2024 Re-Read
I am revisiting this novel because it is the November choice of my mystery book club. It's been about 6 years since I read it the first time and I have continued with several more volumes of the series since then. In fact, while renewing my acquaintance with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, I realized that volume 5, O Jerusalem, backtracks to cover their trip to Palestine which occurs in the last half of this book. It is the next step on my journey.
In short, I have more experience with Ms. King's work now and I am willing to bump up my rating from 3 to 4 stars. I like King's writing and I am willing to let her have her way with Holmes. The purists will eschew this series, but I have been reluctantly charmed. I can appreciate the insertion of an intelligent woman into the Holmes story, a story about a comfortably well off white guy by another one. It's a tradition ripe for feminizing. Holmes is a prominent character for sure, but the spotlight is focused squarely on Mary Russell.
I will be very interested to hear what my book club folks have to say about this title. I guess because I had read Conan Doyle’s version, I had definite ideas about what I was expecting. Do others have the same expectations? Some of the younger members seem unfamiliar with authors like Conan Doyle, Christie, or Sayers. Will that lack of familiarity leave them confused or bored? Or will it make them more open to King’s Holmes?
I have one reading friend who considers this series to be comfort reading and another who rejected it, complaining of Watson-bashing. This discussion should be fascinating.
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