Riviera Gold

This Russell and Holmes mystery takes place in July 1925, immediately after Island of the Mad. Mary Russell leaves Venice for Monaco, hoping to see her former housekeeper -- and discovers that Mrs Hudson has been accused of murder.

As always, I love Russell's first person narration and her observations of the world around her. The historical scenery is particularly vivid here: cliffs and ocean views, the Monte Carlo casino, expats with questionable pasts and connections, smugglers, Jazz Age artists, and bronze casting. Moreover, these are not just the scenic sights of Monaco, they’re all relevant to the mystery Russell is unravelling.

I also liked the indications that Russell and Holmes’ unconventional marriage works for them. They show more respect and support each other’s independence -- to travel separately, pursue their own interests, make their own decisions and hold conflicting views. They’re not demonstrative, at least not in public, yet it’s clear they care deeply about each other, and when reunited they slip comfortably back into working together.

I resented Mrs Hudson’s lies, the false face she had deceived me with. And I resented Holmes, for keeping it from me, his wife and partner. As if I had any right to require a full confession from her -- from either of them -- for a thing that had happened long before I was born. But I was very young when I lost my family. The loss of Mrs Hudson felt like a second abandonment. [...] I realised, during those silent nights on the Stella Maris, that what I wanted most was not to tell her that I forgave her. What I wanted was for her to forgive me, for having judged her. show less

After their adventures in Venice, Sherlock and Mary split up for different destinations. Holmes is off to Romania for something to do with vampires while Mary sails to the South of France with the Honorable Terry and some friends. Mary wants to see if she can locate their former housekeeper Mrs. Hudson who left a clue that Monaco was her destination when she left them.

Clarissa Hudson is in Monaco with some plans for her retirement that means she needs to interact with some of the shady characters who are making Monaco their home base in 1925. From smugglers to arms dealers to White Russians who fled the revolution, Monaco is filled with shady characters.

Monaco is also the home of a growing group of American ex-pats led by Gerald and show more Sara Murphy who are gathering a group of artists of all kinds from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Pablo Picasso.

When the body of a handsome young man is found in Mrs. Hudson's sitting room, Mary and Sherlock get involved in finding out what happened since Mary, at least, is certain that Mrs. Hudson had nothing to do with the murder.

I loved the setting and characters in this story and the way real historical characters are included in the story along with the fictional ones. The historical detail in intriguing. The story moves at a fast pace and was engaging. I can't wait for more adventures starring Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. show less

This series has generally been reliable, the kind you can turn to when you need to relax, refresh, and be entertained. That said, I have found it occasionally uneven; IMO King sort of lost her way with [b:Pirate King|9970915|Pirate King (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, #11)|Laurie R. King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553707431l/9970915._SY75_.jpg|14865137] and it didn't really get back on track until [b:Dreaming Spies|22318363|Dreaming Spies (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, #13)|Laurie R. King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401917932l/22318363._SX50_.jpg|41111194].

[b:Riviera Gold|52062913|Riviera Gold (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, #16)|Laurie R. show more King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571752359l/52062913._SY75_.jpg|73454161] is similar to its immediate predecessor, [b:Island of the Mad|36296239|Island of the Mad (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #15)|Laurie R. King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513356361l/36296239._SY75_.jpg|57962514], in that the action takes place in a Mediterranean holiday venue for the Jazz Age elite, but it lacks some of the sparkle that permeated Island. I suppose that is to be expected - a plot involving Cole Porter, Elsa Maxwell and the Italian Blackshirts would be hard to match.

Still, it was hardly a slog and served well to distract me from recent fascinating, though stress-inducing, reads. As always, Jenny Sterlin was an outstanding narrator. show less

After their adventures in Venice, Sherlock and Mary split up for different destinations. Holmes is off to Romania for something to do with vampires while Mary sails to the South of France with the Honorable Terry and some friends. Mary wants to see if she can locate their former housekeeper Mrs. Hudson who left a clue that Monaco was her destination when she left them.

Clarissa Hudson is in Monaco with some plans for her retirement that means she needs to interact with some of the shady characters who are making Monaco their home base in 1925. From smugglers to arms dealers to White Russians who fled the revolution, Monaco is filled with shady characters.

Monaco is also the home of a growing group of American ex-pats led by Gerald and show more Sara Murphy who are gathering a group of artists of all kinds from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Pablo Picasso.

