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Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #3
A Letter of Mary
The year is 1923 and Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell receive a visit from Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist. She shows them a scrap of ancient writing that is supposedly Mary Magdalene's. Soon afterwards she is murdered — but why?
339 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Laurie R. King
133 books6,664 followersEdgar-winning mystery writer Laurie R. King writes series and standalone novels. Her official forum is
THE LRK VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB here on Goodreads--please join us for book-discussing fun.
King's 2018 novel, Island of the Mad, sees Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes travel from London's Bedlam to the glitter of Venice's Lido,where Young Things and the friends of Cole Porter pass Mussolini's Blackshirts in the streets. The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series follows a brilliant young woman who becomes the student, then partner, of the great detective. [click here for an excerpt of the first in the series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice] The Stuyvesant and Grey series (Touchstone; The Bones of Paris) takes place in Europe between the Wars. The Kate Martinelli series follows an SFPD detective's cases on a female Rembrandt, a holy fool, and more. [Click for an excerpt of A Grave Talent]
King lives in northern California, which serves as backdrop for some of her books.
Please note that Laurie checks her Goodreads inbox intermittently, so it may take some time to receive a reply. A quicker response may be possible via email to info@laurierking.com.
THE LRK VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB here on Goodreads--please join us for book-discussing fun.
King's 2018 novel, Island of the Mad, sees Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes travel from London's Bedlam to the glitter of Venice's Lido,where Young Things and the friends of Cole Porter pass Mussolini's Blackshirts in the streets. The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series follows a brilliant young woman who becomes the student, then partner, of the great detective. [click here for an excerpt of the first in the series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice] The Stuyvesant and Grey series (Touchstone; The Bones of Paris) takes place in Europe between the Wars. The Kate Martinelli series follows an SFPD detective's cases on a female Rembrandt, a holy fool, and more. [Click for an excerpt of A Grave Talent]
King lives in northern California, which serves as backdrop for some of her books.
Please note that Laurie checks her Goodreads inbox intermittently, so it may take some time to receive a reply. A quicker response may be possible via email to info@laurierking.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,276 reviews
May 10, 2012
Guilty. I committed a great reading faux-pas.
Years ago I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Women. My book group was reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice , so I reread it and loved it even more than I remembered. I decided to buy the next two books in the series, A Monstrous Regiment of Women and A Letter of Mary, but alas, book #3, A Letter of Mary, arrived first.
This was quite frustrating. I was so excited to read them and now I was presented with a dilemma. On the one hand, I believe that books should be read in order, it’s really the only way. On the other hand, I was aching to read more in this series. I decided to satiate my desire by just reading a few pages....
Of course I should have known that I’m not to be trusted to stop reading a good book. And it was so good, so tantalizing, I found myself reading clear through to the end. I justified it by saying that I had already read A Monstrous Regiment of Women at one point, but I still felt like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
There is something so perfect about these books. I enjoy the mystery but I love the dialogue. I love the setting and the characters. I love the realism and how the characters pop to life.
Mary and Sherlock are delightful in every way. Surprisingly, the age difference doesn’t bother me. It’s because their relationship is so sweet and tender. Most romances in books these days seem to play the lust card too heavily, focusing on the physical instead of the emotional and mental. King hardly ever touches the physical side of the relationship between Sherlock and Mary, but how much they care is felt in every word and gesture. That is a TRUE love story. It also makes you really think about what is important in relationships.
After I read this book I did the only thing a true book lover could do when presented with a fabulous series – I got on Amazon and bought all the rest.
Years ago I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Women. My book group was reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice , so I reread it and loved it even more than I remembered. I decided to buy the next two books in the series, A Monstrous Regiment of Women and A Letter of Mary, but alas, book #3, A Letter of Mary, arrived first.
This was quite frustrating. I was so excited to read them and now I was presented with a dilemma. On the one hand, I believe that books should be read in order, it’s really the only way. On the other hand, I was aching to read more in this series. I decided to satiate my desire by just reading a few pages....
Of course I should have known that I’m not to be trusted to stop reading a good book. And it was so good, so tantalizing, I found myself reading clear through to the end. I justified it by saying that I had already read A Monstrous Regiment of Women at one point, but I still felt like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
There is something so perfect about these books. I enjoy the mystery but I love the dialogue. I love the setting and the characters. I love the realism and how the characters pop to life.
Mary and Sherlock are delightful in every way. Surprisingly, the age difference doesn’t bother me. It’s because their relationship is so sweet and tender. Most romances in books these days seem to play the lust card too heavily, focusing on the physical instead of the emotional and mental. King hardly ever touches the physical side of the relationship between Sherlock and Mary, but how much they care is felt in every word and gesture. That is a TRUE love story. It also makes you really think about what is important in relationships.
After I read this book I did the only thing a true book lover could do when presented with a fabulous series – I got on Amazon and bought all the rest.
August 2, 2012
4.5 stars. A librarian who met her recently told me that Laurie R. King is a "true intellectual," and after reading this third book in the Mary Russell series, I have to agree. Her books read like classics. They are books to savor and to thoroughly enjoy. I truly enjoyed this installment, and will definitely be continuing with the series. It didn't earn a five from me because it lacks the emotional power of my recent fives. However, it's extremely well-written, intelligent, and I love Russell and Holmes. What a team they make. It's as though Conan Doyle wrote it himself. I can't give it higher praise than that.
January 31, 2016
The year is 1923, Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is at their home in Sussex Downs busy with their studies. Russell with theology and Holmes with some chemical experiments. Then they are visited by amateur archaeologist Miss Dorothy Ruskin with a startling puzzle for them. She has found in the Holy Land a roll of papyrus with a message from Mary Magdalene. A couple of days is Miss Ruskin killed in a traffic accident. But was it really an accident.
