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Mycroft #1
A Taste for Honey
A remarkable retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great mysteries starring the one man in England smarter than Sherlock his older brother, Mycroft. In a quiet village far from the noise of Victorian London, Sydney Silchester lives the life of a recluse, venturing out only when his stores run low. But when his honey supplier is found stung to death by her hive, the search for a new beekeeper takes him to the most interesting man in England—a man whose brilliant mind will lure Sydney into a life-threatening adventure. When Mycroft Holmes learns of the tragic death of the village’s other beekeeper, he senses the bloody hand of murder. But what villain would have the mad intelligence to train an army of killer bees? With Sydney at his side, Mycroft searches the village for a new kind of one who kills without motive. Author H. F. Heard, undoubtedly one of the great intellectuals of his day, brings an utterly unique detective to life in his Mycroft Holmes mystery series. But just who is Mr. Mycroft? Devotees of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will find he’s every inch a match for his legendary brother, Sherlock. A Taste of Honey is the 1st book in the Mycroft Holmes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1941
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
August 15, 2016
If you enjoy classic Sherlock Holmes-type mysteries, I am quite sure you will enjoy this novella, a Mr Mycroft story, being republished and reintroduced to contemporary audiences now. The principal character is also the narrator, introduced to the action because of his penchant for seeking out local honey after he moves to the countryside. He is a man who values his solitary life but then comes to find that he may need some help for his source of honey may, in fact, be lethal!
This is a rather fun story, full of the mystery of bees and how to harness them, the various evils of men as well as the types of men one might encounter in bucolic settings. Always misleading, those beautiful hedges and flowers!
After the novella, there is a discussion as to the actual identity of Mr Mycroft and who he has been assumed to be over the years. Also interesting. I think I will look for more of the Mr Mycroft stories.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This is a rather fun story, full of the mystery of bees and how to harness them, the various evils of men as well as the types of men one might encounter in bucolic settings. Always misleading, those beautiful hedges and flowers!
After the novella, there is a discussion as to the actual identity of Mr Mycroft and who he has been assumed to be over the years. Also interesting. I think I will look for more of the Mr Mycroft stories.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 12, 2020
Tā kā man vienmēr ir patikuši stāsti par Šerloku Holmsu, šis īsais romāns sagādāja patiesu prieku. Galvenajam varonim piemīt daudzas ŠH pazīmes. Reizēm ir jauki palasīt kaut ko no detektīvklasikas. Vietām gan likās nedaudz par lēnu. Papildus bonuss - uzzināju kaut ko jaunu par bišu dzīvessveidu!
June 19, 2022
between a 3 and a 3.5
full post here:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2022/06/...
Still following the séptimo circulo list, up next after Night Over Fitch's Pond comes H.F. Heard's A Taste for Honey (#25), published in 1941 and reprinted in 2019 via Penzler Publishers' American Mystery Classics series.
Last week my insomnia flared up again and I grabbed this book hoping I'd read until drifting off. The complete opposite happened -- once I started it I couldn't stop. It wasn't because it's a great book, but more because what happens here was so far out of the range of most mystery/crime novels of the period and so completely unexpected that I knew there would be no sleep that night. The story is related by Mr. Sydney Silchester, a reclusive sort of fellow who had come to a small village in the countryside for peace and quiet. He lives under a self-made rule of "keeping myself to myself," wanting to be "left alone, at peace," preferring his own company to that of others. Evidently something has happened to shatter his solitude and he feels the need to "set it all down" so that his record (narrated retrospectively), will let people know that he had very little blame in the matter, the whole thing having been "forced" upon him. What follows is not exactly a mystery but a sort of bizarre story that borders on pulpy horror (not the supernatural type but more like a sort of mad-scientist adventure caper), and while there is some detection involved here, this is by no means a whodunit. And it all begins with Silchester's fondness for honey, which he buys regularly from a certain Mr. Heregrove, the local village apiarist. Eventually this taste for honey also brings him into contact with a certain Mr. Mycroft, another reclusive sort who seems to know a lot about science, murderers and the criminal mind.
