This book has been a great listening experience. Thanks to the author and the publisher for bringing this book to life.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the early read/listen. Enjoyed reading about all the characters in this story. Narrator did a great job telling the story and giving each character their own voice. Will recommend.

Beautifully narrated. Interesting premises.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional superstar, Sherlock Holmes meets one of the most renowned detectives of the era, Scottish-American Allan J. Pinkerton, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.

Pinkerton was then head of the Union Intelligence Services, under his Commander-in-Chief, President Abraham Lincoln, when a visiting English teen, finds himself involved with his heroes in a meeting of sleuths across the pond...

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I really enjoyed this story a lot! The narrator did a great job and I loved how the author wrote. Highly recommend for all Sherlock fans out there.

I struggled to follow this one on audio - though I wanted so much to love it as I love Sherlock Holmes. I think it may be better - at least for me - as a novel to read.

What more could a book lover want than a story about Sherlock Holmes and Abraham Lincoln?
John Watson is sent a request to come and help his old friend Sherlock Holmes, who supposedly had fallen off the wagon of his Morphine/Cocaine addiction. With the request was a manuscript, written by Holmes, that explained his true upbringing and his first case before becoming the world's most famous detective.

This very long book, which I listened to as an Audiobook, is actually three stories.
Holmes' very first case and his path crossing with that of our greatest President, the appearance of an old nemesis' son, come to get vengeance and the end. The death of Sherlock Holmes.

As a young man, and before he took the name Sherlock, Holmes was sent to America to work at the Dupont labs in Delaware to help create gunpowder. From that simple request, he becomes involved in the workings of the Civil War and moves between the pages of history like a mist. Witness to the assassination, assisted in the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, and to see the end of the war as the real human joy brought from the Emancipation Proclamation.

There is no finer tale than one that mixes fiction with real history and Jeffery Matthews does an amazing job recreating not just the feel and meter of an original Sherlock Holmes novel, but a seamless mix of major moments of American history into his lineage.

I'll admit the story is long. As an audiobook, it is over 18 hours. But I remember from my early years when I read the Holmes novels, Sherlock talks a LOT! And again Mathews stays true. He takes you into the mystery, the spends as much time as Author Conon Doyle did, to explain how the resolution was found. Not a minute wasted. Every word made this a gem of a book and will stay in my mind as one of the best I've read this year, or will read this year.

Thomas Judd, the narrator, is excellent. His change from one character to another is never messy or hard to follow. As is his change from the Queen's English to American English.

I learned a lot listening to this, much that will stay with me long after now. Thank you Mr. Matthews for doing what I had hoped for. You made Sherlock Holmes human and approachable. Now I must go and tell the bees.

Thanks to @Netgalley, East Dean Press, Thomas Judd, and J. Lawrence Matthews for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion

One Must Tell The Bees by J. Lawrence Matthews

This story twists us through a tale of Sherlock Holmes modest beginning and how he goes to America in the final year of the Civil War. Holmes meets some of the most talked about important people of the time such as Abe Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. This is a historical fiction book that gives a different spin of Sherlock Holmes who Sir Arthur Conan Doyle so eloquently wrote about. In this version it seems Holmes never stops talking he tells a story about himself and tales of his and Watsons many adventures. This story is written into a manuscript from Holmes point of view of their adventures together. He let's Watson know that Watson's version of the adventures where different so he berates Watson through his story telling in the manuscript.

The narrator did an amazing job bringing the Characters to life in the story. You can tell when characters change the change in voices made it easy to follow along who was talking. I really felt like Matthews got the history parts right and he brought back a beloved character in Shelock Holmes and Watson. This story felt like a continuation of what Doyle wrote even though Doyle did give little bits and pieces of Holmes humble beginning and Matthews took it further to entertain the reader with this version in America.

I like that the book had historical facts right but also thought that the book dragged on and some things could of been left out to shorten the story. I did enjoy learning about the Bees but felt like this could of been left out of the book. I also like that this book was a story within a story. The cases that Holmes worked on in America and Watson along with Holmes reuniting in America was enough of a story for me.