The case in this book is intriguing with an ancient papyrus claimed to be written by Mary Magdalene and the death of Miss Ruskin. Was she murdered? And, if she was murdered, why? It’s up to Russell and Holmes to find out the truth.
Like the previous two books a great story. I love the theology part of the story, with a papyrus that could very well be written by Mary Magdalene. I love how Laurie R. King manages to combine theology with crime, just like in the previous book.
The case in this book is intriguing with an ancient papyrus claimed to be written by Mary Magdalene and the death of Miss Ruskin. Was she murdered? And, if she was murdered, why? It’s up to Russell and Holmes to find out the truth.
Like the previous two books a great story. I love the theology part of the story, with a papyrus that could very well be written by Mary Magdalene. I love how Laurie R. King manages to combine theology with crime, just like in the previous book.
August 28, 2019
***2019 The Summer of Sherlock***
Whatever I may think of the whole Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell relationship hook that King has used as the basis for this series, she is a masterful writer of the mystery genre in my opinion. I am perhaps biased, as I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a university student and studied three courses in Ancient Greek as well as a fair bit of Classical history (mostly influenced by H. Rider Haggard’s She: A History of Adventure, I confess) and during that period I was severely tempted by Biblical historicity and documents such as the Dead Sea Scrolls--I can envision myself being just as immersed in theological studies as Mary Russell.
Since reading the first two Theodora Goss novels (The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter and European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman), I am also developing an affection for cross-pollination between fictional works and King provides that in several examples. I was amused when Mary returned from a research day in Oxford, mentioning that she had met a man named Tolkien who was involved in runes, mythology and linguistics.
But the pièce de résistance was an encounter by Mary during an “undercover” adventure with Lord Peter Wimsey! He is never directly identified, but she does call him Pete and his behaviour is unmistakable. She has just been diverted from the buffet by the presence of two women who will unwittingly unmask her and has wandered back to a music room to contemplate her options. There she discovers Wimsey improvising “a three-way hybrid of Schubert’s “March Militaire” performed as a Goldberg Variation by Bach with Scott Joplin occasionally elbowing in,” based on Yes, We Have No Bananas. Mary enjoys watching him, “witnessing one of nature’s rare creatures in its own habitat.”
King, to my way of thinking, has perfectly nailed the spirit of Dorothy Sayers in this vignette. It made me ridiculously happy. It’s the sheepdog reference that cinched it for me--that is Sayers to the nth degree.
My Summer of Sherlock is drawing to a close, but I am sure that I will continue reading this series for some time to come.
Whatever I may think of the whole Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell relationship hook that King has used as the basis for this series, she is a masterful writer of the mystery genre in my opinion. I am perhaps biased, as I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a university student and studied three courses in Ancient Greek as well as a fair bit of Classical history (mostly influenced by H. Rider Haggard’s She: A History of Adventure, I confess) and during that period I was severely tempted by Biblical historicity and documents such as the Dead Sea Scrolls--I can envision myself being just as immersed in theological studies as Mary Russell.
Since reading the first two Theodora Goss novels (The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter and European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman), I am also developing an affection for cross-pollination between fictional works and King provides that in several examples. I was amused when Mary returned from a research day in Oxford, mentioning that she had met a man named Tolkien who was involved in runes, mythology and linguistics.
But the pièce de résistance was an encounter by Mary during an “undercover” adventure with Lord Peter Wimsey! He is never directly identified, but she does call him Pete and his behaviour is unmistakable. She has just been diverted from the buffet by the presence of two women who will unwittingly unmask her and has wandered back to a music room to contemplate her options. There she discovers Wimsey improvising “a three-way hybrid of Schubert’s “March Militaire” performed as a Goldberg Variation by Bach with Scott Joplin occasionally elbowing in,” based on Yes, We Have No Bananas. Mary enjoys watching him, “witnessing one of nature’s rare creatures in its own habitat.”
He screwed his monocle into place with a gesture of buckling on armour, then glided smoothly out into the crowd. I watched with amusement as he greeted his hostess, kissed the fingers of a matched brace of dowagers, shook various hands, greeted the colonel and said something that made him laugh, scooped up three glasses of champagne from a passing tray, and finally, with the ease of a champion sheepdog, cut out his two victims from the flock. Within four minutes from leaving my side, he was strolling down the terrace stones, one fluttering female on each arm, and I stepped out to take a plate. Rule, Britannia, with an aristocracy like that.
King, to my way of thinking, has perfectly nailed the spirit of Dorothy Sayers in this vignette. It made me ridiculously happy. It’s the sheepdog reference that cinched it for me--that is Sayers to the nth degree.
My Summer of Sherlock is drawing to a close, but I am sure that I will continue reading this series for some time to come.
August 9, 2016
When I finished King’s second novel in this series, ‘A Monstrous Regiment of Women,’ I was left a bit uncomfortable and unhappy. King had always kept Mary and Sherlock’s relationship as a mentor and one of a guardian. At the end of that book Sherlock proposes. Their relationship while strained and questioning in the book hadn’t been romantic, but Mary had turned 21 and their relationship caused questions, especially when traveling together.
My first response was that King was throwing in a needless romance and I was unhappy. Reading this series for me, however, is a family affair. My ever practical and precocious niece was put in the position where she had to educate her aunt(kindly of course.) She reminded me that I was judging the time of the book by present day values. I needed to remember that Sherlock and Mary could not continue working together without causing scandal and destroying Mary’s reputation. A marriage between a twenty-one year old woman and a fifty year old confirmed bachelor out of mutual respect rather than love was far more respectable than working alone together unchaperoned. My niece, of course, was absolutely correct. This, then thirteen year old is extremely smart, and her valuable insight allowed me to once again respect King’s skill and intelligence as a writer.
