Laurie R. King

Gah. Disliked this even more than The Beekeeper's Apprentice, which is saying something. The plot, in short:

Mary Russell Holmes tells you at great and repetitive length that she is brilliant. And that Watson is stupid. But then, everyone is stupid compared to her. It gets like Vizzini in "The Princess Bride": "Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons." Except not intended to be funny.

Mary Russell Holmes, mistress of disguise and brilliant at deception, goes undercover. show more However, her awesomeness proves too awesome to contain for more than five minutes at a time, so her impenetrable disguise is soon thrown out the window, imperiling the entire enterprise (neither Russell nor King sees it this way). And the more herself she is, the more her frothing-at-the-mouth misogynist employer falls for her. She is also profoundly attracted to him, which is kind of disgusting.

The mystery's solution turns out to be something completely unrelated to Russell's undercover work and discovered accidentally. So the two hundred pages about said undercover work served no purpose except to establish that our heroine's Fantastically Spirited Personality can't be hidden (contradicting her frequent claims to being, like I mentioned, a mistress of disguise) and that all men want her, to the point that a week with her will turn the most vicious misogynist into a supporter of women's rights.

GAH. So unpleasant. show less

Mary and Sherlock are just home from months abroad when Sherlock's son Damian Adler comes to ask for their help finding his missing wife and child. Sherlock wasn't aware of Damian's existence until 1919 when he and Mary worked to clear him of a murder charge.

Damian was a war hero, a drug addict, and a Bohemian painter. He greatly resented Holmes for his neglect and for his mother's unhappiness. He felt that Holmes should have know of his existence. As soon as he was cleared of the murder show more charge, he disappeared.

Now it is 1924 and Damian is back with his attitude toward Holmes pretty much unchanged. Adler and Holmes disappear to London to look for his family leaving Mary behind to work on the mystery of the hive of bees that had been abandoned. After a few days of working on that mystery, Mary decides to head to London to begin her own investigation.

Mary learns that Damian's wife Yolanda was fascinated by a wide variety of religions and belief systems. Mary discovers her relationship with the Children of Lights whose theology is a mash-up of many other beliefs including Norse mythology. She becomes convinced that their holy book is the work of a madman and she fears that Damian might be the author.

When Yolanda is found dead - murdered - at an ancient historical site, Mary and Sherlock begin looking at other odd events at historical sites to try to find out if her death was one in a pattern. Meanwhile, Holmes is looking for Damian who left him during their investigation.

This story was filled with great detail about the Bohemian movement and the art scene in London for those who were called Surrealists. I loved the descriptions of Damian's art work though I wouldn't want them in my living room any more than Mary did.

The tension builds as the story progresses until Mary is forced to fly from London to the Orkneys with a military pilot and through massively difficult weather to try to beat the villain to his final sacrificial site and save Damian and his daughter's lives. The descriptions made me feel that I was there along with Mary during that harrowing flight.

The only thing I didn't like about the story was the cliffhanger ending. I am very grateful that the next book is available for me and that I didn't have to wait a year for it. show less

Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I approached this one with a bit of trepidation. Some pastiches have fallen rather flat with me so I was pleasantly surprised, and quite taken, with both King’s version of a much older Holmes and young Mary Russell. Such an odd, and yet perfectly matched pair of intellects! Told from the point of view of Mary, this is just as much a coming-of-age historical novel as it is a detective/mystery story. Also, in my personal opinion, King (and the audiobook narrator, show more Jenny Sterlin) nailed the personality, mannerisms, quirks and nuances of the great detective, taking into account the gradual decline in certain faculties we all may fall prey to as we age. As for Mary, King has crafted a wonderful character to take on the mantle of a female detective with many of the same qualities of Holmes. Not surprising, the first part of the book is more focused on Mary’s apprenticeship and the growing friendship between Holmes and Russell. The verbal sparing between the two of them – like two goats ready to but horns – is good for a chuckle or two! The bond of friendship is wonderful to observe and is a strong one between Holmes and Russell, even if Mary continues to Holmes as Holmes while she comes to refer to Dr. Watson as Uncle John. As for the mystery – yes, they do find themselves embroiled in detection (and not necessarily by choice) – King provides readers with a new and wonderful sinister cat and mouse game to rival Holmes’ earlier battles with his arch nemesis, Moriarty, providing for some growing suspense.

Overall, a true reading delight for this Sherlock Holmes fan and I never thought I would say this, but I am quite happily adding the Mary Russell series to my already burgeoning list of series reading. show less

It's 1929 in Paris. The Jazz Age is in full swing and Paris is THE place to be. Harris Stuyvesant has been hired to find Pip, a rich American expat, who has disappeared. Harris had a short fling with the girl so expects to find her in the arms of a lover. However, as he wades through the bars, coffee houses, theatres, and catacombs, he discovers a very dark side to the city of lights and he begins to suspect that Pip will be found among the bones of Paris.

In this marvelous new historical show more mystery by Laurie R King, the reader is taken on a fascinating stroll through the expat community, the back alleys, and artist hangouts of Paris in 1929. The novel is peopled with many of the famous writers, artists, and musicians of the time including Man Ray who even gets to play the role of suspect. The mystery, itself, is less interesting than the city and the time it takes place in. That's not to say it wasn't intriguing and there weren't enough red herrings and twists to keep the reader guessing but King makes Paris come alive in her latest novel in all its dirty, gritty, decadent beauty. show less