One Must Tell the Bees; Abraham Lincoln and the Final Education of Sherlock Holmes

HISTORICAL MYSTERY: This amazing story weaves fact and fiction together seamlessly; it is hard to remember that this is fiction. The bulk of Sherlock Holmes’s career is well-documented; however, this audiobook delivers a fictional account of the heartbreaking beginning and the incredible ending of Sherlock Holmes’s life. It takes listeners from England to America during the civil war and back again to England in the waning days of WWI, leaving the missing middle 50 years to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this audiobook, Holmes is instrumental in uncovering thievery at the DuPont gunpowder factory, discovering the whereabouts of John Wilkes Booth, and closing the chapter on Moriarty.

This original audiobook transports listeners directly to the civil war through conversations with Lincoln, war secretary Stanton, and a young slave named Abraham, among others. Matthews and Judd bring the era alive for listeners with vivid descriptions, keen insights, and incredible peeks into the mind of Sherlock Holmes. Even though this story was written about the past, it is still relevant today. The tension is moderate for much of the book, but it stays tight enough to hold listeners spellbound. The pace is right for this audiobook, and the story moves along beautifully. The author is masterful in closing all of the open ‘holes’—even one presented in the Forward. This audiobook is amazing!

This is a long audiobook, and the 19-hour length may be intimidating, but after the first five minutes, Thomas Judd has listeners pulled into the story, and the length no longer matters. Multiple characters are given life in this audiobook; Mr. Judd does an incredible job of keeping each one distinct. He voices men and women, southerners and northerners, rich and poor people from England, blacks and whites, and slaves and slave owners and every voice feels authentic. Beautifully rendered, Mr. Judd!!

Carey Sullivan