This settled, I picked up ‘A Letter to Marry,’ with an audible sigh of contentment. This book starts with a visit from an elderly scholar and friend they had met in Palestine in book one. She gave a generous gift of a papyrus believed to have genuinely been written by Mary Magdalene. You can imagine how this would enrage and turn the academic community upside down if validated. Shortly, after their friend departs company she was in an automobile accident and dies. Foul play can not be ruled out, and Sherlock weedles Mary away from her research to investigate the cause of death.
King did a wonderful job. I read mysteries frequently to escape. I’m not generally looking for an overly intelligent masterpiece but King is an exception to that rule. She provides an intelligent and exciting read. She creates a mystery I rarely guess the outcome of and a fabulously accurate piece of historical fiction as well. If you like Sherlock Holmes pick this up; if you enjoy pre WW II historical fiction pick this up; if you enjoy a fictionalized study of sociological gender roles and the human mind pick this up. I’m sounding like a broken record. I recommend you read it, but remember the series starts with ‘The Beekeepers Apprentice.’
My first response was that King was throwing in a needless romance and I was unhappy. Reading this series for me, however, is a family affair. My ever practical and precocious niece was put in the position where she had to educate her aunt(kindly of course.) She reminded me that I was judging the time of the book by present day values. I needed to remember that Sherlock and Mary could not continue working together without causing scandal and destroying Mary’s reputation. A marriage between a twenty-one year old woman and a fifty year old confirmed bachelor out of mutual respect rather than love was far more respectable than working alone together unchaperoned. My niece, of course, was absolutely correct. This, then thirteen year old is extremely smart, and her valuable insight allowed me to once again respect King’s skill and intelligence as a writer.
This settled, I picked up ‘A Letter to Marry,’ with an audible sigh of contentment. This book starts with a visit from an elderly scholar and friend they had met in Palestine in book one. She gave a generous gift of a papyrus believed to have genuinely been written by Mary Magdalene. You can imagine how this would enrage and turn the academic community upside down if validated. Shortly, after their friend departs company she was in an automobile accident and dies. Foul play can not be ruled out, and Sherlock weedles Mary away from her research to investigate the cause of death.
King did a wonderful job. I read mysteries frequently to escape. I’m not generally looking for an overly intelligent masterpiece but King is an exception to that rule. She provides an intelligent and exciting read. She creates a mystery I rarely guess the outcome of and a fabulously accurate piece of historical fiction as well. If you like Sherlock Holmes pick this up; if you enjoy pre WW II historical fiction pick this up; if you enjoy a fictionalized study of sociological gender roles and the human mind pick this up. I’m sounding like a broken record. I recommend you read it, but remember the series starts with ‘The Beekeepers Apprentice.’
November 20, 2018
Mary Russell has noted the tell-tale signs of boredom in her husband, Sherlock Holmes, when his mind is not being stimulated with a case. His malaise ends when the couple receives an unexpected visit from a former acquaintance, Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archeologist. Ms. Ruskin is seeking Mary's assistance in authenticating and translating a 1st century papyrus letter reportedly written by Mary Magdalene. Leaving the letter with Russell, she returns to London only to be killed in an apparent hit-in-run accident. However, when the couple begins looking into the accident they begin to believe that it was murder.
Although I do enjoy Laurie King's writing and the relationship between Holmes and Russell, I believe that Sherlock Holmes himself summed up this novel at the end when he dejectedly tells Russell, "I had such hope for this case...it's hardly worthy of any attention."
Although I do enjoy Laurie King's writing and the relationship between Holmes and Russell, I believe that Sherlock Holmes himself summed up this novel at the end when he dejectedly tells Russell, "I had such hope for this case...it's hardly worthy of any attention."
September 8, 2020
Melancholic but strangely compelling
"A Letter Of Mary" is the third book in the Mary Russell series and the first one in which we see how Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes function as a married couple.
They are both formidable people: Holmes, in his sixties, almost retired from a career he made largely in the previous century, but still with a restless hunger for the intriguing; Russell, an independent, wealthy, woman in her twenties, with a passion for scholarship and a tendency to lose herself in her books for days at a time. The two of them with an almost decade-long relationship that has moved from master and apprentice, through professional partnership and on to a marriage that is, to both of them, the defining aspect of their lives and yet the part of it that have the least knowledge and experience of.
They are serious, capable, responsible people. They can be intimidating, a fact they often take advantage of. They practice deception ruthlessly in the pursuit of their prey. Yet, together, they can laugh at their own hauteur and theatrics and they know each other so well that deception between them is impossible.
In "A Letter Of Mary" Russell and Holmes work to find the murderer of a friend, yet they spend most of their time apart, pursuing different prey and restricted in contacting each other because of the personae they have adopted for the hunt.
I found the overall tone of the book to be quite melancholic. The sources of the melancholy speak to the quality of the story-telling and character-building. The killing of Russell's friend carries a real weight of loss at possibilities ended and produces an indignant anger, that sometimes flairs into wrath, at those who would take a life. This something that is often missing from detectives stories where the dead are just body-shaped puzzles to be solved. The second source of melancholy comes from the attacks on Russell and Holmes' way of living: their home is violated, they are separated for the first time in their marriage, they are forced to confront the new fear they now have of losing each other.
Russel and Holmes push through this melancholy with intellect and courage, powered by a strong sense of obligation to the dead woman and a refusal to give in to those who act against them. They are a source of strength to each other and their love is as deeply serious as everything else in their lives. I found it refreshing to see a commitment based on knowledge of the other person rather than a fog of romantic imaginings and hopes.
