FICTION

The Murder of Mary Russell: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

by Laurie R. King
Bantam. Apr. 2016. 368p. ISBN 9780804177900. $28; ebk. ISBN 9780804177917. M
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In spite of the title, this 14th novel in the series (after Dreaming Spies) is really all about Mrs. Hudson, the longtime housekeeper to Sherlock Holmes. King takes the opportunity to create and explore extensively Mrs. Hudson's backstory, including how she met Holmes and came to be his landlady at 221B Baker Street. We learn that Clarissa Hudson was not always the prim purveyor of tea and telegrams familiar from the Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Instead, she was an adventuress who used her skills at mimicry to survive in a rough world. This novel is filled with suspenseful elements such as the promise of lost treasure, shipwrecks, illegitimate children, and Russell's apparent murder.
VERDICT Patient readers will be rewarded by the rich character development and further filling out of King's complex world. Best for fans of historical mysteries and those who enjoy other portrayals of Sherlock Holmes on TV shows such as Sherlock and Elementary. [See Prepub Alert, 10/12/15.]
Reviewed by Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib. , Mar 15, 2016
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