I also enjoyed the characters in the book we get to meet Holme's brother Mycroft and a slave named Abraham who followed along with Holmes in America. This story was believable and felt as a continuation of Holmes and Watsons adventures. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history and Civil War time period as well as Sherlock Holmes fans. I gave this book 4 stars.

I want to thank Netgalley for the free audiobook for an honest review.

I finished this book yesterday and still can’t quite decide what I think about it. It was way too long as many have said. It really could have been two books. I still can’t buy the background of the Holmes brothers and the part that took place in America was a bit strange. I did not really need a Civil War history lesson.
I am a big fan of the canon and of some of the pastiches. This was obviously a one-off because the ending would not lead to any other books. I think it was 3.5 stars but will round up to four. In future I will pay more attention to how long an audiobook is before I request it.
Narration was fine with just a few mispronunciations.
Thanks to Netgalley.

I enjoyed this immensely and was content to listen to it in the evenings while I puttered around my house and did chores or cooked dinner. It has to be said, however, that I think you really have to enjoy the Sherlock Holmes canon to really find this fascinating. I am a long-time Sherlock Holmes fan and I devour any instance of the deerstalker hat wearing genius, so this felt like it was made for me. Is it long? Oh, yes. Is it worth it? Also yes!

The narrator was enjoyable and I found the voice acting engaging. It had a nice tone and flow and held my interest. If you're a fan of Sherlock, then you want to check out this entirely new view of the sleuth.

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to One Must Tell The Bees by J Lawrence Matthews!

I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, and as I listened to this audiobook I pictured both of these actors bantering back and forth which made it all the more enjoyable.
Thomas Judd, the narrator, was excellent as he brought the pages of this novel to life for me. There was no confusion as to which character was speaking and new chapters were announced.

Placing Holmes into the narrative of the end of the Civil War and the death of Abraham Lincoln was a unique idea and I found it to be captivating. History lessons of the Civil War as well as the origins of Sherlock and his brother, Mycroft, and their early life history brought much entertainment to this reading.

Although I did find the audiobook to be very long, that does not take away from the fine writing and storytelling of Matthews. If it were to be broken down into 2 books, I would say that both would deserve 4.5 stars. Well done, Matthews, as Sherlock would say! Looking forward to more!

Thank you to NetGalley, East Dean Press, and the author for allowing me an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Overall my comments echo those of previous reviews. I enjoy the narrator of the storyline seems interesting, but extremely verbose and long-winded. Perhaps I'm the wrong audience to give a positive review.

I did not finish reading One Must Tell the Bees, so my review is not a complete analysis. The premise of the novel was very interesting and in time I may revisit the book to finish reading it. But it was too long to listen to as an audiobook and I often found myself getting distracted in my thoughts. Hopefully one day I’ll get to read the full novel.

It's not so much that this book is really long, it felt so forced and contrived trying to fit the 'Sherlock Holmes mold'. It does so successfully, but as a reader, I was always aware of the author's efforts. This best feels little a group of short stories (cases) carefully strung together to create a longer work. Yet, I never discovered the connection that prevented it from being broken up in to several shorter books.

I love biographies and historical fiction. I thought the author, J. Lawrence Matthews, did a great job capturing the period, time and atmosphere. For me, the most compelling character was Abraham, and I really could have used more focus on him. Instead, I felt a 'wink- wink' nod to the storyline of tracking John Wilkes Booth, never buying the scenario. I also found the bee storyline never worked or felt genuine to me. There were points that I wasn't sure where it was going and feared it would never end.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4472325434

I probably should have stayed far away from this book, as I Know that I am a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s version of Sherlock Holmes megafan. I didn’t, and so I didn’t truly vibe with this new, ambitious tale of transcontinental adventure. I am sure that so many others will be delighted to read it, though. It was certainly well-written, but the artistic license taken wasn’t my cup of tea.