The plot revolves around the death of an older woman, a Gertrude Bell sort of woman, who runs archaeological digs in the Middle East and occasionally acts in the service of the Crown.
There are multiple possible murderers to be hunted. Russell's hunt requires her to take on the persona of Mary Small and work as a secretary for a Colonel well known for his temper and his misogyny. Although this experience appears to require Russell to become someone else, the process and her reactions to the men she meets causes her to learn a great deal more about herself.
Much of the action in this book takes place off stage. The characters spend a great deal of time sitting together, sharing information and debating conclusions. The fights and threats of the two previous books are absent. I found this change of pace both refreshing and credible.
I believe that, with this book, the series crossed over the threshold where I will be less interested in the plots of the individual books and more concerned with the development of the relationship between Russell and Holmes and the insights they have into life and how it should be lived along the way.
"A Letter Of Mary" is the third book in the Mary Russell series and the first one in which we see how Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes function as a married couple.
They are both formidable people: Holmes, in his sixties, almost retired from a career he made largely in the previous century, but still with a restless hunger for the intriguing; Russell, an independent, wealthy, woman in her twenties, with a passion for scholarship and a tendency to lose herself in her books for days at a time. The two of them with an almost decade-long relationship that has moved from master and apprentice, through professional partnership and on to a marriage that is, to both of them, the defining aspect of their lives and yet the part of it that have the least knowledge and experience of.
They are serious, capable, responsible people. They can be intimidating, a fact they often take advantage of. They practice deception ruthlessly in the pursuit of their prey. Yet, together, they can laugh at their own hauteur and theatrics and they know each other so well that deception between them is impossible.
In "A Letter Of Mary" Russell and Holmes work to find the murderer of a friend, yet they spend most of their time apart, pursuing different prey and restricted in contacting each other because of the personae they have adopted for the hunt.
I found the overall tone of the book to be quite melancholic. The sources of the melancholy speak to the quality of the story-telling and character-building. The killing of Russell's friend carries a real weight of loss at possibilities ended and produces an indignant anger, that sometimes flairs into wrath, at those who would take a life. This something that is often missing from detectives stories where the dead are just body-shaped puzzles to be solved. The second source of melancholy comes from the attacks on Russell and Holmes' way of living: their home is violated, they are separated for the first time in their marriage, they are forced to confront the new fear they now have of losing each other.
Russel and Holmes push through this melancholy with intellect and courage, powered by a strong sense of obligation to the dead woman and a refusal to give in to those who act against them. They are a source of strength to each other and their love is as deeply serious as everything else in their lives. I found it refreshing to see a commitment based on knowledge of the other person rather than a fog of romantic imaginings and hopes.
The plot revolves around the death of an older woman, a Gertrude Bell sort of woman, who runs archaeological digs in the Middle East and occasionally acts in the service of the Crown.
There are multiple possible murderers to be hunted. Russell's hunt requires her to take on the persona of Mary Small and work as a secretary for a Colonel well known for his temper and his misogyny. Although this experience appears to require Russell to become someone else, the process and her reactions to the men she meets causes her to learn a great deal more about herself.
Much of the action in this book takes place off stage. The characters spend a great deal of time sitting together, sharing information and debating conclusions. The fights and threats of the two previous books are absent. I found this change of pace both refreshing and credible.
I believe that, with this book, the series crossed over the threshold where I will be less interested in the plots of the individual books and more concerned with the development of the relationship between Russell and Holmes and the insights they have into life and how it should be lived along the way.
October 17, 2011
This is the third book in King's Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes series, and the more I read, the more I like the series. Russell is intelligent, lively, interesting and feisty - a worthy match for Holmes. King has said that Russell is what Holmes would be if he were female, born in the 20th Century and interested in theology (or words to that effect). In my view, that aspect of Russell has become clearer as the series has progressed. It is also what makes the pairing of the very young Russell and the aging Holmes both understandable and acceptable. Russell, a woman born in 1900, is representative of a new era. Her age and her gender are central to her importance as a character, and are just as important as the fact that her intellect is equal to that of Holmes.
If anything lets this novel down, it's the resolution of the mystery. . But I quibble. In reality, what makes this book and the series as a whole worth reading is not the mystery, but the characters and the setting, as well as the atmosphere they help create.
For me, the highlight of the novel was the cameo appearance of Peter Wimsey in Chapter 17. There he was, Lord Peter to the life! It made me wonder whether the Sayers estate would have done better to get King rather than Jill Paton Walsh to complete Thrones, Dominations. There's also a mention of Tolkien in the novel, just to add a bit of Oxford literary flavour.
Overall, this was a good read. The next book in the series, The Moor, is waiting in the pile.
August 23, 2021
This installment of the series was a disappointment. First of all, Mary and Holmes are apart for most of it. Mary’s part of the investigation is almost pointless. There is A LOT of vague action, even when we are supposedly “in the room.”
There is so much superfluous action here that the story could have almost been a novella with the first 50 pages and the last 20 forming the entire story.
I might have to take a break from the series. When the sleuthing parts are disappointing and the relationship parts aren’t satisfying, the book becomes a bit of a slog.
There is so much superfluous action here that the story could have almost been a novella with the first 50 pages and the last 20 forming the entire story.
I might have to take a break from the series. When the sleuthing parts are disappointing and the relationship parts aren’t satisfying, the book becomes a bit of a slog.
December 15, 2018
Nearly forgot to review this!
Love this team. Mary has a wonderful personality and can stand up to Sherlock Holmes. It must be very hard and demanding being a partner to this man.
The mystery was very good too and I loved the inclusion of Lord Peter Wimsey!
Love this team. Mary has a wonderful personality and can stand up to Sherlock Holmes. It must be very hard and demanding being a partner to this man.
