Language of Bees: A Mary Russell Novel

This latest addition to the ‘Mary Russell’ story answers a few questions and poses many more. The author explains, by way of an off-hand comment, the appearance of Mrs. Turner in place of Mrs. Hudson in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” She also clears up the presence of Holmes “...in a laboratory at Montpelier...” as mentioned in “The Empty House” and casually passes along the fact that her husband was the detective cited in The Art of Detection. On the other hand, this tale introduces a mad murderer who leaves blood and bodies in the old, sacred places on days dedicated to the old gods and brings new intensity to the meaning of family.Both Holmes and Russell are forced to examine their pasts and their earlier mistakes and omissions and both must face the possibility of bloodshed within the family. This is not a gentle novel, nor is it a look at ‘family values.’ It is a mystery of blood and madness that binds the two more firmly together, both as professionals and as husband and wife.This tale begins when Holmes and Russell return to the Downs after their trip around the world that started with the search for Kimball O’Hara in The Game and ended with their departure after Locked Rooms (with a side venture through The Art of Detection, as noted.) Travel-weary and over-heated, they arrive home to find an unexpected guest from the past and an absent Mrs. Hudson as well as a small mystery. Needless to say, the mystery grows, the guest disppears and the travel must continue.New characters wander in and out and old characters toss in their penny’s worth and disappear. Mary and Holmes approach the problems, each from their own perspectives and meet unexpectedly in the strangest places. Mycroft’s rooms are raided by Lestrade and Mary and Sherlock are placed on the ‘wanted’ list, while the odd tourist or farm animal is ritually killed and their blood sprinkled on the Old Stones. Over all looms the possibility of unspeakable tragedy and the loss of a hive on the Downs provides a leit motif for the rest of the tale. It is a worrisome mystery as well as a tale of tragedy and hope that ends in even more questions along with the possibility of a bright future. Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, December, 2009.