Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

As many have said before - this is long. Too long. I would probably give this a 3.5

Extremely well done from the storyline and the explanation of many of Sherlock Holmes' mysteries - where he came from, where did he get his start, and what happened to Sherlock after his last case. Intertwined in all of this is his experiences in the United States during one of the most tumultuous times in history and surrounded by major events and figures.

Ultimately I felt there were just a few too many stories intertwined.

Regarding the audio : excellent. The voices were enjoyable, clear and entertaining.

Worth reading, or listening.

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC.
It truly was interesting in a long dragged out kind of way. It was interesting the different pov of Sherlock Holmes but it could have been a more compact, concise way of doing it.

Really enjoyed this book. The cross between the past and the present was well done. Great narration.

One Must Tell The Bees by J. Lawrence Matthews (Author), Thomas Judd (Narrator )

One Must Tell the Bees is a beautifully narrated historic fiction audiobook. Sherlock Holmes is inserted into the last year of the Civil War in America, rubbing elbows with noted figures of history. In a final manuscript that he writes fifty years later, in order to reveal truths that he could not or would not reveal earlier, Holmes is ready to come clean and explain his real beginnings, to Dr. Watson. And explain he does, as he goes on and on and on. This version of Sherlock Holmes, does not stop talking, all the while berating Watson for the way he wrote the stories of their adventures. I can assure you, if this Sherlock Holmes had written his own adventures, there would not have been enough paper to print the books.

The voices of Watson and Sherlock fit so well and I did enjoy listening to them except I think that if hours had been cut out of this story it would be more interesting. Sherlock talks endlessly and goes into such detail on every little thing. Who knew he was so involved in Abraham Lincoln's last days! Now fifty years later it all comes gushing out, proving to me what a good idea it was that the adventures of Holmes and Watson were told through the filter of Watson's writings. Clearly Holmes does not know how to get to a point. Bless poor Watson, when Holmes is actually telling parts of the story in person, he's admonished for asking questions. There is no cutting off Holmes, as he meanders through his memories.

I enjoyed learning about bees from Holmes and we learn where he was first introduced to beekeeping. Through this story we learn that many of the things we know about Holmes came from his time in America. We learn how he came about his name and how he learned to play the violin. We learn how he became such an expert in chemistry and we also learn more about his relationship with his older brother. We also learn about his last days, as we spend them with him once Watson arrives at the place Holmes has been living. All good things but it's the details that weigh this story down, as if the teller loses focus and we are swamped with such an information overload that I just wanted Sherlock to stop talking. The story is interesting but it could have been much, much better with heavy editing, in my opinion.

Thank you to East Dean Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

One Must Tell the Bees by J Lawrence Matthews is a Sherlock Holmes/John Watson mystery in two parts: one a memoir written by Holmes about this time in the United States during the Civil War and his association with Edwin Stanton, the Minister of War; and the other a mystery contemporary to his time, 1918, and featuring all Holmes' enthusiast's favorites. The memoir was a historical digest, a little on the boring side but outlining people in Holmes' life who had the most influence on him, and his adventures, as well as his opinions on the institution of slavery and how it originated. The second is a story, much like some others, which takes place after Holmes' retirement from detecting and during his time as a beekeeper. Watson has sold his practice but still backs up the young friend to who purchased his practice. He has just come from a difficult birth, which had taken, all night, and is about to relax when his wife points out an envelope for him from his friend, Sherlock Holmes. The letter reveals Holmes is once more in the clutches of an opiate, much worse than the others, and requests Watson's presence. He has also included a manuscript (the memoir mentioned), a map with his house, circled, and a train schedule, with the morning train circled. Odd. While he is napping on the train, he awakens to find a murder has taken place. Putting on his Holmes' hat, he points out the clues to the inspector and starts off walking to Holmes' cottage. Along the way a kindly young Frenchman gives him a ride. It's not too long before Holmes starts putting all the clues together and predicts a murder: his. As always, he lays it all out so those of us who are regular can follow his thinking. Watson, too, of course. Matthews has a good grip of the characters of Holmes, Watson, and Mycroft. Much of Holmes' early life and childhood is explained, interestingly enough, and nearly everyone survives. In my opinion, it was overly long, and although it may have been purposeful, the Holmes memoir was boring. It did contain lots of interesting information, ironically. It was a good read and a must read for any Sherlockian who wants a comprehensive look at Holmes' life. Watson is right there; the supportive friend, and Mycroft are spending the Crown's money on Sherlock, as always. J. Lawrence Matthews does an extraordinary job of retaining Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing style. The tone and language are consistent with the original Sherlock Holmes' tales, making it virtually impossible to tell they are written by two different people, eras apart. Matthews' flawlessly weaves history and fiction together until the edge between real and not real blurs together, the fictional characters fitting the history so well it is hard to differentiate between the two. The problem here is size - and pace. Sure enough, no one would expect a high octane thriller when reading a Holmes story. And all historical fiction books have the added responsibility to explain their world to the reader. But I can't help thinking that this has been overdone here. The book I rounded down due to the pure length of the book.

I love Sherlock Holmes retellings, so I was really excited to snag this audiobook. Unfortunately, this particular version of Holmes just didn't work for me. For one thing, it's just too long. Nineteen hours? Nuh-uh. For another, while the idea that Sherlock and Mycroft were actually from dirt poor backgrounds and basically invented themselves from the ground up was both brilliant and fascinating, the execution lacked immediacy and emotional depth. I'm fine with Holmes actually being an emotional, gooey sweetheart inside a possibly nuero-atypical, traumatized shell (see Katherine Addison's Angel of the Crows) but the framing of this story just did not do that premise any favors. Also, the handling of Sherlock's observances of racism in America, while well-intentioned, felt kind of clumsy. He basically acted as if he'd never seen A Racism before, which I think we can all agree that that is just...highly unlikely? Anyway, I thought the narrator did a great job, and if you are also into Holmsiana, check it out! It may work better for you than me.