Sherlock Holmes' alternate backstory . . . in the United States . . . with Abe Lincoln . . . YES, YES, and YES! The author nailed the style of the early Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle while offering a completely different evolution story for the well-known character. Doyle doled out vague tidbits of his Sherlock's backstory, leaving a vast garden for Matthews to rework and reap. His Sherlock hails from much humbler beginnings that he has intentionally hidden to keep up his well-fabricated image.

The story takes place when Sherlock is just a teen on a trip abroad to the United States. On the trip, he meets his hero, Allan Pinkerton, as well as Abraham and Mary Lincoln and their young son, and is pressed into service solving his first case at Lincoln's behest. It really is an over-the-top whale story of an adventure for the unassuming teenager, but since it's Sherlock Holmes we're talking about, it just works.

I really felt like I was reading Arthur Conan Doyle. It was that good and that true to the character. The setting, Civil War America, was a really nice touch and added a lot. I feel it needed the unique setting to add something new to the canon. I love reading different Holmes spin-offs and appreciate when they add a new take on the stories. Since this book felt so true to the original Holmes, the setting and the new backstory were needed to put a unique stamp on the work.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and I need to say that the narrator was such a good fit for this story. The sound quality was excellent and the narrator, Thomas Judd, was everything I wanted as Sherlock Holmes. He just had the deep, rich, cultured voice I expect the character to have. I've heard him before in Joseph Delaney's Starblade Chronicles series and really liked him in those as well. I'm definitely going to look for more audiobooks with this narrator.

I would highly recommend the book and I'm glad I got a chance to listen to the audiobook version because the performance was perfect and brought the story to a new level.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a fairly interesting tale. I found the story a bit confusing though, maybe because I was listening to it.
The famous Sherlock Holmes befriends Abraham Lincoln, and also takes up beekeeping.

4.5 Stars
At times I had to pause the audiobook and google whether what was being said was fact or historical fiction. After listening to the story I want to read more works that involve Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I also loved the narration of the book. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review the book.

One Must Tell The Bees is a funny, clever, thought provoking story that carries you back in time, from London to the USA and back. Through the civil war and the death of a beloved president. History buffs, murder thrill seekers, Sherlock Holmes fans, Abraham Lincoln revelers and general knowledge readers will love this book. Questions pop up in the beginning and you think the story line was lost, but it comes together in the end. Solve many small crimes, and a few big ones, you will not suspect or guess the truth. Highly recommend this book!!

Listened to the audiobook version. At 19.5 HOURS!, its a bit long. I'm not a civil war buff and I'm not a Sherlock Holmes aficionado, if you were ... you would probably really appreciate the amount of detail that went into One Must Tell the Bees. The concept of Sherlock Holmes first detective work being tracking down John Wilkes Booth was a creative endeavor.

I have been having the feeling that I don't read enough books by male authors so I started prioritizing some in my reading life. There is definitely a different feel to a book by a male author.

Opting for 4 stars instead of 5 because it was a bit too long.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jeffrey Lawrence Matthews the author, the narrator Thomas Judd (who did an awesome job singing There is a Balm in Gilead!) and the publisher Books Fluent. This honest review is in exchange for the opportunity to listen to the advance "read" copy of the audio.

<i>One Must Tell the Bees</i> was an interesting story that tells of Sherlock Holmes as a young adult, sent to the U.S. during the Civil War, and as an old man, living out the final years of his life in a quiet town. John Watson receives a letter from his friend Sherlock that he has come to the conclusion that he is again addicted to opium, as well as a manuscript of Sherlock’s younger life that he had never shared before. Watson rushes to his friend’s aid, reading the manuscript as he travels. In the manuscript, Holmes recounts how he was sent to America to work in the Dupont gunpowder factory, came to be Tad Lincoln’s companion the night his father was shot, and was involved in the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth.

The book alternates between Sherlock’s adventures as a young man in America and Watson rushing to his friend’s aid, with of course intrigue happening along the way. I am sad to say that I have never actually read a Sherlock Holmes novel before, only being aware of him through popular culture. However, this book definitely makes me want to go back and read the original Sherlock Holmes stories! The book had a slow pace but was thoroughly engaging. Thomas Judd did a fabulous job narrating the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book.