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Loading... A Letter of Mary (Mary Russell Novels (Paperback)) (original 1996; edition 1998)by Laurie R. King
Work InformationA Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King (1996)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This series continues to be awesome. I was a little concerned at the end of the last book that this one might descend into cheese, as Russell and Holmes do the rom-com thing and embark on an unlikely May-December marriage. However, the relationship is not depicted in a particularly romantic way, but instead continues as it was in the previous volumes, albeit with a deepened sense of mutual respect and intimacy, almost a sweetness at times. The mystery here concerns the death of a friend who appears bearing a mysterious and potentially profound document that is right in Mary's wheelhouse of Judeo-Christian scholarship. Of course this combination would be irresistible to me, representing two areas that interest me greatly. And the Holmesian ruses that are undertaken in the investigation are smart and delightful. The year is 1923, Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is at their home in Sussex Downs busy with their studies. Russell with theology and Holmes with some chemical experiments. Then they are visited by amateur archaeologist Miss Dorothy Ruskin with a startling puzzle for them. She has found in the Holy Land a roll of papyrus with a message from Mary Magdalene. A couple of days is Miss Ruskin killed in a traffic accident. But was it really an accident. The case in this book is intriguing with an ancient papyrus claimed to be written by Mary Magdalene and the death of Miss Ruskin. Was she murdered? And, if she was murdered, why? It’s up to Russell and Holmes to find out the truth. Like the previous two books a great story. I love the theology part of the story, with a papyrus that could very well be written by Mary Magdalene. I love how Laurie R. King manages to combine theology with crime, just like in the previous book. An elderly woman archeologist whom Mary and Sherlock have met in Palestine visits and gives Mary a letter that may be from Mary of Magdala to her sister before the fall of Jerusalem. The woman dies in suspicious circumstances and Mary disguises herself as a secretary to investigate one suspect. Brief appearance by Lord Peter. no reviews | add a review
Fiction.
Mystery.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: The third book in the Mary Russellâ??Sherlock Holmes series. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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I try not to envision Mary with the very much older Holmes, as I find that somewhat Lolita-esque, but once that is pushed aside the mysteries are always involving without being too frightening- a perfect read for this anxious time.
I share with Holmes his feeling at the solution to the mystery- I shan’t mention it here to avoid spoilers, but I sense the book ended not quite as King would have wanted it.
That said, I will be looking for more in this series. An excellent rainy day read. ( )