When the body of a handsome young man is found in Mrs. Hudson's sitting room, Mary and Sherlock get involved in finding out what happened since Mary, at least, is certain that Mrs. Hudson had nothing to do with the murder.

I loved the setting and characters in this story and the way real historical characters are included in the story along with the fictional ones. The historical detail in intriguing. The story moves at a fast pace and was engaging. I can't wait for more adventures starring Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. show less

After their adventures in Venice, Sherlock and Mary split up for different destinations. Holmes is off to Romania for something to do with vampires while Mary sails to the South of France with the Honorable Terry and some friends. Mary wants to see if she can locate their former housekeeper Mrs. Hudson who left a clue that Monaco was her destination when she left them.

Clarissa Hudson is in Monaco with some plans for her retirement that means she needs to interact with some of the shady characters who are making Monaco their home base in 1925. From smugglers to arms dealers to White Russians who fled the revolution, Monaco is filled with shady characters.

Monaco is also the home of a growing group of American ex-pats led by Gerald and show more Sara Murphy who are gathering a group of artists of all kinds from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Pablo Picasso.

When the body of a handsome young man is found in Mrs. Hudson's sitting room, Mary and Sherlock get involved in finding out what happened since Mary, at least, is certain that Mrs. Hudson had nothing to do with the murder.

I loved the setting and characters in this story and the way real historical characters are included in the story along with the fictional ones. The historical detail in intriguing. The story moves at a fast pace and was engaging. I can't wait for more adventures starring Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. show less

Every time I pick up one the Mary Russell mysteries, I imagine her as Eleanor Roosevelt. Both are strong, intelligent women and were married to challenging men. Mary Russell is married to Sherlock Holmes. She’s lot younger than he is and manages to hold her own. The latest book, Riviera Gold, follows Mary as she leaves Venice in 1925, the setting for the last mystery, on a sailboat heading for the French Riviera and Monaco. Of course, where Mary goes, ill winds will follow. This time she finds herself helping the Holmes former housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, who has been arrested for the murder of a young man. Of course, Holmes is there, but Mary is quite capable of solving mysteries herself. I loved the further development of Clarissa show more Hudson into an unexpected force in her own right with a history no one know about. I recommend that readers first read The Murder of Mary Russell. One of the things I like about Laurie King’s series is her lack of reminding people what happened in previous books. show less

Another gutsy performance by Mary Russell!

Before my eyes Mary Russell, investigator, intellectual/prodigy, wife and partner to Sherlocke Holmes, a derring do sailor (despite her dislike of sailing), art critic and avenging angel sails into Monte Carlo without Holmes. Of course she's never sure when, or if, Holmes will join her. Is already there, or off somewhere else?
Mary sails off from Venice with the Hon. Terry and gang, and after twenty-two days of hard work and avoiding sea sickness she arrives in Monte Carlo.
Mrs Hudson, now Clara not Clarissa, has left the Holmes abode. The last Mary heard (whilst in Venice) was that she'd been seen in Monte Carlo.
When Mary does see her, Mrs. Hudson is at a beach party with some of Mary's new and show more reasonably wealthy, avant garde friends, she's lending a hand minding the children.
All I can say to King is, "What did you do with Mrs Hudson?" Last I saw of her was in "The Murder of Mary Russell" leaving the Holmes' residence for--maybe Monte Carlo.
And now here's a new or rather evolving chapter in Mrs. Hudson's life, along with Mary and Holmes. Gone is the housekeeper. Now we have an older, more elegantly dressed woman, and as it turns out, a close friend of Lily Langtree.
This is a time charged with artists, arms dealers, old scores to be settled, smugglers, White Russians and more against the background of the Mediterranean.
It seems Mrs. Hudson touches all these concerns in some way or another. What is her end game? Well that's completely shrouded in mystery.
When Holmes arrives, he finds things have moved quickly and when Mary is threatened he moves like lightning.
I was glued. Throughout there is a feel of the giddy times of the 1920's--1925 to be exact.
Picasso turns up and there's a nod given I felt to his future works, in the descriptions of the scenes Mary and the group saw en route to a metal foundry for a pouring for bronze sculptures.
"Picasso would stand for a moment in admiration, then return to the conversation—leaving one with the conviction that the flowers, the boys, the shadow had been etched into his visual memory forever."
This was another cracker of a read!

A Random House - Ballantine ARC via NetGalley show less