Despite some testing of my patience with both Silchester and Mycroft because of their often lengthy expositions on various topics, I had great fun with this novel. I have to seriously offer a tip of my hat to the author on even coming up with this crazy plot, which had it not been for Mycroft's habit to (and pardon the pun) drone on and on, might have made for better reading. On the other hand, the nature of the villainy revealed here allows for the author to discourse about the limitations of the law which, in this case, leaves these two men no alternative but to handle things themselves. As Mycroft notes,
"The law protects us from the sudden, unpremeditated violence of the untamed blackguard. It is helpless against the calculating malice of a man who patiently and deliberately studies to get around its limitations When you have really faced up to the fact ... that the law, the magistrate and the village policeman are helpless to protect you, then you will be free to consider the unavoidability of step two of doing what we can do."
The situation comes down to a battle of the minds, with uncountable lives at stake if things go wrong.
I should warn potential readers to leave the introduction for last as Otto Penzler reveals "one of the surprises in this book" in his assumption that "the secret has been revealed often enough that few readers will be astounded." I suppose he never thought that perhaps there are still some readers like me who have neither read this book nor discussed it with anyone before, so that's certainly a big oopsie on his part. And as to that secret, well, it's not hard to figure it out pretty much right away with all of the clues offered by the author. Trust me, that's the least concern in this novel. Also, if you are one of those readers who must find something likeable or relatable about the characters, it's very likely you won't find it here. All in all it was a fun read, not perfect by any means, but still very much worth the time.
I would say don't miss the film made from this movie "The Deadly Bees" (1966), but in this case the movie is beyond skippable unless you are a diehard horror film aficionado or a masochist.
full post here:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2022/06/...
Still following the séptimo circulo list, up next after Night Over Fitch's Pond comes H.F. Heard's A Taste for Honey (#25), published in 1941 and reprinted in 2019 via Penzler Publishers' American Mystery Classics series.
Last week my insomnia flared up again and I grabbed this book hoping I'd read until drifting off. The complete opposite happened -- once I started it I couldn't stop. It wasn't because it's a great book, but more because what happens here was so far out of the range of most mystery/crime novels of the period and so completely unexpected that I knew there would be no sleep that night. The story is related by Mr. Sydney Silchester, a reclusive sort of fellow who had come to a small village in the countryside for peace and quiet. He lives under a self-made rule of "keeping myself to myself," wanting to be "left alone, at peace," preferring his own company to that of others. Evidently something has happened to shatter his solitude and he feels the need to "set it all down" so that his record (narrated retrospectively), will let people know that he had very little blame in the matter, the whole thing having been "forced" upon him. What follows is not exactly a mystery but a sort of bizarre story that borders on pulpy horror (not the supernatural type but more like a sort of mad-scientist adventure caper), and while there is some detection involved here, this is by no means a whodunit. And it all begins with Silchester's fondness for honey, which he buys regularly from a certain Mr. Heregrove, the local village apiarist. Eventually this taste for honey also brings him into contact with a certain Mr. Mycroft, another reclusive sort who seems to know a lot about science, murderers and the criminal mind.
Despite some testing of my patience with both Silchester and Mycroft because of their often lengthy expositions on various topics, I had great fun with this novel. I have to seriously offer a tip of my hat to the author on even coming up with this crazy plot, which had it not been for Mycroft's habit to (and pardon the pun) drone on and on, might have made for better reading. On the other hand, the nature of the villainy revealed here allows for the author to discourse about the limitations of the law which, in this case, leaves these two men no alternative but to handle things themselves. As Mycroft notes,
"The law protects us from the sudden, unpremeditated violence of the untamed blackguard. It is helpless against the calculating malice of a man who patiently and deliberately studies to get around its limitations When you have really faced up to the fact ... that the law, the magistrate and the village policeman are helpless to protect you, then you will be free to consider the unavoidability of step two of doing what we can do."
The situation comes down to a battle of the minds, with uncountable lives at stake if things go wrong.
I should warn potential readers to leave the introduction for last as Otto Penzler reveals "one of the surprises in this book" in his assumption that "the secret has been revealed often enough that few readers will be astounded." I suppose he never thought that perhaps there are still some readers like me who have neither read this book nor discussed it with anyone before, so that's certainly a big oopsie on his part. And as to that secret, well, it's not hard to figure it out pretty much right away with all of the clues offered by the author. Trust me, that's the least concern in this novel. Also, if you are one of those readers who must find something likeable or relatable about the characters, it's very likely you won't find it here. All in all it was a fun read, not perfect by any means, but still very much worth the time.
