BEEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS

This novella, wonderfully delivered by Robert Ian Mackenzie, fills in the blanks that led Sherlock Holmes to find the irrepressible Mary Russell, his eventual wife and partner in detection. WWI is raging, and the government considers Holmes too important to place at risk. Having been sent home to Sussex, approaching his 55th year, and suffering from ennui, Holmes notes that “any reasonable man may reach a point in his life where self-destruction becomes a door worthy of consideration.” Mackenzie offers a rational, logical Holmes, who is planning a quiet, dignified suicide. Mackenzie’s performance reveals Holmes’s delight when, instead of a colony of wild bees and a peaceful end to his life, he encounters a wild and brilliant young woman who infuses the gloomy man with new purpose. Perfectly delightful listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]