4.0
The Murder of Mary Russell
By Laurie R. KingPublisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes series weaves rich historical detail and provocative themes with intriguing characters and enthralling suspense. Russell and Holmes have become one of modern literature’s most beloved teams. But does this adventure end it all?
Mary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond.
And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell’s faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs. Hudson’s son.
What Samuel Hudson tells Russell cannot possibly be true, yet she believes him—as surely as she believes the threat of the gun in his hand. In a devastating instant, everything changes. And when the scene is discovered—a pool of blood on the floor, the smell of gunpowder in the air—the most shocking revelation of all is that the grim clues point directly to Clara Hudson.
Or rather to Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street.
The key to Russell’s sacrifice lies in Mrs. Hudson’s past. To uncover the truth, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper’s secrets—to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away.
There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed.
And nothing will ever be the same.
Praise for The Murder of Mary Russell
“Leaping narrative energy has always been a hallmark of this series, and it reaches something of a peak in this latest volume. . . . The lean momentum of the story never falters. . . . It’s a stunning prolonged feat of storytelling, and it succeeds in making The Murder of Mary Russell the best installment so far in an excellent series.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“[A] sharp, inventive and rewarding series.”—The Seattle Times
“Delightful . . . a triumph of plotting . . . Fans, always hungry to know more personal details about King’s iteration of Sherlock Holmes and his world, will get a few more delicious tidbits this time around.”—Booklist (starred review)
Mary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond.
And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell’s faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs. Hudson’s son.
What Samuel Hudson tells Russell cannot possibly be true, yet she believes him—as surely as she believes the threat of the gun in his hand. In a devastating instant, everything changes. And when the scene is discovered—a pool of blood on the floor, the smell of gunpowder in the air—the most shocking revelation of all is that the grim clues point directly to Clara Hudson.
Or rather to Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street.
The key to Russell’s sacrifice lies in Mrs. Hudson’s past. To uncover the truth, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper’s secrets—to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away.
There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed.
And nothing will ever be the same.
Praise for The Murder of Mary Russell
“Leaping narrative energy has always been a hallmark of this series, and it reaches something of a peak in this latest volume. . . . The lean momentum of the story never falters. . . . It’s a stunning prolonged feat of storytelling, and it succeeds in making The Murder of Mary Russell the best installment so far in an excellent series.”—The Christian Science Monitor
“[A] sharp, inventive and rewarding series.”—The Seattle Times
“Delightful . . . a triumph of plotting . . . Fans, always hungry to know more personal details about King’s iteration of Sherlock Holmes and his world, will get a few more delicious tidbits this time around.”—Booklist (starred review)
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4.0
Ri
Created 10 months agoShare
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Sueight8
Created about 1 year agoShare
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Jen
Created about 1 year agoShare
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“So far this has got to be my least favorite in the series and my worst read of the year. Do I still recommend this series? ABSOLUTELY I DO. This series has pretty much taken over my 2022 reading. But I am only glad to have finished this book just so I could say that I have read the series in whole. This book just doesn’t live up to the rest of the series for me. I mean Russell was gone for what seemed liked 75% of the story! If this book truly had to be written I just wish that the author would have approached it differently at the very least. Perhaps something happening to Ms. Hudson that forced Russell and Holmes to investigate her past? I mean at least have Russell investigating since in the story Holmes knew about Hudson’s past. It was so bloody tedious to have over half the book told by Ms. Hudson from before Holmes was a known figure on Baker Street. It made it extremely difficult to get through the book. (Thank Havens I was listening to the audiobook because it would have been impossible to finish this other wise). And it seems the story was told this way mostly to justify one act that Mary took that was completely justified in the first place, IMO. Its hard to accept the version that King painted of Hudson. Manly because at the end it made it seem like Ms. Hudson as a person was an act or something. I don’t mind that King painted her as a shady character. Is it my favorite take on the lovable land lady? Not exactly. At least the way BBC’s tv show did Ms. Hudson’s backstory was acceptable and done much better. This just felt more like a novella that got to long and out of control so King had turned it into a book. Please Pirate King was ridiculous enough of a book (and King at least admitted that in a way in the opening of the book) that we shouldn’t have had to endure this one also.”
Morag Smith
Created about 1 year agoShare
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dogladyreads
Created about 1 year agoShare
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About Laurie R. King
Laurie R. King is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen Mary Russell mysteries, five contemporary novels featuring Kate Martinelli, the Stuyvesant & Grey novels Touchstone and The Bones of Paris, and the acclaimed A Darker Place, Folly, Califia’s Daughters (written under the pen name Leigh Richards), and Keeping Watch. She lives in Northern California.
Other books by Laurie R. King
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