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Laurie R. King

Author of The Beekeeper's Apprentice

74+ Works 42,498 Members 1,944 Reviews 239 Favorited

About the Author

Laurie R. King is the bestselling author of "A Darker Place," four contemporary novels featuring Kate Martinelli, and five acclaimed Mary Russell mysteries. She lives in northern California. Her newest book is the ninth one in the Mary Russell mystery series, The Language of Bees. (Publisher show more Provided) Laurie R. King is a mystery writer, who holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in theology. Her first novel, Grave Talent, was published in 1993 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Since then, she has written over twenty books including the Mary Russell Mysteries series, the Stuyvesant and Grey series, the Kate Martinelli Mystery series, A Darker Place, Folly, and Keeping Watch. She has also co-authored a number of nonfiction works and anthologies including Crime Writing, The Grand Game, and Studies in Sherlock. Laurie's title, Dreaming Spies, is a 2015 New York Times Bestseller. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: www.laurierking.com

Series

Works by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994) 5,882 copies
A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995) 3,105 copies
A Letter of Mary (1996) 2,647 copies
The Moor (1998) 2,405 copies
O Jerusalem (1999) 2,264 copies
The Game (2004) 2,143 copies
Locked Rooms (2005) 2,119 copies
Justice Hall (2002) 2,111 copies
The Language of Bees (2009) 1,629 copies
The God of the Hive (2010) 1,399 copies
A Grave Talent (1993) 1,306 copies
The Art of Detection (2006) 1,208 copies
Pirate King (2011) 1,082 copies
Garment of Shadows (2012) 985 copies
To Play the Fool (1995) 951 copies
A Darker Place (1999) 908 copies
Night Work (2000) 897 copies
With Child (1996) 846 copies
Dreaming Spies (2015) 831 copies
Folly (2001) 797 copies
The Murder of Mary Russell (2016) 739 copies
Touchstone (2007) 733 copies
The Bones of Paris (2013) 584 copies
Keeping Watch (2003) 541 copies
Island of the Mad (2018) 519 copies
Riviera Gold (2020) 374 copies
Castle Shade (2021) 309 copies
Beekeeping for Beginners (2011) 305 copies
Califia's Daughters (2004) 262 copies
Lockdown (2017) 250 copies
Back to the Garden (2022) 231 copies
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes (2011) — Editor — 224 copies
The Marriage of Mary Russell (2016) 156 copies
The Lantern's Dance (2024) 91 copies
Mrs. Hudson's Case (1998) 82 copies
The Mary Russell Companion (2014) 41 copies
Beginnings (2019) 41 copies
Hellbender (2011) 31 copies
Mila's Tale (2014) 7 copies
Stately Holmes (2016) 4 copies
My Thesis Being . . . (2013) 2 copies

Associated Works

McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (2002) — Contributor — 1,470 copies
The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2009) — Contributor — 772 copies
Down These Strange Streets (2011) — Contributor — 500 copies
Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 404 copies
Naked Came the Phoenix: A Serial Novel (2001) — Contributor — 305 copies
The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories (2015) — Contributor — 137 copies
Crime Through Time: Original Tales of Historical Mystery (1997) — Contributor — 129 copies
Deadly Anniversaries (2020) — Contributor — 53 copies
Wild Crimes: Stories of Mystery in the Wild (2004) — Contributor — 44 copies
Irreconcilable Differences (1999) — Contributor — 33 copies
Murder at the Foul Line (1911) — Contributor — 29 copies
Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey (2014) — Contributor — 17 copies

Tagged

1920s (287) 20th century (179) anthology (590) audio (168) audiobook (246) British (199) comics (189) crime (594) crime fiction (203) detective (539) detective fiction (178) ebook (501) England (794) fantasy (197) fiction (4,519) historical (458) historical fiction (1,267) historical mystery (709) Holmes (397) Kate Martinelli (322) Kindle (379) Laurie R. King (317) library (245) Mary Russell (1,988) Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes (207) Mary Russell series (190) mysteries (294) mystery (8,780) novel (343) own (237) pastiche (222) read (571) San Francisco (296) series (935) Sherlock Holmes (3,363) short stories (630) suspense (312) thriller (205) to-read (2,312) unread (279)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

A Study in Sherlock - New Pastiche Collection in Baker Street and Beyond (November 2013)
New Holmes/Russell Book Coming! in Baker Street and Beyond (November 2012)

Reviews

I really enjoyed this one. The last few books in this series were kind of weak, but this was a great return to form. I especially enjoyed getting Mrs Hudson's backstory.
 
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ledonnelly | 78 other reviews | Mar 11, 2024 |
I enjoyed this, but there was far too much time spent explaining, both the history of the conflict that drives the plot, and the characters telling each other what had happened. Made the book drag.
 
