“The exquisite juxtaposition of lady-like threats and backhanded compliments proved irresistible.”
When I first heard that some upstart California mystery writer named Laurie R. King had dared marry off Sherlock Holmes to a young American woman I was horrified. That was, of course, until I started reading her books and couldn’t put them down.
Sherlock Holmes takes Mary Russell on as an apprentice in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. It is the early years of WW I, and Holmes is retired in Sussex Downs -- where Conan Doyle left him raising bees. She is an orphan rebelling against her guardian aunt's strictures and impresses the sleuth with her intelligence and acumen. Holmes initiates her into the mysteries of detection, allowing her to participate in a few cases when she comes home from her studies at Oxford.
Next Sunday the 13th at 2pm the Usual Suspects will be discussing the third book in the series, A Letter of Mary, which takes us forward in time to 1923 where we find Holmes and Russell happily married.
A Letter of Mary introduced many readers, myself included, to Mary Magdalene’s possible apostolic and wifely identity years before it was “revealed” in The Da Vinci Code.
Holmes and 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 archaeologist winds up dead and someone attempts to make off with the artifact, they become embroiled in a rollicking story filled with political intrigue and highbrow sleuthing.
Author King has a wonderful website which includes a feature called Mary Russell’s World where you can find background information on the historical period, a Russell and Holmes timeline, a crossword puzzle that appeared in the New Yorker, and excerpts from all eight titles in the series.
Hope you can join us on Sunday. New faces are always welcome. To reserve a copy of the book call 291-4821.