The mystery was very good too and I loved the inclusion of Lord Peter Wimsey!
March 29, 2018
I love Laurie King's writing, she's masterful at sweeping you up into the story without getting you bogged down in details. And it's ever so clever how she has insinuated Sherlock Holmes into the mix. Who would have though about him marrying?! Great way to keep him in the game without letting him take over the entire mystery, all the while keeping their relationship on an equal footing. Very lovely writing indeed!
This one starts with an unexpected visit from an old scholastic friend of Mary Russell who spends her time in the middle East doing anthropological digs, but mainly focusing on the aspect of the role of the woman in those ancient cultures. Not that you get to far into that, but she brings up a very intriguing piece for the examination and opinion of her one and only female scholar who also has an interest in the subject of the ancient woman and her place in society, our own Mary Russell. It's left in her hands and the next thing you know her friend is run down by an automobile and our married crime solving duo is on the trail to determine if it's an accident or murder.
It's murder of course! So the story whips into the who dunnit and the sleuthing to catch said criminal. It's not your typical mystery - you get a bit more of the humdrum of the sleuthing, the tediousness and the marginalizing of the importance of one characters investigation over the other. All the while exposing the impossibleness, the marginalizing of a woman's voice and how it's prevalent in everyday society - how men fight to keep it that way. Some things are hard to change.
Great story! Looking forward to carrying on with the series!
This one starts with an unexpected visit from an old scholastic friend of Mary Russell who spends her time in the middle East doing anthropological digs, but mainly focusing on the aspect of the role of the woman in those ancient cultures. Not that you get to far into that, but she brings up a very intriguing piece for the examination and opinion of her one and only female scholar who also has an interest in the subject of the ancient woman and her place in society, our own Mary Russell. It's left in her hands and the next thing you know her friend is run down by an automobile and our married crime solving duo is on the trail to determine if it's an accident or murder.
It's murder of course! So the story whips into the who dunnit and the sleuthing to catch said criminal. It's not your typical mystery - you get a bit more of the humdrum of the sleuthing, the tediousness and the marginalizing of the importance of one characters investigation over the other. All the while exposing the impossibleness, the marginalizing of a woman's voice and how it's prevalent in everyday society - how men fight to keep it that way. Some things are hard to change.
Great story! Looking forward to carrying on with the series!
January 12, 2009
A mystery made up almost entirely of red herrings. Holmes and Russell continue to be charming, but I was frustrated by how much of the narrative turned out to be irrelevant. Even the letter of the title—supposedly a piece of correspondence between Mary Magdalene and her sister, which is, you know, generally the type of thing da Vinci writes codes about and plots are based around—is, as far as this story and even its characters are concerned, essentially meaningless. If Holmes can solve the entire mystery by spending a couple days putting up some wallpaper, then why do we have to spend ages hanging out with Russell while she pretends to be some rich dick’s secretary? None of the mucking about was even particularly illuminating in regards to her character or her relationship with Holmes.
I was, however, amused by Lord Peter Wimsey’s little cameo, especially since not long before he arrived, I’d been thinking that we’d entered the time period when he’d be back from the war and running about solving crimes, too. Handwaving the fact that in Sayers’ books, Sherlock Holmes is frequently referred to as fictional, making a crossover technically impossible for sticklers like myself, I will allow myself to titter and enjoy the occasional pleasures inherent in wacky published fanfic such as this.
I was, however, amused by Lord Peter Wimsey’s little cameo, especially since not long before he arrived, I’d been thinking that we’d entered the time period when he’d be back from the war and running about solving crimes, too. Handwaving the fact that in Sayers’ books, Sherlock Holmes is frequently referred to as fictional, making a crossover technically impossible for sticklers like myself, I will allow myself to titter and enjoy the occasional pleasures inherent in wacky published fanfic such as this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2008
Am very much enjoying this!
I think one of the tings I like about this series is that there is considerable intellect involved, both in the characters of Russell and Holmes themselves, and in the manner in which the mystery is solved.
In this 3rd installment we see the continuing development of Russell as Holmes' assistant, partner, and wife, and the evolution of the relationship between the two of them.The mysterious Mary M. letter, and it's implications, reflects the character of Russell, her relationship with Holmes.
I am as intrigued with the people in this series as I am with the mysteries, and am anxious to start the next book.
In addition to the above, I like King's style of writing. I don't feel as though sentences and thoughts have been shortened or hacked away at in an effort to make reading "easier" , as often seems the case with many authors these days.
I think one of the tings I like about this series is that there is considerable intellect involved, both in the characters of Russell and Holmes themselves, and in the manner in which the mystery is solved.
In this 3rd installment we see the continuing development of Russell as Holmes' assistant, partner, and wife, and the evolution of the relationship between the two of them.The mysterious Mary M. letter, and it's implications, reflects the character of Russell, her relationship with Holmes.
I am as intrigued with the people in this series as I am with the mysteries, and am anxious to start the next book.
In addition to the above, I like King's style of writing. I don't feel as though sentences and thoughts have been shortened or hacked away at in an effort to make reading "easier" , as often seems the case with many authors these days.
January 27, 2022
This excellent series has really hooked me! Laurie R. King hits another home-run with A Letter of Mary. This time Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (now married!) have to work together to solve the mystery of who killed an intelligent, independent, well-liked and respected older archeologist the day after she visits the Holmes home and leaves them with a beautiful and mysterious gift. The plot is all a mystery lover could want, with lots of twists and turns, red-herrings, multiple suspects and intriguing detection. Again, religion and the theme of women in society plays takes center stage. I suggest starting with book one. Recommended for those who love smartly written, intelligent mysteries.