I would say don't miss the film made from this movie "The Deadly Bees" (1966), but in this case the movie is beyond skippable unless you are a diehard horror film aficionado or a masochist.
May 16, 2010
This was simply a fantastically enjoyable read. As a Sherlock Holmes fan I found the mysterious and ingenious "Mr. Mycroft" -- a rural beekeeper who it's strongly hinted is a certain famous detective a great deal of fun.
The real great strengths here though are Heard's prose -- readable, fine-tuned, and evocative -- and the delightful character he creates through it. Sydney Silchester comes through a fully-formed, believable, interesting example of a punctilious, particular, judgmental, superior, rude, reclusive, and temperamental -- yet still elusively likable -- fellow with every funny and quiet-but-potent sentence.
The atmosphere of rural claustrophobia and the juxtaposition of the huge danger made very believable from Hereford against the trivial-seeming manifestations of it are very well achieved. Heard, a philosopher, philosophizes just enough to be satisfying without being didactic. I'm very impressed with him as a writer and will be seeking out more of his books, starting with the two further books that chronicle Mr. Mycroft.
The real great strengths here though are Heard's prose -- readable, fine-tuned, and evocative -- and the delightful character he creates through it. Sydney Silchester comes through a fully-formed, believable, interesting example of a punctilious, particular, judgmental, superior, rude, reclusive, and temperamental -- yet still elusively likable -- fellow with every funny and quiet-but-potent sentence.
The atmosphere of rural claustrophobia and the juxtaposition of the huge danger made very believable from Hereford against the trivial-seeming manifestations of it are very well achieved. Heard, a philosopher, philosophizes just enough to be satisfying without being didactic. I'm very impressed with him as a writer and will be seeking out more of his books, starting with the two further books that chronicle Mr. Mycroft.
November 11, 2022
Definitely one of the strongest stories to use a Sherlock Holmes like character, and I can absolutely buy that Mr. Mycroft is Holmes, as others have posited. Also far superior to the ludicrous 1967 film version, The Deadly Bees, which is best experienced as the MST3K version.
July 22, 2016
An extremely dark and almost surrealistic tale about three men connected through bees, honey and murder. At the same time, the connections between our senses of reality, the social behaviour of bees and the parallels with human ethics are outstanding. One of the best books in terms of a thriller and a bit of horror I've ever read, its brilliance relies in a constant feeling of danger that certainly embraces the reader as much as their main characters.
Una historia increíblemente oscura y surrealista sobre tres hombres conectados a través de las abejas, la miel y el asesinato. Al mismo tiempo, las conexiones entre nuestros sentidos de la realidad, el comportamiento social de las abejas y los paralelismos con la ética humana son increíbles. Uno de los mejores libros en términos de un thriller con algo de terror que he leído, su excelencia radica en el constante sentimiento de peligro que ciertamente envuelve al lector tanto como a los protagonistas.
Una historia increíblemente oscura y surrealista sobre tres hombres conectados a través de las abejas, la miel y el asesinato. Al mismo tiempo, las conexiones entre nuestros sentidos de la realidad, el comportamiento social de las abejas y los paralelismos con la ética humana son increíbles. Uno de los mejores libros en términos de un thriller con algo de terror que he leído, su excelencia radica en el constante sentimiento de peligro que ciertamente envuelve al lector tanto como a los protagonistas.
April 29, 2019
In this story, it’s not so much a mystery, or even a how-done-it/ who done-it etc... or even why done it. That is all easy found out or told directly to the reader through the characters. The story seems to me, to be a commentary on not just criminals but those who judge criminals and mete out their punishment.
So while the book has an interesting angle, I found the telling to be tedious, since the main character was tedious... (not my cup of tea was Mr. Silchester.)
It’s not a long book and has been reprinted via Otto Penzler’s series, so if you are curious it will be easier to find.
So while the book has an interesting angle, I found the telling to be tedious, since the main character was tedious... (not my cup of tea was Mr. Silchester.)
It’s not a long book and has been reprinted via Otto Penzler’s series, so if you are curious it will be easier to find.
