The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King. New York: Bantam Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-553-80454-6

Hooray! Another Laurie King Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell novel! This was some of the best and most entertaining reading I’ve done all year. And in what has to be (I think) a first for this series, we get a “to be continued” at the end of the book, when we realize that the villain has escaped alive, and will undoubtedly return for a second round.

In this truly original take on the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre, we learn that Holmes has a son, now grown, hidden from his knowledge all these years by Irene Adler, the boy's mother, and the one woman that Holmes truly admired back in the original canonic tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. She also appears to be the only woman and one of the few adults, period, that proved herself to be Holmes’ intellectual equal as well, besting him in the battle of wits between them, and successfully keeping his parentage a secret from him.

Of course, we are supposed to believe that Holmes was particularly vulnerable in this particular area, misogynist that he was. That is the one (and only, in my view) serious flaw in Laurie King’s hypothesis, that Holmes would not merely treat as an equal, but actually marry a young woman 20 years his junior, which is the primary premise of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series of novels. King makes it believable enough when it happens, and I don’t find that it stretches my innate sense of disbelief when I’m actually reading her stories, only when I sit back at a distance (like now) does it seem rather unlikely.

But back to the story: Holmes’ son is naturally more than a little bitter towards his father. When he finally decides to let Holmes into his life, it is on a fairly limited basis, and only on his own terms.

But very quickly Homes and Russell become involved initially in the disappearance of their new daughter-in-law, and eventually of the son and granddaughter as well. They are apparently (or not so apparently, at least so far as Scotland Yard is concerned) caught up in a somewhat bizarre religion which involves blood sacrifices in or on various of the mystically sacred spaces around Great Britain, ancient collections of standing stones and the like.

All told, it leads to a dramatic finale, with Russell flying in horrific weather to the far north of Britain, risking her life and that of her pilot, to try and reach a specific location where she suspects another ritual death may be planned, perhaps even the death of Holmes' young granddaughter.

Some people have complained that since changing publishers, King has been pressured to up her page counts, and that as a consequence, her recent books have been too long, even plodding, at times. To that I can only say, pshaw! Who cares? To me, the longer, the better. I'm still a rabid fan, devouring every page with pleasure. Just give me more! Highly recommended.

Touchstone by Laurie King

Touchstone by Laurie King. New York: Bantam Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-553-80355-6

Ah, another novel from one of my favorite contemporary authors, Laurie King! What a pleasure it is to be caught up once again by her inimitable style and perfect touch. Touchstone is another standalone story, not part of her Martinelli or Mary Russell series. That's its only drawback, if drawback there is to be found here. Fortunately for us, a note at the end of the book informs us that Ms. King is currently at work on the next Mary Russel novel, which will be her ninth. I can't wait!

This story takes place in Great Britain, in that transitional period between the two World Wars. The coal miners are about to strike, and a general strike has been called in sympathy. Labour has the government, but could fall. A decisive clash of ideologies and interests is possible. Will England turn communist? Or fascist? Or will some middle ground of rationality be preserved?

Into this volatile mix comes FBI agent Harris Stuyvesant, seeking an itinerant bomber, a Brit who has traveled three times to the U.S. leaving bombs in his wake, one of which killed Stuyvesant's fiancée, giving him a more than slightly personal interest in the case. He has a suspect, Richard Bunsen, currently high in the strikers' council, formerly a demolition expert in the first World War. And now he suspects that Bunsen's American bombs were mere practice for his ultimate target, the top leaders of Britain, in an act intended to foment terror, and topple traditional British society into anarchy.

Tracking Bunsen takes him into the company of Laura Hurleigh, duke's daughter, and the inner circles of British aristocracy. His “in?” Bennett Grey, who grew up with the Hurleigh's, and was even engaged to Laura, until his injuries in the Great War made it impossible for him to associate with people in a normal fashion. He was almost blown up by an artillery shell, should have been killed, but instead, somehow lived, but with a new kind of sense and sensitivity. His entire nervous system and sense of consciousness was somehow turned inside out. People affect him directly and intolerably. He can read their body language, their emotions, their real thoughts behind what they say, in an almost supernatural way. And this sensitivity is like 10,000 times worse than the proverbial fingernail scratching a blackboard. It is absolutely intolerable to him, and forces him to flee to the very tip of England where he lives in virtual solitude.

Grey's sister, Sarah, works with Laura Hurleigh and Richard Bunsen. Sarah is an attractive young woman, and Harris naturally falls in love with her. All of these lines fall a bit too close for reality, but we're willing to suspend our disbelief at least a little, especially for Laurie King. She makes it all seem plausible enough, if not downright inevitable.

The plot hurries along to its dramatic and ever intensifying conclusion, but not without at least one significant twist to the plot that will most likely catch you by surprise. I've left out some of the complications, but I don't have time to list them all; how Stuyvesant gets "in" with Bennett Grey being one of them. But if you care at all for King as an author, you'll be reading the book for yourself!

As usual, highly recommended!