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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, War
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
This was fantastic. I sort of stalled out on this series and got bored after book 3, and didn’t love book 4. But 5 and 6 were terrific (as in I’ve ignored all my usual podcasts BC I was so engrossed in them. That hasn’t really happened to this extent before?) I’m forcing myself to take a break in the series BC I have books I’ve waited forever for in the cue.
Immensely satisfying. Few writers can make me persist through badly scratched disks in an audiobook from the public library, but Laurie R. King's Russell and Holmes series always hooks me with authentic (if updated) characters, rich settings, and complex plots. Recorded Books readers are always wonderful as well, so I just wasn't willing to give up. This one revives characters from the couple's Palestine adventures transplanted to an English ducal manor as they attempt to assign blame for the death of young heir during WWI.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read this book. Initially I discovered Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes in an independent crime bookshop in Cork, many years ago, and as it was the name of my grandmother I picked up the first in the series.
Justice Hall is for my mind the very best of the series. There are lots of books that capture the futility of World War I, the story of Gabriel for me epitomises the waste and the pointlessness.
Which isn’t to say that I have much sympathy for the aristocracy, but I do love the atmosphere in this - country house, mystery, family secrets, everything needed for escapism.
Justice Hall is for my mind the very best of the series. There are lots of books that capture the futility of World War I, the story of Gabriel for me epitomises the waste and the pointlessness.
Which isn’t to say that I have much sympathy for the aristocracy, but I do love the atmosphere in this - country house, mystery, family secrets, everything needed for escapism.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's hard for me to give out a four star rating for a series mystery, but this one was definitely a strong and enjoyable entry into the Mary Russell series. Intriguing mystery, well written, and good story.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an excellent addition to the series. It has a lot of elements that work so well for me:
- TONS of Homes and Russell working together - later books in the series suffer when it’s lots of them working apart, but this one showcases both their working relationship and the dynamics of their marriage, and I love the comfortable trust in each other’s competence and the joy in their company.
- the case, which strikes the right balance of personal but not live-or-die stakes. I liked that Russell seemed proactive is solving the case- it wasn’t just REACTING they whole time.
- the return of Mahmoud and Ali, and the introduction of Iris - wonderful characters.
This also isn’t an easy read in places. The main crime has taken place years before and we already know how it ended up, sadly. It deals with the awful situation of a young soldier being executed during WW1, and the descriptions of the war are -appropriately- awful.
If there were any element I would improve on, it would have been a more satisfying confrontation with the antagonist, but overall the ending is good and wraps things up nicely.
- TONS of Homes and Russell working together - later books in the series suffer when it’s lots of them working apart, but this one showcases both their working relationship and the dynamics of their marriage, and I love the comfortable trust in each other’s competence and the joy in their company.
- the case, which strikes the right balance of personal but not live-or-die stakes. I liked that Russell seemed proactive is solving the case- it wasn’t just REACTING they whole time.
- the return of Mahmoud and Ali, and the introduction of Iris - wonderful characters.
This also isn’t an easy read in places. The main crime has taken place years before and we already know how it ended up, sadly. It deals with the awful situation of a young soldier being executed during WW1, and the descriptions of the war are -appropriately- awful.
If there were any element I would improve on, it would have been a more satisfying confrontation with the antagonist, but overall the ending is good and wraps things up nicely.