Reviews

Next in the Mary Russell series. This one was better than the last one but still a bit predictable. Mary has amnesia, Holmes has to find her, the pair thwart an assassination attempt, the end. But I will continue to read the series because I love these two characters!

ladyethyme's review against another edition

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2.0

Normally a huge Russell fan, this book was a disappointment not to be matched. Instead of taking my time and devouring each delicious page, I found myself falling back in my college skill of speed reading. Nothing but political rambling for chapters on end, I found it dry and withered.

shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition

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Another good Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery. It is a continuation of The Pirate King but I liked this one better. If you're going to read the series, it is good to start at the beginning with The Beekeepers Apprentice. Very clever.

zoereads88's review against another edition

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3.0

This one was probably better than Pirate King, but i found it got bogged down in historical details.

belindas_book_nook_shelf's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kayteeem's review against another edition

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4.0

Much more like the Mary Russell I expect from these books. I enjoyed this very much more than Pirate Freedom, even if my original suspicion proved incorrect. The twists within the revelation went several layers deeper than I had even begun to puzzle out.

Let's hope that we can go a few books now without needing to resort to a mentally incapacitated Russell. Locked Rooms was quite a few volumes back, but I don't enjoy that sort of restriction on the mystery.

rebroxannape's review against another edition

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4.0

Great recovery from the disaster that was The Pirate King. As Always, Ms King folds in real historical personages into the story to interact appropriately with the fictional characters. Because of this and the little known but fascinating history of the region, I would strongly recommend keeping Wikipedia handy. If you like a little education, exotic locales, and history with your mysteries, this effort by Laurie King will appeal. Sherlock and Mary start off apart, and the first pages or so when Mary has amnesia is a little slow, but it picks up considerably when Sherlock makes the scene. She doesn't keep the couple apart too long and doesn't drag out Mary getting her memory back too long either. Actually, I would have liked to see more of her "fresh" take on her husband and more of how Sherlock deals with a wife who does not remember anything about the glory that is Sherlock Holmes. Still, their interactions are nicely done. As always, the puzzle takes second place, but there is a nice little WTF?? near the end. It seems as if Mary and Sherlock may be headed towards a final showdown with Mycroft, who is proving to be the worst sort of diabolical manipulator of history and politicians to advance his own agenda.

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