A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King
Review by Thomas F. (hardtack)
I am continually surprised by my discovery of new, at least to me, authors who abducted Sherlock Holmes into new adventures. Some of these stories are light and short, others are humorous and some are deeply intellectual. I believe Arthur Conan Doyle would respect, if not actually like, the latter.
Laurie King has 13 such novels in a series that begins with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. This series might outrage some devoted Holmes and Watson fans, as Watson is replaced by a young girl. The now-retired Holmes meets 16-year-old Mary Russell on the moor and is intrigued by her. Russell reminds Holmes of himself at a younger age and he is delighted to find that she has many of his deductive skills. However, Russell, like Holmes, has some baggage. She is the sole survivor of a car accident that killed her family, and has the physical and mental scars to prove it. Plus, she has a detested aunt who, appointed her guardian, covets the wealth Russell inherited. This first book spans a number of years during which Russell matures as a detective and also enters Oxford to read for her degree. The plot thickens as it becomes apparent that someone is out to kill both of them.
I just finished A Letter of Mary, which is the third book in the series. Doyle’s fans might be further annoyed that Russell and Homes are now married. They did so after the second book, A Monstrous Regiment of Women. Holmes is now in his 60s, while Russell is in her early 20s and still studying at Oxford, as she makes time between murder mysteries. And both are masters of disguises.
Laurie King has threads running though her novels that tie the series together. For example, in A Letter of Mary Holmes and Russell investigate the death of a woman they met in Palestine during the first book, when they were forced to flee England for their lives. While in Palestine they also did some work for Mycroft, Holmes’s brother, who still conducts mysterious business in support of the British Empire. Mycroft pops up in the first three books, and I suspect others. The Baker Street Irregulars, now grown up and with their own families, make their appearance in the books, still doing errands for Holmes, and now Russell too.
There is a very decided feminist thread in the books, as England has emerged from its Victorian Era and women are striving for a greater role in a society much changed after World War I. This especially becomes apparent in the second book and is a strong plot device in the third. In fact, resistance to this new role of women may form the motive for a murder in the third.
Those who like to consecutively read all the novels in a series, might want to reconsider that practice for this series. I found the Holmes and Russell novels to be much more intellectual than most cozies, and reading even two back-to-back might tire the brain cells. I found I enjoyed them more when I read several lighter mysteries or other genres in between.
If finding Holmes married to a much younger woman, whom he acknowledges as his equal, is unpalatable to you, then just read the first one—The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. Russell is still very much Holmes’ protégé in the first book, and both of them have to deal with an unfinished chapter from Doyle’s adventures that threatens them. And that is all I can tell without spoiling it for you.
I read The Beekeeper’s Apprentice last summer and enjoyed it, but other more pressing books on Mt. TBR kind of made me forget about it until reading your review. This makes me want to pick up the next book in the series. 🙂