![]() First edition (US) | |
Author | Laurie R. King |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Mary Russell |
Genre | Detective fiction |
Publisher | Bantam Books (US) Allison & Busby (UK) |
Publication date | 2009 |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
ISBN | 0-553-80454-5 |
Preceded by | Locked Rooms |
Followed by | The God of the Hive |
The Language of Bees is a 2009 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. [1] Ninth in King's Mary Russell series, the story features detectives Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow soon after those found in King's preceding novel, Locked Rooms .[ citation needed ]
Russell and Holmes return to their home in Sussex, England, in 1924 after seven months abroad in India, Japan and California. The novel features a domestic mystery as a hive on Holmes's farm has been repeatedly swarming and a colony of bees is found to have disappeared. Action shifts, however, with the reappearance of Damian Adler, a talented young painter and emotionally disturbed veteran of World War I, first introduced in the second book in the series. Adler is Holmes' estranged son, born to Irene Adler in about 1895. The distraught Adler seeks the couple's help in locating his missing wife Yolanda and their daughter Estelle.
Russell and Holmes separate during the investigation and Russell searches out Damian's questionable past. The search involves the British practitioners of a religious cult called The Children of Lights with roots in Shanghai, China, and features locations ranging from Bohemian London to the wilds of Scotland. Russell experiences a harrowing trip by aeroplane. A series of bodies appears, some dead by suicide and others ritually sacrificed. While the climax of the novel, in an ancient circle of standing stones in Orkney, brings some plot resolution, the story continues in The God of the Hive (2010).
Laurie R. King is an American author best known for her detective fiction.
Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story "A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the most notable female characters in the Sherlock Holmes series, despite appearing in only one story. While not technically a criminal and bearing no malice towards Holmes, she outsmarts him and evades his traps. Sherlock Holmes refers to her afterwards respectfully as "the Woman".
Mary Russell is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mystery series by American author Laurie R. King. She first appears in the novel The Beekeeper's Apprentice.
Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories:
The Art of Detection is the fifth book in the Kate Martinelli series by Laurie R. King. It is preceded by Night Work. It features elements of the Sherlock Holmes character who appears in King's Mary Russell series.
A Monstrous Regiment of Women is the second book in the Mary Russell series of mystery novels by Laurie R. King.
A Letter of Mary is the third in the Mary Russell mystery series of novels by Laurie R. King. This is the first case that Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes work on together as husband and wife. The story features a cameo by Lord Peter Wimsey.
Locked Rooms is the eighth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was published in 2005. Unlike King's previous Mary Russell novels, Locked Rooms is split into 5 separate "books". The books alternate between the familiar Mary Russell first-person narrative and a third-person narrator following Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow directly that of The Game.
The Moor is the fourth book in Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King.
O Jerusalem is the fifth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King.
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Or On the Segregation of the Queen is the first book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was nominated for the Agatha best novel award and was deemed a Notable Young Adult book by the American Library Association.
The Game is the seventh book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King, which focuses on the adventures of Russell and her partner and, later, husband, an aging Sherlock Holmes.
Justice Hall is the sixth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King.
The God of the Hive is a 2010 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Tenth in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The novel begins almost immediately after the close of King's preceding novel, The Language of Bees.
Pirate King is a 2011 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Eleventh in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.
Garment of Shadows is a 2012 mystery novel by the American author Laurie R. King. The 12th in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow those of Pirate King with their old friends, Ali and Mahmoud Hazr.
Dreaming Spies is a 2015 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Thirteenth in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Although written thirteenth in sequence, the events in this book take place between those described in The Game and Locked Rooms.
The Murder of Mary Russell is a 2016 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Fourteenth in the Mary Russell series featuring married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, the novel focuses on the story of the couple's longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson.
Island of the Mad is a 2018 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Fifteenth in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow shortly after that of The Murder of Mary Russell.