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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This is the latest in King's Mary Russell mystery series, and a much-welcomed return to form, as this novel puts new focus on Russell and Holmes' relationship which was present but not further developed in some of the previous novels. I admit to being a bit disappointed in this novel's villain, but overall I quite enjoyed Locked Rooms.
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes meet Dashiell Hammett in San Francisco. Earthquakes, fires, memory loss and murder.
King scuffled for awhile with her Holmes/Russell books, but this may be her best by far. Dashiell Hammett is one of the minor characters, and for the first time, the book isnt' entirely in the first person. Holmes gets a crack at third person narration.
I continue to enjoy the adventures of Russell and Holmes. Another great read!
After a disapointing The Game, Russell and Holmes are back in great shape with this book. Made me want to visit San Francisco!
An interesting installment in the Russell/Holmes series, in which the mystery is personally related to Russell's past. I enjoyed the story overall, but I felt it took a bit too long for Russell to get past her mental block - it was growing quite tiresome by the end.
One thing I really liked about this story is the way that parts of it are written in third-person, following Holmes. Since the story is usually solely first-person from Russell's perspective, and since the two often go their separate ways, we often get Holmes' piece by him relating it - much as we did in the original Doyle stories, actually, but I never really like that style of story telling. This way was much better - especially since pretty much all of the interesting parts were following Holmes.
(Part III, particularly, dragged from Russell's perspective, and I longed to get back to the meat of the story instead of watching her deal with her issues for 35 more pages. I mean, it was fine and interesting in the beginning, but just grew too belaboured by the end.)
One of my favorite parts was when the sory continued past tradition by weaving in historical and fictional characters, and Holmes encounters and then teams up with Dashiell Hammett - and they discuss, amongst other things, the literary devices used in mystery fiction, and how authors often have to cut out the boring, humdrum parts of real detective work. ^_^
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this installment. Not one of my favorites, perhaps - I believe that honour still goes to the first in the series - but far from one of the worst.
***
Unfortunately it seems the next book is again solely first-person and much devoid of Holmes (based on reviews I've read), so I have to admit that while I did enjoy this installment I'm sort of dreading the next...
One thing I really liked about this story is the way that parts of it are written in third-person, following Holmes. Since the story is usually solely first-person from Russell's perspective, and since the two often go their separate ways, we often get Holmes' piece by him relating it - much as we did in the original Doyle stories, actually, but I never really like that style of story telling. This way was much better - especially since pretty much all of the interesting parts were following Holmes.
(Part III, particularly, dragged from Russell's perspective, and I longed to get back to the meat of the story instead of watching her deal with her issues for 35 more pages. I mean, it was fine and interesting in the beginning, but just grew too belaboured by the end.)
One of my favorite parts was when the sory continued past tradition by weaving in historical and fictional characters, and Holmes encounters and then teams up with Dashiell Hammett - and they discuss, amongst other things, the literary devices used in mystery fiction, and how authors often have to cut out the boring, humdrum parts of real detective work. ^_^
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this installment. Not one of my favorites, perhaps - I believe that honour still goes to the first in the series - but far from one of the worst.
***
Unfortunately it seems the next book is again solely first-person and much devoid of Holmes (based on reviews I've read), so I have to admit that while I did enjoy this installment I'm sort of dreading the next...
I love the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes books. I generally listen to the audiobooks and sometimes I’ll think of them and hear Holmes’s voice in my head.
Admittedly, the story here relied on an awful lot of coincidences but once the suspension of disbelief was secure, it didn’t bother me.
Part of Russell’s childhood was spent in San Francisco, and, as a 6-year-old, she was present for the terror of the earthquake and subsequent fire that destroyed the city. Are these memories the source of the recurrent dreams that become more frequent the closer their ship gets to California? What’s the connection with the accidental death of Mary’s family, whose car plunged off a cliff ten years earlier, flinging Mary to the road just before disappearing over the edge?
I initially was bemused by the appearance of Dashiel Hammett as a character, but he grew on me, and I learned a bit about him. Tubercular, gaunt, impecunious, he’d worked for a time as a Pinkerton detective while living in San Francisco before beginning his career as a novelist. He makes an admirable sidekick for Holmes while Russell is off with her friends exploring the lakefront lodge for clues to her mysterious dreams.
Not quite as compelling as some of the other Russell / Holmes books but a real pleasure nonetheless. The descriptions of the ravaged San Francisco landscape make it a more than worthwhile read.
Admittedly, the story here relied on an awful lot of coincidences but once the suspension of disbelief was secure, it didn’t bother me.
Part of Russell’s childhood was spent in San Francisco, and, as a 6-year-old, she was present for the terror of the earthquake and subsequent fire that destroyed the city. Are these memories the source of the recurrent dreams that become more frequent the closer their ship gets to California? What’s the connection with the accidental death of Mary’s family, whose car plunged off a cliff ten years earlier, flinging Mary to the road just before disappearing over the edge?
I initially was bemused by the appearance of Dashiel Hammett as a character, but he grew on me, and I learned a bit about him. Tubercular, gaunt, impecunious, he’d worked for a time as a Pinkerton detective while living in San Francisco before beginning his career as a novelist. He makes an admirable sidekick for Holmes while Russell is off with her friends exploring the lakefront lodge for clues to her mysterious dreams.
Not quite as compelling as some of the other Russell / Holmes books but a real pleasure nonetheless. The descriptions of the ravaged San Francisco landscape make it a more than worthwhile read.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Alcohol
Minor: Antisemitism, Dementia, Cultural appropriation
How good this is was a real surprise after the travelogue y ones before. Great real personal stakes made the mystery engaging from the beginning and the setting sold it for me. Such a great evocation of SF in two time periods and the Earthquake. I think it’s the first time I’ve read a book like this where I really know the details of the setting. Is this what it’s like to live in London and read classic mysteries?
the last of the mary russell books, sadly. it was very interesting to see mary's hometown of san francisco, and really learn a lot about her past.