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A Letter of Mary (Library Binding)

by Laurie R. King (Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

List Price:	CDN$ 17.06
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A Monstrous Regiment of Women: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R King
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Product Details

Library Binding
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439560846
ISBN-13: 978-1439560846
Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.7 x 2.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 227 g

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

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This is item 3 in The Mary Russell Series.

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Sherlock Holmes and his scholarly companion Mary Russell are caught up in an exciting mystery when an archaeologist leaves them with a treasured find, a papyrus supposedly written by Mary Magdalene. When the archaeoligist winds up dead and someone attempts to make off with the artifact, Holmes and Russel become embroiled in a rollicking story filled with political intrigue and highbrow sleuthing. The level of writing hasn't been higher in this Laurie King series. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

King set a new paradigm for Holmesian scholarship with her inspired invention of a retired, still energetic Sherlock Holmes who trained young Mary Russell in The Beekeeper's Apprentice (1994) and then embraced her as a professional partner and wife (A Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1995). This third in the series, set in 1923, involves the suspicious death of Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archeologist recently returned from Palestine, who gave Mary, an academic theologian, a letter dated about A.D. 70 written by "Mariam the Apostle" to her sister in Magdala. Mary Magdalene? An Apostle? Holmes and "Mrs. Sherlock," as Lord Peter Wimsey addresses her in a funny cameo, collaborate. Red herrings define the political and cultural climate: a retired colonel's opposition to women's suffrage; Dorothy's interest in Zionism; the British Near East scholar/spy network; the tumultuously upsetting implications of the letter for organized Christianity. The investigation also includes the Ruskin family. King's achievement is her depiction of the complex relationship between two individualists. Almost 40 years apart, they're fondly indulgent of one another's idiosyncrasies and share intellectual camaraderie, companionable humor and sexual attraction. While Sherlock delivers ongoing tutelage in arcane clue analysis, Mary hypnotizes a witness to prod her memory. If you can't imagine the misogynist Sherlock Holmes sharing domestic bliss, this novel will make you a believer. Major ad/promo; author tour; paperback rights: Bantam; audio rights: Durkin Hayes and Recorded Books.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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	39% buy the item featured on this page: A Letter of Mary 3.5 out of 5 stars (41) CDN$ 12.61
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Customer Reviews

41 Reviews

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There Are Lots Better Out There for Holmes Fans, Jul 1 2003

By	Lee Enderlin (Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Letter of Mary (Mass Market Paperback)

Like two of the other books in this series, the plot construction of "Letter of Mary" is so poor that as a professional writer myself, I was stunned that it even got published. It is an amazingly large flaw.

In this story, Russell and Holmes separate from each other in order to investigate two suspicious families. King then spends the bulk of the book discussing Russell's experiences. She doesn't let us know anything about what Holmes is doing-he's completely ignored during this part of the story. It all falls apart in the end when we learn in a rather offhand manner that the family that Holmes is investigating is harboring the perpetrator. King does not spend one word preparing us for that. Suddenly, we realize that we have spent 200 pages reading about nothing more than a wild goose chase! Russell's suspects turn out to have absolutely nothing to do with the crime! I was left with one question as I tossed the book away: "What on earth was the point of that?" I can understand having Russell as the main character, but why not have her solve the mystery instead of force-feeding the reader 200 pages of stuff that ultimately have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot? You could skip those pages and the story line wouldn't change at all. That tells me this book is just terribly written.

Two other books in this series, "A Monstrous Regiment of Women" and "The Moor" suffer the same fate. Also poorly plotted, they are not worth reading. The other two books I found to rise up to the level of mediocre. It's as if the publisher figured they could sell any book written by anyone with the last name of King.

If you're looking for some fresh, modern Holmes novels, try the series by Larry Millett. They are far, far better written and are much more enjoyable reads.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Great Theme, May 31 2009

By	C. Pasternak "Russell fan" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Letter of Mary (Mass Market Paperback)

A letter of Mary is imaginative. It felt a bit like a Hitchcock story. The plot wasnt as tight as Kings other novels and I wasnt able to follow along very well, but I really enjoyed Russell and Holmes character - some uncharacteristic disguises. A great theme!

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2.0 out of 5 stars Diminishing returns, April 13 2004

By	musickna "musickna" (Saint Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Letter of Mary (Mass Market Paperback)

The first two books detailing the further imaginary adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell, were entertaining - sadly the same cannot be said of the third, A Letter To Mary. The irritating elements of the first novels - an over-precious writing style and a marked inability to convincingly recreate the aura of Sherlock Holmes' society in England in the early 20th century - become far more pronounced here and a relatively weak and unexciting plot compounds the dissatisfaction. The writing slips into occasional preachiness and the characters are becoming less, rather than more, believeable. Disappointing to be sure - I hope the author regains the form of the earlier novels in her next effort.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and Fun!
I have never had an interest in reading the Sherlock Holmes' novels, but I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice and enjoyed it. Read more

Published on April 1 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars A "Letter" worth reading.
Laurie R. King's Sherlock Holmes pastiches are some of the most interesting and well written of that genre. Read more

Published on Feb 18 2004

2.0 out of 5 stars King Runs Out of Narrative Steam
While I enjoyed the first two books as light reading, this third one puts an end to my reading of the Mary Russell series. Read more

Published on Jan 29 2004 by J. Garlen

1.0 out of 5 stars A Study In Mashochism
I can't believe I got suckered again. I'd promised myself I wasn't going to waste my time with another Laurie King novel, but I grabbed the book to take sailing. Read more

Published on Sep 21 2003 by Carla MD