Castle Shade

Castle Shade - L.R.King
Audio performance by Jenny Sterlin
4 stars

Holmes and Russell respond to a royal request that sends them to Roumania. Seventeen books into this series and I’m still impressed with the inventive details. Despite the teasing references to Stoker’s Dracula, this was an interesting historical mystery with no real paranormal influence. I learned something about Queen Marie of Roumania, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II. The lingering effects of WWI and the Paris Peace Conference provide a context for the threatening events at Castle Bran. It’s a wonderful setting filled with interesting characters and enough red herrings to keep me in my car enjoying the audio performance.

Mary Russell has been persuaded by her husband Sherlock Holmes to join him at Castle Bran in Transylvania, Roumania to help figure who is threatening Queen Marie and her daughter. Are the threats political or personal? Is the Castle and its staff involved or just bystanders? Are the images portrayed in Stoker's Dracula real or just being used to make the villagers and surrounding countryside nervous hostile? Will the Queen been driven away or worse?

It was so interesting to see the Transylvanian village both support their Queen while at the same time bee overcome by the superstitions of their ancient folklore. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes never fail to solve the issues being addressed, but this time they also started addressing show more issues of their own.

Looking forward to Mycroft's reactions! show less

On the whole, I am hugely enthusiastic about Laurie R. King's Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, but I haven't enjoyed the last few novels as much as previous ones. Maybe it's the lack of Russell and Holmes working together. Maybe the settings just haven't been places I'd want to be transported to. But Castle Shade is up there with the best of the series.

Castle Shade juggles some classic horror tropes with a keen-eyed examination of European politics post-WWI European politics. We get concerns about vampires, about the disappearances of young women. We also get Queen Marie of Romania, a politically astute grandchild of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. These two worlds collide at Castle Bran—Marie's favorite show more retreat located on the border of Romania and the recently reannexed Transylvania. Is this mystery paranormal or political? Not even Russell and Holmes are sure.

If you love the Russell-Holmes series, you'll be reading this novel regardless of my review, but if it's a series that is new to you or it's one that you haven't kept up with, Castle Shade offers an excellent opportunity to bring yourself back into the fold.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. show less

I quite enjoyed this novel set in a country steeped in vampire legends. I thought the use of mythology as a way to hide the baser motives of greed and entitlement that drove the bad guy was pretty clever. I also enjoyed the glimpses of Mary's & Sherlock's relationship

In other series, globetrotting seems forced, but not for Mary Russell and her partner in life and crime, Sherlock Holmes. Fresh from Monaco, they’re summoned to Romania by no less than Queen Marie, whose daughter has been threatened. In less deft hands, the plot would seem contrived, but Laurie R. King, who can capture Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s voice perfectly, makes Castle Shade into a suspenseful page-turner loaded with peasant superstitions and political intrigue. Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Random House Publishing Groups and Ballantine, Bantam in exchange for an honest review.

Mary and Sherlock's next adventure takes them to Roumania where Marie, Queen of Roumania, has a problem. Mary has caught quite a hea d cold which she blames on the children of her hosts in Monaco and isn't tracking well as Holmes bundles her onto a train. When she recovers somewhat, she takes charge of their travel plans and gets them to the country sooner.

When they arrive, they learn that someone is trying to ruin Marie's reputation with the people near her castle in Bran. Some of the things they have tried is trying to make it look like Marie is using witchcraft and harassing some of the young women in town with rumors of vampires. Things escalate until Mary is attacked and abducted, drugged and left in a small underground room which show more was described in great detail along with Mary's fear of small, enclosed spaces and fears of being buried alive.

When one of castle servants who bears a strong resemblance to Marie's daughter Ileana is also abducted, Holmes and Russell need to discover the villain and save the girl which entails a wild motorcycle ride through the countryside.

I loved the historical detail about the time and place. I knew nothing about Marie of Roumania before reading this book and was intrigued to learn about her. The descriptions of the people and the castle were both vivid and detailed. They were also intriguing. I liked that both Holmes and Russell had chapters from their viewpoint. It was interesting to see Holmes's viewpoint of the state of his marriage to Mary Russell.

This is a wonderful historical mystery series and this seventeenth episode was a great entry into the series. show less

Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes, a dilapidated castle in Transylvania, some shady characters, a gypsy here and there, what more could you ask for? A queen’s honor is in question and it is up to Mr. & Mrs. Holmes to unravel an old dark fairy tale which appears to have been reborn. While they are chipping away at the possible suspects, things are going bump in the night, people are being attacked, girls are going missing. Bran Castle is at the heart of this mystery and each twist and turn in the story brings us back to this castle that has been gifted to the Queen. Lots of questions - Would he, What would they find when, if?

Laurie King has give us a solid addition to this series. Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Books/Random House for a show more copy. show less