Set a couple of years after the end of World War II, this book takes a new look at that famed detective, Sherlock Holmes. Now 93 years old, Holmes is physically frail, walking with the aid of two canes and frequently napping. Moreover, while his wit is still sharp as ever, his memory is not. He is constantly struggling with trying to remember events which has just occurred, although his memory of long past events is fairly intact. No longer a detective, Holmes busies himself studying honeybees and homeopathic remedies. Interspersed in this narrative of the elderly Holmes struggling to fight off the effects of aging are two flashback narratives. The first is Holmes recalling a recent trip to Japan, where on search for prickly ash - a plant he believes is a homeopathic remedy, he discovers a long-lost mystery. His host's father went to England many years ago on business and never returned. The last his family ever heard of him was in a letter he sent, noting that Holmes advised him to stay on in England permanently. But Holmes cannot remember the man, despite the insistent prodding of his host. The second narrative is a case Holmes has decided to write about, despite it being about 40 years after the fact. The case involves a young couple, a glass armonica, and possible witchcraft. Holmes finds himself entranced by the young wife, an infatuation that is still with him as an elderly man. I'm a bit ambivalent on this book. I liked the structure of the book, and I think the author did a fine job of moving from narrative to narrative. However, many questions raised are never fully or satisfactorily answered. In addition, some bits of the narrative, particularly the "present" narrative, were a bit dull with the excessive level of detail given on the mundane. I most enjoyed the narrative of the old case of the glass armonica, but although Holmes states he knows the mystery's conclusion toward the beginning of the case, the reader is still left with unanswered questions. Overall, the book's themes and events are rather depressing, so definitely do not read it if you are looking for something light. However, if reading something somewhat dark does not bother you, you might enjoy this title. ( )

An okay Sherlock Holmes tale, taking place at the end of his life. In places it is quite poignant, and the theme of lost opportunities was pretty good, but overall, a bit of a boring book. ( )

A novel based on Sherlock Holmes in his 90s. Very well written.

Finished this on December 3, 2007. It took a long time for me to read, mainly because it was one of five or so books on my bedside table, and also had to compete with O and Cooking Light.

I did like the book. It was a little obtuse at times, but I need to get over needing everything whacked over my head. It was a different perspective on Holmes, Holmes The Aged. ( )

This is, in a way, a homage to the Sherlock Holmes books the way Tilting at Windmills was an homage to Don Quixote. But this one goes further beyond the character's original portrayal while still remaining recognizably the same one. Holmes is, in 1947, 92 years old, caring for his bees, as he is cared for by his housekeeper & admired by her son, who has, almost against Holmes's will, become something of a beekeeping apprentice for whom Holmes has come to care deeply. Holmes has also recently returned from a visit to a correspondent in Japan and sees there the devastation caused by the war. He is repeatedly asked to answer why deeply troubling things happen & to come to grips with the reealization that the meaning of human tragedy is much more elusive, much more difficult to solve than the mystery solving that made him famous. I'm sure this book was asking me as a reader to make far more connections than I was able to make, but I never felt that it was pretentious or that my failure as a reader diminished by appreciation for the author's ability to plumb the depths of a human soul who by his nature tended to resist such probing questions. ( )