The Moor (original 1998; edition 2002)

Reading this, the fourth episode in King's Mary Russell series, was made more enjoyable by immediately preceding it with a re-read of [b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311281165s/8921.jpg|3311984]. The plot and characters of arguably the greatest of Sherlock Holmes stories was thus firmly in my head, ready to inform my reading of King's offering.

A very good offering it is. King does a superb job of evoking the most important "character" in the novel - and in The Hound of the Baskervilles for that matter - that is, Dartmoor itself: dark, lonely, mysterious, beautiful and threatening. Russell and Holmes are, as ever, on form. The supporting cast are equally well-drawn. The mystery ties neatly into the events of The Hound of the Baskervilles and is satisfying, if not particularly enthralling.

This novel does have its weaknesses. The weaving into the narrative of the life and works of Sabine Baring-Gould, while well done, was a touch excessive for my taste. I learned more about a man I'd never heard of before than I really wanted to know. And what I learned did not make me want to go out and learn even more. There was also a bit too much running around on Dartmoor done by Russell (and by Holmes, for that matter), to no great effect. The moor excursions provide plenty of local colour, but most of their travels on it only marginally advance the plot.

Still, I enjoyed this novel despite its weaknesses. King is an intelligent writer. She respects the Sherlock Holmes canon. Her version of Holmes is recognisable and Mary Russell is an interesting creation. Plus, between them Doyle and King have made me really want to visit Dartmoor. Preferably by daylight, in fine weather. And not on horseback.

Overall, I thought that this installment was marginally less sucessful than number 3, but still most enjoyable. Possibly closer to 3-1/2 stars. ( )

One of the continuing books of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery series. These are all really good and King does a nice job of bringing the character of Sherlock Holmes to life and partnering him with an equally formidable young woman. This story takes them back to the scene of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". I always enjoy these books, and this one was no exception. ( )

It took me a long time to work my way through this one. There was a lot of wandering and investigating without a lot of result. Most of the book passed in speculation rather than action. Generally I could go with it, but this time I was a bit bored. There was an ok payoff in the end. ( )

This fourth entry in the Mary Russell series was read shortly after its first publication and apparently promptly forgotten. Upon this rereading (or, rather, listening, since this time I had an audio version), I understand why. This is much less a mystery story than an examination of a particular place at a particular time. It just happens to have a little bit of a mystery dithering about the edges, which is happily wrapped up by the main villain in a nice long monologue, after which the villain very kindly gets himself killed out of pure willfulness. Other flapping ends of the story are left to flap about. The end is so abrupt and ragged that our "editor"/author feels the need to add an epilogue.

However, as a description of Dartmoor (the Moor of the title) and a fictionalization of an historical figure ([a:Sabine Baring-Gould|353455|Sabine Baring-Gould|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]), it's entertaining, although -- for me, at least -- not memorable. In some ways, this book finishes up bits and pieces from the previous book, [b:A Letter of Mary|93938|A Letter of Mary (Mary Russell, #3)|Laurie R. King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171265429s/93938.jpg|1799638], although not in a way that requires reading that preceding novel. It doesn't really add too much to the series, to the characters' growth, or to the reader's understanding of Mary Russell. It seems more of a chance to revisit one of Conan Doyle's best beloved Holmes venues -- Baskerville Hall.

At least this time our heroine does not require any rescuing, being rather the rescuer herself. It makes for a pleasant change. Less pleasing is the continued slowing down of the sharp,quick, analytical mind we met in the first book, [b:The Beekeeper's Apprentice|91661|The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell, #1)|Laurie R. King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171232497s/91661.jpg|891863]. Apparently growing up and studying at Oxford has stiffened Mary's thinking, causing her to be too ready to miss and dismiss anything she doesn't expect. It seems that she's constantly running into things that never occurred to her or that she cannot believe. Perhaps her youth and relative inexperience are to blame -- she is still in her early 20s, after all -- but it does become tedious hearing her make rash assumptions, express astonishment, and get prissy. If she wasn't otherwise funny and eventually clever enough, she's be bad company, but her more redeeming qualities as narrator and main character save us from that.

Not my favorite book of the series. ( )

Another good one from King, with Russell and Holmes revisiting Dartmoor (the setting, of course, for "The Hound of the Baskervilles") and featuring the delightful and prolific author Sabine Baring-Gould as their host. The villains in this volume are a bit meh, but the moor itself makes for a great character. ( )