Point of View

Laurie R. King writes The Beekeeper's Apprentice entirely from the perspective of one of the two main characters—Mary Russell. In the opening chapter, Mary meets Sherlock Holmes who almost immediately recognizes that he has finally found someone worthy of becoming his apprentice. While he never actually invites her to study under him, he begins testing her almost immediately, probing her mind and her ability to solve the many puzzles he devises. Mary is a young lady, just fifteen when she is "discovered" initially by Holmes and his surprise at her age combined with her wit and reasoning power is enough to pull him out of a cycle of cocaine abuse and depression. Holmes rapidly becomes a father figure as well as a mentor to Mary, and his housekeeper Mrs. Hudson easily slips into the role of surrogate mother to the young girl who lost...