November 13, 2018
Many people, among them Christopher Morley, have a high regard for this book. I found it interesting, but not very exciting or mentally stimulating. In places it is also very verbose and dull. It is not even a detective story but rather a crime story. The mystery is not who the criminal was, but who the detective was. The clue to this lies in the first two words of this story. If it wasn't for this I would have given the story only two stars.
July 14, 2018
If the author used the term "must own" one more time, I would have thrown this book across the room. I was hoping for a clever Holmesian pastiche, but instead got a very slow, very drawn out, unexciting mystery. Really didn't care for the main character/narrator. "Mr. Mycroft" as the Holmes substitute was okay, but made some rather un-Sherlockian decisions. It was a short book, but still seemed too long. As someone else reviewed, it might have been better left as a simple short story.
August 24, 2019
Simply wonderful, how this one had passed me by is a mystery. If you are a Holmesian and a fan of the “weird” mystery pick this one up.
May 2, 2019
Well, I didn't like it for many reasons. I didn't like the narrator (which was the intention of the author), but I also didn't like the story (just enough for a short story, but nowhere near enough for a novel), and I didn't even like "Mr. Mycroft," supposedly Sherlock Holmes in retirement. And a couple of thrilling passages don't really make up for all that padding and long-winded philosophy or whatever at the end. You're better off with "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane."
Again, in no way should this detract from this wonderful series of American Mystery Classics that Otto Penzler is reissuing. I just keep reading the bad ones.
Again, in no way should this detract from this wonderful series of American Mystery Classics that Otto Penzler is reissuing. I just keep reading the bad ones.
May 31, 2019
This didn’t really work for me. The writing is quite mannered and the characters are (deliberately) unlikable. It is not so much a whodunnit or whydunnit as a plot to stop the villain and that felt stretched out and the cleverness too clever. The sly allusion to Holmes—a beekeeper named Mycroft—didn’t really add anything. Possibly most of these classic mysteries that are being republished were “lost” for a reason.
June 2, 2020
Quirky, warm, and sweet, just like the honey it describes. I loved this book. A good slow-flowing storyline with interesting characters. It warms you from the inside out and wraps you in a warm comfortable blanket s you pause your reading for the day. I will definitely look for more titles by this author.
January 20, 2024
First published in 1941, this is the story of Sydney Silchester who has moved to a small village in England, named Ashton Clearwater, to be alone. He is quite the introvert and does not enjoy company, although he does employ a woman named Alice who does his cooking and cleaning for him. However, he greatly enjoys having honey with his meals but likes to buy it from local beekeepers, rather than from local grocers who obtain it from outside. He finds a local beekeeper named Mrs. Heregrove from whom he is able to buy his honey. Unfortunately, after a few times, she turns up dead, and her husband isn't really into beekeeping as such, although he still has them. The local coroner declares that her death was an accident - she had been stung to death by certain bees, and Mr. Heregrove is ordered to destroy their hives. Afterwards, Silchester runs across Mr. Mycroft from whom he is able to buy honey, but who also has his suspicions of Heregrove concerning his wife's death. Bees try to attack Silchester and in spite of his desire to be aloof from everything around him, events force him to work with Mycroft to find out what's going on with Heregrove and discover why he is keeping killer bees, and how they can and should deal with it. And so it goes. He feels it's just Destiny.
February 7, 2020
Given its copyright date of 1941, I doubt that this was the first story where another author attempted to extend the exploits of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation. As Otto Penzler notes in the Introduction for this volume, "there are countless thousands of parodies and pastiches, including a few very good ones, a few decent ones, hundreds of pedestrian ones, and what appears to be an infinite number of abysmal ones."
I would say this is a decent one. As we know from Doyle, it was Sherlock's ambition to retire to the countryside and keep bees. It is in this situation that we find the intellectual, bon vivant, and frankly garrulous gentleman who identifies himself as Mr. --? "Mycroft, if you will." The real Holmes in Doyle's stories was not half so talkative as this fellow, and it is this quality that prevents the reader from ever quite fully believing in the presumption of the tale. It is also the quality that prevents the reader from ever quite fully enjoying the progression of the tale.
Nevertheless, it had some good moments and, underneath all the words, an interesting plot.
