THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE

Many have used Holmes's compelling character since he sprang from Doyle's imagination. King's pairing of him with a young female sleuth named Mary is brilliant and effective. The reader becomes immediately caught up in the adventure, which is told in the first person. Holmes trains Mary to use his uncanny methods of detection in a saga that moves across time and culture. The multitude of disguises the duo adopts hands a real challenge to the narrator. Sterlin is wonderful; each character sounds perfect, and the text of the story flows easily. King imbues Holmes with the emotional life that Doyle ignored, and Sterlin is believable even to those familiar with the "original" Holmes. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]