Lisa (Harmony)

This is the tenth in the Mary Russell series, where King gives Sherlock Holmes an unlikely (on the surface) romantic and professional partner: Mary Russell, a feminist, American, Jewish, an Oxford theological scholar--and less than half his age. It works though, usually the Russell books are a completely engrossing, suspenseful blend of mystery and historical fiction painting a vivid picture of the early 20th century.

Although as the rating indicates, I did like this, I did find it less engrossing than all but one of the other books to date. The low point of the series for me is still the fourth book, <i>The Moor</i>, which did something deadly--bored me in spots. This never lost my interest, but I didn't find it as gripping as others, which I rated mostly four stars with some standouts earning a full five. Maybe part of why I felt that way is that this isn't a standalone. Rather, this is really the second half of a novel in two books, with the first being <i>The Language of Bees</i>--you definitely need to read that one first, and recently, before this one. I did, but something else about this novel bothered me. I think actually one of the strengths of the series is that King ranges widely--in setting, themes, even narrative style. I suspect that keeps things fresh--for her and therefore the reader. The early books up to the eighth, are told first person by Mary, purporting to be her memoirs. After that the books have been a mix of that and third person rotating point of view. That worked for me for in <i>Locked Rooms</i> and <i>The Language of Bees</i>, but not entirely here. There are sections that are obviously more, shall we say, experimental in the narrative technique and one scene in particular I found jarring and irritating in the way it was spun out. And it may be all the shifts in point of view muddied things, but I felt the plot more convoluted than usual. Maybe a less tight focus made it easier to see holes. I also don't like something King did I felt was a cheat--especially since before that happened I was giving her points for guts. The historical parts were also for me less a highlight than in other books.

Were there things I still loved? Oh yes. Several characters were highlights. I loved the American pilot Javitz, the little girl Estelle who brought out an unexpected maternal side in Russell--and especially Robert Goodman--so striking a character I think he could have carried the book himself. I did overall enjoy this--or I wouldn't have rated it even 3 stars. Certainly not where to start in the series though--both because it's not in my opinion one of the stronger installments and because it's no standalone.