O Jerusalem

Author Laurie R. King sends Holmes and Russell to British controlled Palestine to work on a case for Mycroft.  During their sojurn they masquerade as an Arab man and boy traveling with two others through the countryside.  Their costumes bring them into some unusual situations as Russell proves to their two guides her ability with a knife and her willingness to kill if necessary.  The four of them uncover a plot to destroy British rule and of course triumph.  An exciting story.

Books books books

Now that school is in session again, it is harder to get around to blogging about my reading. 

Here is what I read - as far as I can remember

The Lies of Fair Ladies - Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy book - loved it.
The Moor - Laurie R. King - a Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell book - I listened to it and loved it.
Deep Shadow - Randy Wayne White - A Doc Ford mystery - probably his best yet.

If I think of anything else, I will write again.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women - Laurie R. King

I just realized that I had omitted writing anything about this book.  I finished listening to it several weeks ago.  The book involves a charismatic woman preacher who has drawn a large following of wealthy women.  Why have so many of these women died?  Is the minister to blame?  It certainly looks as though she would be guilty.  This book was a good entry in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series and I recommend it highly.  One caveat, the series should be read in order.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

I'm still listening to the series of Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Laurie R. King that I read already.  I just finished A Letter of Mary in which Dorothy Ruskin, an archaeologist, presents to Mary a parchment she has discovered which appears to be from the hand of Mary Magdalene.  While Russell is studying the letter, she and Holmes discover that Ruskin has been found dead.  Determining that she was murdered, they then begin to seek clues regarding the murderer. 

A Letter of Mary is fairly interesting in its study of early documents and the implications such a document as a letter from Mary Magdalene would have on society.  I did not find the conclusion of the mystery that satisfying.  Perhaps I missed a clue or two.  This would not surprise me as sometimes when I listen to a book, my attention wanders.

Rereading Laurie R. King

I have decided to reread Laurie R. King's Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell books - but I am cheating!  I am listening to the books.  I just finished her first Holmes/Russell book - The Beekeeper's Apprentice. I recommend it highly.  Mary Russell is a teenager when she first meets her neighbor Sherlock Holmes.  When the two of them match wits, Holmes finds that this young woman is his intellectual match.  He soon begins teaching her the tricks of his trade and the two work together to solve their first case: who is trying to kill them and why?  I never read any of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, yet I find this series to be a wonderful read.  You might also like to read The God of the Hive reviewed previously.

The God of the Hive

This latest Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery by Laurie R. King continues last year’s The Language of Bees. Russell and Holmes are separately trying to get back to London from northern Scotland. Russell has a small child with her and is dependent on an American pilot for help. Holmes is on the North Sea traveling with a young man with a gunshot wound and a woman doctor. It’s hard to say much about this book without spoiling its predecessor. I recommend this book, but if you have never read a Russell/Holmes book, please begin with the first book, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.