The Language of Bees: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

I have read all of the short stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes in the Strand, I have seen every movie that I could find about Holmes, I have read other author's that have written about Holmes, and I even countinue to watch the British T.V. series about Sherlock Holmes...needless to say I am a Holmes Buff, and I can pick out a phony in a second (in my eyes a phony is someone that writes about Holmes but has not done their home work about him and his manorizisms)...
Laurie King should be considered the reincarnated Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!!!
Laurie hits the essence of Sherlock Holmes out of the park, and it feels as though I am listening to Doyle tell new stories about Holmes and his new apprentice.
These audiobooks are great whether you are a Holmes reader or not and I highly recommend this story and any others written by Laurie King to anyone that loves mystery, suspense, and a little brain work also!

I have read or listened to all the Mary Russell books and have enjoyed them all. I knew from other reviewers that this book was 'to be continued' so that didn't worry me. I fully enjoyed the story and the details. I find the pace very calming and didn't feel that there was too much padding. I think the narrator did a great job with the voices and accents of the characters. I find her voice quite melodic and a pleasure to listen to. Enjoy the details for what they reveal about life at the time. If you want a face paced action adventure story this is not for you but if you fancy a well reasoned mystery with a lot of insight into life in Britain in the 1920s then give it a go. I will certainly listen to part 2 when it becomes available.

Yet another excellent Mary Russell novel. The pace, tension and suspense of this installment in the series comes close to equaling the edge of your seat reading contained in her stand alone novel "Folly".
Some have complained about the post script, but if you follow the author, this is not a surprise and was planned for.

I love Laurie R. King, and particularly this series, but for the first time I wasn't able to get into one of her books. It was interesting, and any time spent with Russell and Holmes can't possibly be a waste, but this time I thought the plot was a bit overly melodramatic. At least the reading was. Jenny Sterlin (who is normally fantastic) read sooooo slowly, with so many pauses, that I felt myself getting frustrated.
She conveyed none of the action. What should have gone off like a rifle shot, instead felt like a slowly filling balloon. I have to wonder if I wouldn't have enjoyed it more if I had read it myself. (FYI: I did just finish listening to O'Jerusalem, which was fantastic -- so perhaps it's just the comparison that affects my opinion.) Love to know what you think.

This novel is a bit odd. For one thing, it seems to be only half a story [and indeed, Mrs. King is writing what seems to be the sequel at present]. Secondly, it is really a Mary Russell novel with Sherlock Holmes a secondary character, and lastly, once again, and, I think, once too often, Mrs. King delves into the world of theological irrationality. I personally find the interactions between Holmes and Russell to be the most interesting aspect of their books, and it's largely missing here. Also, I found myself disappointed by the use of "chase" tactics to add suspense to the story [don't want to give too much away] instead of tighter plotting.

Jenny Sterlin, as usual, does an excellent job of narration; indeed, her effort is what made me give this 4 instead of 3 stars.

I am a L.R.King fan and before joining Audible had read all of her books save this one. Since I have read all those books silently it was a real novelty to be able to hear the voices of the by-now very familiar characters and remarkable how well they matched the ones I have heard in my head.

I had no problem with the scarcity of Holmes; to me this whole series has really been about Mary Russell all along, Holmes being more of a prop. And since his was about the only voice I didn't care for every much I minded it even less. Well, his and Estelle's and the American pilot's....but none were irritatingly bad; in the plethora of voices the reader did that's a pretty good success rate.

The reader was excellent; I am hoping when the second part of this book comes out she reads it as well; am looking forward to it.

but I hope the next one in the series picks up the pace a bit. While I love to enter a completely furnished and populated 'world', these last few Mary books are tedious. The mystery parts are overshadowed by the narrative and that is not acceptable!

There was a long time in setting up the plot, but once the game was set afoot, it was worth the time spent in the set-up. If you like British Mysteries you will want to listen to this. If Sherlock is akin to Superman then his wife is surely Supergirl.

Listening to the first 9 novels in this series was my summer 2009 backyard treat. Lang. of Bees is not the strongest in the series --I agree with comments in previous reviews-- so I almost rated it lower, but it's still great listening compared to other light fiction. HOWEVER, had I known the novel was a "part 1," I would have waited for part 2 before starting it. By 2010, I will have lost interest.

I've read all the previous Mary Russell novels, but I just couldn't induce myself to finish this one; ennui was overpowering. To my mind, the quality of both the writing and the plotting has deteriorated with each new book. Please... not another crazy religion. No more endless boring discourse on Hebraic minutiae. Annoyingly, Mycroft Holmes is all over the place in this one, not as a genuine character but basically as a shortcut for the author to provide things for Sherlock and Mary. By making things oh so easy for them, drama is garrotted. The narrator does a creditable job on the English characters, but tortures French accents to death. Maybe the ending made the beginning worthwhile, but I didn't stick around to find out.