1) On the plus side: This is very well-written.

2) On the minus side: This is fan-fiction of the worst kind, the kind with a Mary-Sue original character who is the author's avatar, who is perfect and lovable and wonderful beyond all measure. The character who inspired the fan-fiction only gets the role of fawning and gushing about how wonderful the Mary-Sue character is.

I might have been able to forgive point 2 because of point 1. However, point 3 kills this one for me:

3) On the minus side: Dr. Watson. At the very heart of the Sherlock Holmes canon is his friendship with Watson. Sure, he is not as brilliant as Holmes (who is?... well, Mary Russell is, apparently), but he is a loyal and valued companion, honest, brave and full of integrity, whose friendship makes Holmes a better man. Holmes and Watson care about each other, and that is shown in the canon many times, specially at moments of danger. Here there's only room for Mary Russell, and Sherlock needs to be completely devoted to admiring how perfect Mary Russell is. There's no room for Watson in that game, so the writer gets rid of him in the worst possible way. When the author remembers him he is treated as a bumbling idiot whom Holmes and Mary Russell openly despise. Mary Russell comes across as a conceited idiot, and Holmes is so out of character that there's no way to salvage this. ( )

I am DNFing this one, as I am just not enjoying the story. The beginning showed promise for what I consider to be Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. Once the detective portion of the story begins, the cases are rather silly and some of the decisions made by Holmes seem to lack logical reasoning.

First, this is Sherlock, not beekeeping, as the cover and title, and even alternate title lead one to believe. (I tend to be a judge-a-book-by-its-cover person unless it's been recommended to me.) This is quite an old book, tho that doesn't matter as it's set in the early 20th century with Sherlock having retired to the countryside. This book is about a young woman who is equally sherlockian in her intellect, and how she becomes Sherlock's apprentice. They solve a few cases together, and we generally see them become fast friends and intellectual equals. I enjoyed the cases, they are as well done as any other Sherlock retelling, and Mary, the main character, is fun to follow around, though she does suffer from being a bit too perfect. Sherlock is also given a generous reimagining, veering away from the abrasive, neurodivergent recluse and becoming a wise kindly old man for the most part. One might imagine that's how he would be to his intellectual equal, but it's certainly a change. I was swept away in the world created here though, so I will try the next in the series. ( )

Recommended by John Fielding, friend

I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Mary Russell, a teenaged genius who matches wits and joins forces with the "retired" Sherlock Holmes. She's a character I'd like to spend more time with. The story is well-plotted, and exciting in all the right ways, but I was totally bewildered by the mechanics of the climactic scene, and that might influence my decision to carry on with this series. ( )