September 25, 2011
After the disappointment of A Monstrous Regiment of Women, I was not very much inclined to read the next installment in the Mary Russell series, titled A Letter of Mary. I decided to forge on, though, in the hopes that this will prove better than the last one, and that it might wash away some of the bitter aftertaste of disappointment in the last book.
In this novel, Holmes and Russell appear to be settling well into married life after the events of A Monstrous Regiment of Women, when they are visited in their (formerly just Holmes's) home in Sussex by an old friend: archaeologist Dorothy Ruskin, whom Holmes and Russell met on their travels through Palestine in the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. The visit deepens Russell's appreciation for Ruskin, and the latter gives into Russell's keeping a little box she claims to have acquired from an Arab in Palestine. Inside the box is a scroll of papyrus which, when Russell reads it, appears to be a letter written by one Mariam (or Mary) to her sister in Magdala. It does not take much to put two and two together, even for the reader: the "Mariam," or "Mary" of the letter, could only be Mary of Magdala - Mary Magdalene. In the letter, Mariam claims that she is a follower - a disciple - of a man named Joshua, whom she calls the "Anointed One." Joshua, when traced forwards through time, is actually a variation of the name "Jesus."
A Mariam, or Mary, of Magdala who is a disciple if an Anointed One named Joshua, or Jesus. Anyone who has had even the slightest bit of contact with The Da Vinci Code and the controversies associated with it will know precisely what is being referred to here: the position of Mary Magdalene within the circle of followers, or disciples, who gathered around the man who would later be called Jesus Christ.
The letter proves to be an interesting puzzle for Russell, whose analysis of the letter is interspersed throughout the rest of the story. While there is no mention made (thankfully) of the idea that Mary Magdalene could have been Jesus's wife, Russell's thoughts on what this letter could mean if unleashed upon London in the early 1920s are fascinating. The suffragette movement and the ideals it fought for, which were grounded in the events of World War I and which gained steam in the years immediately after, were always present, even in the first novel. While they were not foregrounded in The Beekeeper's Apprentice, they were given much more attention in A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and play an important role once again in A Letter of Mary. Russell's thoughts on the letter sharpen when she is forced to go undercover in the household of a particularly misogynistic colonel, and it is while she is playing secretary to said colonel that her musings on the role of women and their continued participation in the future become clearest and most interesting.
This book was better than the last one, which is why it receives three stars as opposed to the two I gave the last one. But it gets nothing higher than that because of one particular annoying feature: a red herring.
Despite that problem, however, I do find this book slightly stronger than the last one, and I hope it is the sign of better things to come in this series. Russell's voice is, as always, entertaining and a joy to read, especially when she starts snarking back at her husband - but then, Holmes always gives as good as he gets, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some readers might blush like Mycroft when they figure out the other aspects of Holmes and Russell's marriage, but it does strengthen King's stand that her Holmes is more human than Doyle's.
One other thing that might be of interest to those who love fantasy literature as well as mysteries: a particularly famous and deeply revered fantasist out of Oxford is briefly mentioned by Russell in the course of the story. Finding his name tickled me to no end, as I am a fan of said fantasist, and I hope that others take the same pleasure in it that did.
In this novel, Holmes and Russell appear to be settling well into married life after the events of A Monstrous Regiment of Women, when they are visited in their (formerly just Holmes's) home in Sussex by an old friend: archaeologist Dorothy Ruskin, whom Holmes and Russell met on their travels through Palestine in the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. The visit deepens Russell's appreciation for Ruskin, and the latter gives into Russell's keeping a little box she claims to have acquired from an Arab in Palestine. Inside the box is a scroll of papyrus which, when Russell reads it, appears to be a letter written by one Mariam (or Mary) to her sister in Magdala. It does not take much to put two and two together, even for the reader: the "Mariam," or "Mary" of the letter, could only be Mary of Magdala - Mary Magdalene. In the letter, Mariam claims that she is a follower - a disciple - of a man named Joshua, whom she calls the "Anointed One." Joshua, when traced forwards through time, is actually a variation of the name "Jesus."
A Mariam, or Mary, of Magdala who is a disciple if an Anointed One named Joshua, or Jesus. Anyone who has had even the slightest bit of contact with The Da Vinci Code and the controversies associated with it will know precisely what is being referred to here: the position of Mary Magdalene within the circle of followers, or disciples, who gathered around the man who would later be called Jesus Christ.
The letter proves to be an interesting puzzle for Russell, whose analysis of the letter is interspersed throughout the rest of the story. While there is no mention made (thankfully) of the idea that Mary Magdalene could have been Jesus's wife, Russell's thoughts on what this letter could mean if unleashed upon London in the early 1920s are fascinating. The suffragette movement and the ideals it fought for, which were grounded in the events of World War I and which gained steam in the years immediately after, were always present, even in the first novel. While they were not foregrounded in The Beekeeper's Apprentice, they were given much more attention in A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and play an important role once again in A Letter of Mary. Russell's thoughts on the letter sharpen when she is forced to go undercover in the household of a particularly misogynistic colonel, and it is while she is playing secretary to said colonel that her musings on the role of women and their continued participation in the future become clearest and most interesting.
This book was better than the last one, which is why it receives three stars as opposed to the two I gave the last one. But it gets nothing higher than that because of one particular annoying feature: a red herring.
Despite that problem, however, I do find this book slightly stronger than the last one, and I hope it is the sign of better things to come in this series. Russell's voice is, as always, entertaining and a joy to read, especially when she starts snarking back at her husband - but then, Holmes always gives as good as he gets, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some readers might blush like Mycroft when they figure out the other aspects of Holmes and Russell's marriage, but it does strengthen King's stand that her Holmes is more human than Doyle's.