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ledonnelly | 63 other reviews | Mar 11, 2024 |
I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Mary Russell, a teenaged genius who matches wits and joins forces with the "retired" Sherlock Holmes. She's a character I'd like to spend more time with. The story is well-plotted, and exciting in all the right ways, but I was totally bewildered by the mechanics of the climactic scene, and that might influence my decision to carry on with this series.
½
 
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laytonwoman3rd | 289 other reviews | Mar 3, 2024 |
Hooray and yay! Another Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes “novel of suspense.” I couldn’t wait for this latest mystery in the now 18-book series. I’ve read and enjoyed them all and this is one of the best of the more recent ones. I highly recommend this series, but if you’re new to these historical novels, I urge you to start at the beginning with “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.” And what a treat for you to be meeting Mary Russell for the first time.

This current novel contains many elements that kept me turning the pages, from the atmospheric writing to the clever banter between Holmes and Russell, to the family ancestry that is revealed through an elaborately coded old journal. As usual, Russell and Holmes work as a team, each one utilizing their finely honed skills to winkle out the facts and clues as they discover the secrets of the past that explain family relationships including Holmes’ son Damien.

King is an expert at developing fictional characters and weaving real life people into an engaging, top-tier historical mystery series. I highly recommend!
… (more)
 
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PhyllisReads | 6 other reviews | Feb 29, 2024 |

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Awards

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Associated Authors

Leslie S. Klinger Editor, Contributor, Introduction
Lee Child Contributor, Editor
Dana Stabenow Contributor
Gayle Lynds Contributor
Laura Lippman Contributor
S. J. Rozan Contributor
Charles Todd Contributor
Laura Caldwell Contributor
Phillip Margolin Contributor
John Sheldon Contributor
Tony Broadbent Contributor
Lionel Chetwynd Contributor
C. Alan Bradley Contributor
Jerry Margolin Contributor
Neil Gaiman Contributor
Thomas Perry Contributor
Jan Burke Contributor
Margaret Maron Contributor
Sara Paretsky Contributor
Meg Gardiner Contributor
Denise Hamilton Contributor
Nancy Holder Contributor
Adam Cadwell Illustrator
Jeffery Deaver Contributor
Cornelia Funke Contributor
Michael Sims Contributor
Andrew Grant Contributor
Gahan Wilson Contributor
John Lescroart Contributor
Harlan Ellison Contributor
Michael Dirda Contributor
John Reppion Contributor
Doherty. Chris Illustrator
Michael Connelly Contributor
Leah Moore Contributor
Anne Perry Contributor
Catriona McPherson Contributor
Tony Lee Contributor
Hallie Ephron Contributor
Jonathan Maberry Contributor
Bevis Musson Contributor
Gary Phillips Contributor
Tasha Alexander Contributor
Denise Mina Contributor
Deborah Crombie Contributor
John Connolly Contributor
Michael Scott Contributor
Cory Doctorow Contributor
David Morrell Contributor
Dana Cameron Contributor
Tess Gerritsen Contributor
F. Paul Wilson Contributor
D. P. Lyle Contributor
Gregg Hurwitz Contributor
William Kotzwinkle Contributor
Weston Ochse Contributor
Rhys Bowen Contributor
Jamie Freveletti Contributor
Peter S. Beagle Contributor
Toni L. P. Kelner Contributor
Duane Swierczynski Contributor
Alan Gordon Contributor
Joe Servello Contributor
Harley Jane Kozak Contributor
Zoë Sharp Contributor
James W. Ziskin Contributor
Brad Parks Contributor
Kwei Quartey Contributor
Derek Haas Contributor
Maria Alexander Contributor
Kasey Lansdale Contributor
Robin Burcell Contributor
Naomi Hirahara Contributor
Joe Hill Contributor
Lisa Morton Contributor
Joe R. Lansdale Contributor
David Corbett Contributor
Martin Edwards Contributor
Robert Difley Illustrator
Zoe Elkaim Editor
Guy Saville Contributor
Mark Billingham Contributor
Natasha Cooper Contributor
Alex McBride Contributor
Alafair Burke Contributor
Yrsa Sigurardottir Contributor
Laura Wilson Contributor
Jim Kelly Contributor
Jill Paton Walsh Contributor
Andrew Taylor Contributor
Sophie Hannah Contributor
Val McDermid Contributor
Peter Robinson Contributor
George Pelecanos Contributor
Dreda Say Mitchell Contributor
Sharon Bolton Contributor
Ian Rankin Contributor
Jenny Sterlin Narrator
Susan Lyons Narrator
Colin Cotterill Contributor
Stephen Youll Cover artist
Carlos Beltran Cover designer
Carlos Beltrán Cover designer
Marisa Calin Narrator
Ralph Lister Narrator
Julie McKay Narrator
Bob Difley Photographer
James Langton Narrator
Simon Vance Narrator
Derek Perkins Narrator

Statistics

Works
74
Also by
21
Members
42,498
Popularity
#403
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1,944
ISBNs
801
Languages
19
Favorited
239

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