The Language of Bees (thoughts)

At this point, we’ve established that I’m a huge fan of Laurie King’s Mary Russell series. After I gushed about my reread of the The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, I know that I convinced several people to give the books a try. This makes me very happy! Meanwhile, King’s publicist got in touch, and she sent me a review copy of The Language of Bees, the ninth book in the series. Since the eighth book was published back in 2005, I was out of my mind excited, and both my mom and I ended up reading it within a week or two of it arriving at the house. (My mom’s really into them as well.) Then, of course, I had to wait to review it until it had been released, and then my internet died, and so now I’m reviewing it a couple months later.

I think anyone who enjoys Mary Russell will absolutely love The Language of Bees. However, it’s difficult for me to even give you an overview of the plot without giving too much away. They’re back in England, and they’re on the trail of a very intelligent killer, and a person from Holmes past is involved, and the ending is both satisfying and a complete cliff-hanger, which I didn’t think was possible. It’s become my favourite in the series, which is saying a lot, and I think the books just keep getting more and more wonderful. King had better not wait three years to publish the next volume! :)

I seriously am not sure what else to say. If you haven’t read this series yet, go get The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. Yes, it’s a mystery series, but it isn’t pigeonholed by genre. King writes incredible characters, while also coming up with entertaining plots and fun settings. Go check out the post I linked earlier to see me make a much more compelling case. ;)

I will say that I think the publisher’s summary is absolute rot. So if, like me, you read it and become concerned, don’t worry: the feel of the novel is nothing like the summary.

And with that, I think I’m done. I’ll open the floor for any questions you may have, either about The Language of Bees or the series in general. Then I’ll add them and the answers to this post, since I’m finding it difficult to elaborate without giving too much away. But I loved it to pieces, and as usual I’m in utter awe of Laurie King’s abilities! :D