One other thing that might be of interest to those who love fantasy literature as well as mysteries: a particularly famous and deeply revered fantasist out of Oxford is briefly mentioned by Russell in the course of the story. Finding his name tickled me to no end, as I am a fan of said fantasist, and I hope that others take the same pleasure in it that did.
December 1, 2018
Malesef vasat bir polisiye. En sevdiğim polisiye yazarlar listesi yapsam Laurie King o listede olmaz eminim. Birinci kitaptan üçüncüye ilerledikçe kalite düşüyor gibi geldi bana. Devamı çevrilirse seriye dönerim ama onun dışında pek ilgimi çekmiyor şu haliyle.
August 19, 2017
A Letter of Mary is the 3rd book in the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes mystery series by Laurie R. King. I have to say that I continue to have mixed feelings about the series. The concept in itself, Russell who started off being mentored by Holmes is now his wife and works cases with him. Holmes, himself, is basically retired from detective work and they live on a piec of land in Sussex where Holmes raises bees and Russell works on a degree at Oxford while also spending time with her husband.
An acquaintance of Russell, a lady archaeologist, Dorothy Ruskin, visits them, gives them a letter she had found in a dig in the Middle East, a letter purported to have been written by Mary Magdalene to her sister. The next day, Ruskin is found dead, hit by a car in London. Holmes and Russell get involved, suspect that Ruskin has been murdered for some reason. The same day, Holmes' home is broken into and searched. Further suspicion now that it was murder and not an accident.
The rest of the story involves their investigation, with help by the son of Lestrade and also Sherlock's brother Mycroft. Both Holmes and Mary follow different suspects; one a misogynist Colonel, the other the sister of Dorothy.
So that's the barest outline. The story is interesting, but, personally, I do find it difficult to warm to Russell. At one point she calls Holmes a prig and I thought, no, you're the prig. She is a strong-willed, intelligent character, but so much time is spent with her kind of anti-snobbishness that she seems to be a snob. I'm not saying this correctly. I like Holmes, I like Mycroft, I like Lestrade and Russell is OK in her own way. I liked the story, but I didn't love it. At the end, I thought, OK, there you go. So what. Does that mean I won't read any of the others I still have on my bookshelf. No, it doesn't, but I'll read a few other books before I do. Try the series and let me know what you think. (3 stars)
An acquaintance of Russell, a lady archaeologist, Dorothy Ruskin, visits them, gives them a letter she had found in a dig in the Middle East, a letter purported to have been written by Mary Magdalene to her sister. The next day, Ruskin is found dead, hit by a car in London. Holmes and Russell get involved, suspect that Ruskin has been murdered for some reason. The same day, Holmes' home is broken into and searched. Further suspicion now that it was murder and not an accident.
The rest of the story involves their investigation, with help by the son of Lestrade and also Sherlock's brother Mycroft. Both Holmes and Mary follow different suspects; one a misogynist Colonel, the other the sister of Dorothy.
So that's the barest outline. The story is interesting, but, personally, I do find it difficult to warm to Russell. At one point she calls Holmes a prig and I thought, no, you're the prig. She is a strong-willed, intelligent character, but so much time is spent with her kind of anti-snobbishness that she seems to be a snob. I'm not saying this correctly. I like Holmes, I like Mycroft, I like Lestrade and Russell is OK in her own way. I liked the story, but I didn't love it. At the end, I thought, OK, there you go. So what. Does that mean I won't read any of the others I still have on my bookshelf. No, it doesn't, but I'll read a few other books before I do. Try the series and let me know what you think. (3 stars)
October 19, 2013
This is a good book and a well-written addition to King's Mary Russell series, but I was thirty pages into it when I realized it was another The Da Vinci Code ripoffs. Groan. Can't these people come up with their own all-you-thought-you-knew-about-Christianity-is-wrong plots? This one is actually more realistic than Dan Brown's, but it's been done.
It would probably amaze these people to know that their "abject terror" of the controversy is a bit overblown. Of course Jesus had female followers. Of course some of them were very influential in the early church. Of course not everyone today agrees with the role assigned to those women by church leaders since. And . . . ? What the big controversy?
This supposed Mary letter is only the McGuffin: it triggers the action, but is not incident to the action.
King drops many Easter Eggs, such as Mary Russell's visit to the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford: future host to the famous Inkling literary circle. Likewise, graphology is presented as a budding science, as it was then thought to be. Still, 2 or 200 nineteenth century writing samples of Greek and Hebrew would reveal little about a first century writer.
Still, a good read.
It would probably amaze these people to know that their "abject terror" of the controversy is a bit overblown. Of course Jesus had female followers. Of course some of them were very influential in the early church. Of course not everyone today agrees with the role assigned to those women by church leaders since. And . . . ? What the big controversy?
This supposed Mary letter is only the McGuffin: it triggers the action, but is not incident to the action.
King drops many Easter Eggs, such as Mary Russell's visit to the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford: future host to the famous Inkling literary circle. Likewise, graphology is presented as a budding science, as it was then thought to be. Still, 2 or 200 nineteenth century writing samples of Greek and Hebrew would reveal little about a first century writer.
Still, a good read.
May 28, 2008
Excellent addition to Laurie R. King's alt-Sherlock Holmes universe, A Letter of Mary finds Holmes and Russell, erm, rusticating , for want of a better term at their home on the Sussex downs. Both are relieved to get an intriguing letter from Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist Russell had met during their last visit to Palestine.
Russell is shocked when only hours after visiting the couple, Miss Ruskin suffers an "accident" in London, and Holmes and Russell are back on the case.
A very solid contribution to the series.
Russell is shocked when only hours after visiting the couple, Miss Ruskin suffers an "accident" in London, and Holmes and Russell are back on the case.
A very solid contribution to the series.
