This homage to the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes mysteries and his famous character didn’t quite live up to the original, in that the mystery part of the story wasn’t all that clever or surprising. However, the writing was thoroughly engaging, and the character of the elderly Holmes as seen through Chabon’s eyes-past his prime and past his time-is very clever indeed.

This was a quiet, contemplative mystery regarding a missing parrot who may know some secret information. While the mystery itself was not that engaging, I did enjoy reading about Sherlock Holmes in his retirement years and how taking care of bees became a solace to him after years of detection.