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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Very satisfying story. The villain was fairly obvious, but that in no way detracted from the magic LRK weaves. And once again, narrator Jenny Sterlin is a gem!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Having never read a Mary Russel mystery before, I was a little taken aback at how the character of Sherlock was portrayed. Although different from what I had expected, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I appreciated how the author kept to one character’s point of view for the most part, only diverging between Sherlock and Russell when they were apart from each other. I felt that their relationship and how they work together to solve the mystery was very well done and I applaud the author for using a strong female lead as the main character, even if she does rely on Sherlock a little more than I feel like she should. I will definitely be checking out the other stories in this series.
Having never read a Mary Russel mystery before, I was a little taken aback at how the character of Sherlock was portrayed. Although different from what I had expected, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I appreciated how the author kept to one character’s point of view for the most part, only diverging between Sherlock and Russell when they were apart from each other. I felt that their relationship and how they work together to solve the mystery was very well done and I applaud the author for using a strong female lead as the main character, even if she does rely on Sherlock a little more than I feel like she should. I will definitely be checking out the other stories in this series.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A most enjoyable adventure.
I was more than a bit cross that the queen—drawn for us as a powerhouse of resilience, wit, and intelligence, who faced war, political intrigue, and the grief of losing a child—was kept from full knowledge of the plot against her because it might upset her. 🤔
I was more than a bit cross that the queen—drawn for us as a powerhouse of resilience, wit, and intelligence, who faced war, political intrigue, and the grief of losing a child—was kept from full knowledge of the plot against her because it might upset her. 🤔
I'm sad this is the last book I'll probably read of Mary Russell for a long time! It was a 3.5 it had all the components I wanted.
mysterious
It's truly astonishing how fresh and alive Laurie R. King keeps this series, at *number seventeen*. It's my favorite Sherlockiana by far. Holmes and Russell, as read to me every time by Jenny Sterlin since I first discovered this series *on tape* in the early aughties, feel like cherished friends.
Edit: Nope, not early aughties. Holmes and Russell have been with me since the late 90s.
Edit: Nope, not early aughties. Holmes and Russell have been with me since the late 90s.
This was my first Russell/Holmes book. I'm not sure how I felt about it. As a mystery book, it was a bit meandering - for a lot of the book there was no clear, simple driving question like "who killed X?" I'm also new to Russell and Holmes' relationship but I can't say it set me alight, either as romantic partners or detective partners. Something about it just didn't grab me.
That being said, I got into it enough to want to keep reading and find out what happened, and I did enjoy the climax.
I also didn't care much for the depiction of the Romanian villagers and servants as an uneducated and mostly nameless mob-in-waiting. All human beings educated or not are complex and have feelings, wants, needs and beliefs which didn't come across, as those characters had little individual presence or agency, but were there as a prop.
That being said, I got into it enough to want to keep reading and find out what happened, and I did enjoy the climax.
I also didn't care much for the depiction of the Romanian villagers and servants as an uneducated and mostly nameless mob-in-waiting. All human beings educated or not are complex and have feelings, wants, needs and beliefs which didn't come across, as those characters had little individual presence or agency, but were there as a prop.
The Romanian location created such a fun ambience for Mary and Holmes’ most recent case. I also enjoyed seeing them solve a case together without being separated for large chunks of the story.
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No