October 15, 2020
#3 in the Mary Russell series. She was born 1900.01.02. The action in this book takes place 1923.08.14 through 1923.09.08. The books are represented to have been written many decades later, when Mary Russell is an old woman. Good stories.
June 10, 2022
Another excellent book of the partnership of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell. An elderly female archaeologist, Dorothy Ruskin, has travelled from Palestine to Sussex to visit her friend Mary, and she comes bearing a gift. Dorothy has discovered a papyrus scroll written just after the death of Jesus that appears to be from the hand of Mary Magdalene, who identifies herself as an apostle rather than just a follower. The implications of the scroll, if authenticated, will change the face of Christianity forever.
Shortly, however, Dorothy is killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident in London. Of course, Sherlock and Mary are highly skeptical that her death was an accident and set out to find her killer(s).
With their usual flair for investigation and deduction, the pair follow several promising leads. Two of my favorite characters, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, and Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brilliant and powerful brother, are brought into the investigation, making it even more entertaining.
The plot has plenty of twists and turns to challenge our intrepid detective couple, with a conclusion that doesn’t become apparent until the very end. Another great read in this series, which I will continue to read as long as the author keeps writing them.
Shortly, however, Dorothy is killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident in London. Of course, Sherlock and Mary are highly skeptical that her death was an accident and set out to find her killer(s).
With their usual flair for investigation and deduction, the pair follow several promising leads. Two of my favorite characters, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, and Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brilliant and powerful brother, are brought into the investigation, making it even more entertaining.
The plot has plenty of twists and turns to challenge our intrepid detective couple, with a conclusion that doesn’t become apparent until the very end. Another great read in this series, which I will continue to read as long as the author keeps writing them.
August 19, 2016
This is the third Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell mystery, and I read it, hoping to find the magic that captivated me in “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.” It isn’t here. The plot is poorly constructed, mainly focusing on a wild goose chase concerning a character that might possibly be the killer. Then, the real killer pops in out of the blue, and we realize that we were completely suckered, having wasted our time with 200 pages of nothing that mattered at all! And then there’s the title, which refers to a letter supposedly written by Mary Magdalene, proving she was an apostle of Jesus. Does this letter have anything to do with the plot? Not at all! I’m sorry to see this series fizzle out, because Laurie King is a very talented writer. But that’s not enough, without coherent plot lines. By the way, I heard book #4 (“The Moor”) wasn’t very good, so I skipped ahead to Book #5, “O Jerusalem.” It was so boring that I quit after 50 pages.
May 23, 2017
Every time I read this I want to learn Hebrew and Greek and go study theology. It's probably a bit late for that, so I'll have to settle for re-reading this on a regular basis and dipping into the Apocrypha on occasion.
November 13, 2018
This one started out really strong for me, and then petered out near the end, for a couple of reasons, which I will be marking in spoiler tags.
Mary and Holmes continue to be a great pair, and I find their cerebral marriage a compelling one, though I am beginning to get a bit annoyed with King for discounting Watson so much. Here, we meet an old friend from the first book, the archaeologist Dorothy Ruskin, who shows up in Sussex for a visit, and leaves Mary and Holmes with a strange parchment, which appears to have been written by Mary of Magdalene, and if verified, would strongly suggest she was one of Jesus's apostles. Soon after, Dorothy Ruskin is hit by a car and killed, and the Holmes cottage burglarized and turned upside down, the burglars obviously searching for something.
The death of an eccentric old woman, and one that seems to be an accident, no less, is not high up on Scotland Yard's priority list, so Mary and Holmes head to London, roping Lestrade Jr. and Mycroft in to their informal investigation.
I was enjoying this book quite a bit until about 2/3 of the way through, when it became clear that
Nevertheless, this was still an enjoyable, quick read, clocking in at only 275 pages. Mary's perspective on history, mixed with her interest in theology and detection, continues to make it worthwhile to read these books.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
Mary and Holmes continue to be a great pair, and I find their cerebral marriage a compelling one, though I am beginning to get a bit annoyed with King for discounting Watson so much. Here, we meet an old friend from the first book, the archaeologist Dorothy Ruskin, who shows up in Sussex for a visit, and leaves Mary and Holmes with a strange parchment, which appears to have been written by Mary of Magdalene, and if verified, would strongly suggest she was one of Jesus's apostles. Soon after, Dorothy Ruskin is hit by a car and killed, and the Holmes cottage burglarized and turned upside down, the burglars obviously searching for something.
The death of an eccentric old woman, and one that seems to be an accident, no less, is not high up on Scotland Yard's priority list, so Mary and Holmes head to London, roping Lestrade Jr. and Mycroft in to their informal investigation.
I was enjoying this book quite a bit until about 2/3 of the way through, when it became clear that
Nevertheless, this was still an enjoyable, quick read, clocking in at only 275 pages. Mary's perspective on history, mixed with her interest in theology and detection, continues to make it worthwhile to read these books.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
August 3, 2024
3.5 stars. I’m a fan of this series but this one stretched the suspension of disbelief a little further than I prefer. It’s usually easy (and enjoyable) to follow the investigation but this one really wasn’t revealed in full until the very end. Some of the original Holmes stories run this way as well, and those aren’t my favorite either.
Will definitely continue with the series because they’re an absolute delight.
Will definitely continue with the series because they’re an absolute delight.
June 1, 2019
I highly enjoyed this installment in the series. Murder, puzzles, archaeology, and deception combined to make a delightful story with King's trademark wit and humor.
October 15, 2022
I'm glad I started in on this series. I've really liked getting to spend time with and getting to know Mary.
September 15, 2024
painfully boring and anticlimactic, won’t be reading any of the others in the series!!
May 12, 2024
Yep! Another good escapade with Holmes and Russell
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