I would say this is a decent one. As we know from Doyle, it was Sherlock's ambition to retire to the countryside and keep bees. It is in this situation that we find the intellectual, bon vivant, and frankly garrulous gentleman who identifies himself as Mr. --? "Mycroft, if you will." The real Holmes in Doyle's stories was not half so talkative as this fellow, and it is this quality that prevents the reader from ever quite fully believing in the presumption of the tale. It is also the quality that prevents the reader from ever quite fully enjoying the progression of the tale.
Nevertheless, it had some good moments and, underneath all the words, an interesting plot.
March 25, 2019
I know this book got some pretty bad reviews, but I have to say that I kind of liked it. OK -- there were those long conversations which seemed to go on until one of them cut it off, but it was the "way of the day". I really liked the information about the bees, killer and otherwise. I have to admit that I don't especially like honey, but can certainly eat it without flinching. The book, which was 189 pages, could have been finished off in -- oh, say, 75. An interesting read about old British men with not enough to do.
May 23, 2020
Got the kindle version, and only about half of it was the actual story. The rest was about it or an excerpt from the next short story in the series, which failed to interest me.
I picked this up because I've strangely always wanted to know more about Mycroft, so I was disappointed that it was actually Sherlock using his brother's name though it's never explicitly said. I think the general reason was copyright.
Still, it was an interesting twist on the typical mystery, just not what I was expecting.
I picked this up because I've strangely always wanted to know more about Mycroft, so I was disappointed that it was actually Sherlock using his brother's name though it's never explicitly said. I think the general reason was copyright.
Still, it was an interesting twist on the typical mystery, just not what I was expecting.
February 17, 2020
I love a good mystery/detective story, and I very much enjoyed this one. The plot wasn't really the focus of the book (though it was interesting enough). The characters are the best part of the book.
The narrator and intended victim is hilariously neurotic and the detective is eccentric and brilliant.
A good, easy read for a fan of the genre.
The narrator and intended victim is hilariously neurotic and the detective is eccentric and brilliant.
A good, easy read for a fan of the genre.
December 20, 2020
An introspective thriller which leaves perhaps more questions than answers. Clearly within the psychological genre, the focus of the story is the internal debates and decisions of Sydney Silchester, who despite being the protagonist/narrator nonetheless remains more of an enigma than the villain and the (ultimate) hero. No real plot twists or surprises—everything follows as foretold.
October 15, 2025
A vaguely disappointing mystery concerning, though never naming him, Sherlock Holmes in his retirement.
The narrator is a Mr Silchester, a misanthropic semi-recluse, who gets caught up in some bee related villainy and has to be rescuedby his aged near neighbour.
Not enough here to make me want to read the two subsequent Holmes and Silchester "adventures".
The narrator is a Mr Silchester, a misanthropic semi-recluse, who gets caught up in some bee related villainy and has to be rescuedby his aged near neighbour.
Not enough here to make me want to read the two subsequent Holmes and Silchester "adventures".
February 4, 2020
An interesting read although the presentation was at times "long winded". Quite an unusual twist for a murder mystery. Strange main characters and really a good and unique story. Almost got a 4 if I was not such a hard critique.
March 6, 2022
Not really a Holmes story, but gripping
A bit verbose at times, but the story never lags. Apparently, there is some argument that the author really portrayed Sherlock rather than Mycroft, but I disagree.
A bit verbose at times, but the story never lags. Apparently, there is some argument that the author really portrayed Sherlock rather than Mycroft, but I disagree.
January 18, 2018
Nette Sherlock Adaption
March 13, 2018
VERY long winded...ZERO action.
March 12, 2019
Did not enjoy this one at all. Slow and dull.
November 14, 2019
Interesting, but sometimes a challenging read. Liked the twist on Sherlock
May 29, 2021
It took this reader a chapter or two to properly adjust to the anxiety-ridden first person narration of fussy introvert Sydney Silchester as he recounts this tale of bee-keeping in south England.
January 16, 2022
5 stars for being mysteriously, as if without reason, unbearably strange.
March 5, 2022
read the Lancer Easy-Eye paperback which gives an extremely hard sell as a horror story: "one of the most fiendish and diabolical horror novels ever published."
July 1, 2023
Really kind of disappointed with this book. I really thought it might be about Mycroft Holmes but rather it was a shallow Sherlock Holmes impression. Not recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews