July 30, 2012
Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes In the opening chapter of her new book, Garment of Shadows, Laurie R. King doesnât identity her first-person narratorâfor a very good reason. Her heroine suffers from amnesia and doesnât know who she is (though readers will instantly recognize her as Mary Russell, young wife of the much older Sherlock Holmes, now a retired beekeeper in Sussex). King takes a risk by going for upwards of 30 pages essentially without dialogue. This could be a challenge in the hands of a less gifted writer, but Kingâs vivid prose and attention to detail draw us into Maryâs predicament, as she finds herself in Morocco, not knowing how she got there. Forced to piece together her own history through clues she discovers on her person as well as around her, Mary embarks upon an adventure involving spies and traitors that takes her and Sherlock to Morocco in 1924, during the height of the Rif revolt. King brings the city of Fez and its environs to life with her vivid portrayal of Arabic culture. Her grasp of the tenuous, prickly relations among Great Britain, France, and warring political factions in rapidly evolving Morocco is impressive. Some readers may find the chapters laying out the politics in extensive detail trying, while others may find them fascinating. Kingâs prose is sprinkled liberally with Arabic words and phrases, and while perhaps not be to everyoneâs taste, they add to the color and richness of her narrative. The premise of the book, though original and intriguing, is somewhat problematic. Thrust into a complex political situation not of their own making, Mary and Sherlock remain in some essential way outside the emotional center of the story. King has to continually invent ways to draw her heroine deeper into the fray (this is definitely Maryâs story; Holmes functions more or less as her very able sidekick).But King is up to the task, creating plenty of excitement in a hazardous journey Mary and Sherlock take on horseback into the desert. Perhaps the bookâs most gripping scene is the one in which the ever-resilient Russell uses her wiles in an attempt to escape from a dungeon where she has been left to die. The secondary characters are well drawn, including Holmesâs âfifth cousin,â Maréchal Hubert Lyautey (a real historical figure). There is a lingering feeling that the main players in this taut tale are not Mary and Sherlock, but the Moroccans whose way of life is at stake. Though fans of previous Mary Russell books may appreciate this story more than the uninitiated reader coming to the series for the first time, King has done her homework, and this tantalizing glimpse into the life and times of a rapidly evolving Arabic society has remarkable resonance for our own uncertain times. Agent: Linda Allen, Linda Allen Literary. Carol Buggé is the author of nine published novels. Her latest, under the pen name C.E. Lawrence, is Silent Slaughter (Pinnacle, Aug.), the fourth in her Lee Campbell thriller series.
September 15, 2012
More international intrigue awaits Sherlock Holmes and his wife, omnicompetent and unflappable Mary Russell, in 1924 Morocco. Since T.E. Lawrence has been occupied elsewhere, the French and Spanish forces who've occupied Morocco since World War I have achieved nothing but an expensive standoff. Now along comes a new complication. A pair of rebels, Mohammed bin Abd-el-Krim and his military strategist brother (actually his cousin) M'hammed, have declared the Mohammed Emir of the Rifi Republic and defied Morocco's Resident General, Marechal Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey. If you're King (The Art of Detection, 2006, etc.), this volatile true-life situation demands the steady hand of Sherlock Holmes, whom Ali Hazr, a spy for His Majesty, wants to accompany Lyautey to a sit-down with the two Rifi leaders to talk peace. Holmes, naturally, thinks Russell, who's been doing some acting nearby for filmmaker Randolph Fflytte, would be an ideal interpreter for this mission. As the tale begins, however, Russell awakens from what was pretty clearly her abduction with no idea of where or who she is. Even after a generous round of adventures reunites her with Holmes, she's slow to recognize him or remember anything about their life together. That's just as well, because most of what follows is more derring-do, leading to a sequence in which Russell and Holmes are chained in the Mequinez dungeon Habs Qara; virtually all the mystification and detection, not to mention all the surprises, are saved for the final chapters, whose torrent of revelations is more dizzying than anything that's led up to them. Both Holmes and Russell are muffled, and the story requires a good deal of potted history. More likely to appeal to lovers of Morocco than lovers of Sherlock Holmes.
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Starred review from June 1, 2012
Mary Russell Holmes has just finished a wickedly funny stint with Fflytte Films in Morocco (Pirate King, 2011), but she is not where she should be when her husband, Sherlock Holmes, goes to meet her in Fez. In fact, as this tale opens, she does not know where or who she is, having taken a great blow to the head. From that hoary tropethe hero with amnesiaKing fashions a deeply political and emotional narrative. It's 1924, and the French, the Spanish, and the Rif (inhabitants of a mountainous region in northern Morocco under the brothers Abd el-Krim) struggle for control of Morocco. Another pair, Ali and Mahmoud, known to Russell and Holmes from their adventures in O Jerusalem (1999), figure strongly here. With the amnesiac Russell narrating, we are plunged into her mind as she tries to recover her identity and as she finds languages and defensive skills in herself. No detail is merely atmospheric, but rather we taste and feel and touch what Russell does with sensuous clarity: the tile and wood interiors; the riot of aromas sweet and foul; the colors; and the layer upon layer of political machination. The language is incredibly rich but always precise, the history of this time in Morocco woven with a contemporary eye on the wheels within wheels. As always, the relationship between Holmes and Russell is utterly understated, yet traced with heat and light. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The last six Holmes-Russell mysteries have placed in the top 20 on the New York Times best-seller list, and the series has sold more than two million copies altogether.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)