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Title: The Moor: A Mary Russell Novel by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553579525 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 05 January, 1999 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.26
Rating: 3
Summary: Where's Mary?
Comment: I am reading the Mary Russell books in order so I, obviously, don't have a problem with the premise of Mary and Sherlock working together. My problem with "The Moor" is that Mary is reduced to a mere plot device in the first half of the book. The only reason she is there is to give author King an excuse to write a Sherlock Holmes mystery. When Mary finally gets going in the second half, her role is much more diminished than in previous adventures. The second half of the book does make it all worthwhile, though. While not outstanding, "The Moor" is a decent read for fans of the Mary Russell series. If you haven't read any before, though, for heaven's sake don't start here. Go back to "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" and welcome aboard.
Rating: 4
Summary: Most Satisfying Since "Beekeeper"
Comment: While "The Moor" is not up to "Beekeeper's Apprentice"'s promise, I still pity Ms. King. It's the crowning irony of her career that when an author writes a book this good, she will inevitably not please everyone. Fans of the Holmes-Russell detecting duo will cry foul over this mystery's lukewarm punch. Fans of the emotionally satisfying Holmes-Russell courtship and marriage will sift "The Moor" for bodice-ripping scenes--in vain. And fans of the Sherlock Holmes Canon will yell automatically, but we who love her books them anyway.
Still, it's one of her best, and for the same reasons all her Mary Russell books--even the weak ones--are good. Dartmoor unfolds before us as a kind of moral proving ground, a Presence. We are introduced to Sabine Baring-Gould in the winter of his prolific life, and to his house, which is another Presence--ramshackle, book-lined, with the smell of dinner wafting through to the dusty library. Ms. King knows what she likes, and delivers: innumerable fires in the grate, banked up against the storm outside, and chairs drawn up to the fire-irons, and the tea-things close to hand. She knows Holmes looks must fetching slumped in a fireside chair at 2 a.m., his fingers steepled as he ruminates a difficult case with Mary.
And she knows that what her fans really want is not merely a cold-blooded mystery nor an incongruous bodice-ripper, but for her characters to be true to the real adult people they so obviously are, and to love each other. Which they do, in spades. Holmes' unspoken devotion to Baring-Gould was nicely understated. And King's most romantic scene in the Beekeeper books occurs as Mary, in slightly over her head while sleuthing, paces the floor for Holmes' return. A deftly written moment, and one that makes me wonder how some readers could have so completely misunderstood what Laurie King was trying to say about the integrity of erotic love and emotional bonds.
Alas, "The Moor" was over too soon, and I was left immersed in an atmosphere of old books, old hymns, the power of the moor, and the passing of something grand and beautiful. Not bad, for a historical mystery.
Rating: 4
Summary: weakest of the excellent Mary Russell series
Comment: This is the fourth book by Laurie King about Mary Russell and her partner, Sherlock Holmes. King is a superb writer and she captures the eeriness of the English moor, but I was a bit disappointed with this novel, and give it a lower rating than the first three books in the series.
This is a good book -- with interesting characters and circumstances -- but the pacing is very sloooooow, the mystery is not terribly interesting and, most egregious of all, the dialogue between Russell and Holmes, usually the high point of this great series, never sparkles. Perhaps others are disappointed at the lack of detail concerning the couple's romantic life; I am more interested in their intellectual communion, and that is sorely missing here. I also noticed a fair number of typographical errors for the first time in the series, suggesting lazy or hurried writing, or perhaps a lack of editorial assistance. Perhaps Ms. King should take a rest between novels? It's a shame that this book does not live up to expectations, being a continuation (of sorts) of Holmes' greatest adventure. The mood of the moor and Baskerville Hall are great, the many characters are well written, but unfortunately the spark is not here. Still a fun read for fans, but not as good as the three previous efforts. I will continue to follow the series, but will probably buy them used.
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Title: A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553574566 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: January, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553381520 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Justice Hall: A Mary Russell Novel by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553581112 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Grave Talent by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553573993 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: To Play the Fool by Laurie R. King ISBN: 0553574558 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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