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tiffloye979's review against another edition
Regretfully, I am choosing to DNF this book. I really wanted to push through because there's a part of me that would like to read all of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books, but I also think this may be a good time to call it quits. The books have gotten progressively harder for me to get through and I'm 1/3 of the way through this one and truly don't really have any idea what is going on. It has just not held my attention at all.
I feel bad, because the fact that there are so many in this series must mean that they're somewhat good, right? But I'm to a point where there are just too many things I want to read to justify struggling my way through a huge series that I'm not really interested in anymore. If it was a series where each book built on the previous one and they're all building up to something huge at the end, that's one thing. But a series where every book is kind of a standalone book...I don't need to devote a significant amount of time to a series like that that I'm not thrilled about.
Maybe I'll come back to this series, but I honestly doubt it. Also, I know I've said it before, but I just can't quite get past the age different between Mary and Sherlock.
I feel bad, because the fact that there are so many in this series must mean that they're somewhat good, right? But I'm to a point where there are just too many things I want to read to justify struggling my way through a huge series that I'm not really interested in anymore. If it was a series where each book built on the previous one and they're all building up to something huge at the end, that's one thing. But a series where every book is kind of a standalone book...I don't need to devote a significant amount of time to a series like that that I'm not thrilled about.
Maybe I'll come back to this series, but I honestly doubt it. Also, I know I've said it before, but I just can't quite get past the age different between Mary and Sherlock.
bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes need to get out of England, so Sherlock’s brother Mycroft decides they could take care of a little situation in Palestine for him. The situation turns out to involve British spies, Turkish nationalists, explosives, the real-life war hero General Allenby, and a whole lot of staying up all night.
The story is good once it gets started but I read it on kindle and I think I was close to 40% before it felt like anything happened. I think with these books it helps to remember that really they are about Mary Russell— she narrates in first person, and Sherlock is often not present. Otherwise I might quibble more with King’s interpretation of the iconic detective. If you can get past that, this series is a lot of fun. My verdict: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
The story is good once it gets started but I read it on kindle and I think I was close to 40% before it felt like anything happened. I think with these books it helps to remember that really they are about Mary Russell— she narrates in first person, and Sherlock is often not present. Otherwise I might quibble more with King’s interpretation of the iconic detective. If you can get past that, this series is a lot of fun. My verdict: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
kalliegrace's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
3.5, not better than previous books but still an immersive story with rich characters and culture and danger for our characters. I like how Holmes respects Russell as a whole person capable of everything he is.
terrym10's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in the series, but I couldn’t get into this one until halfway in. From that point on I couldn’t put it down! As always with this Sherlock Holmes fan fiction series, I learned a lot about history and really enjoyed the setting of Palestine. My advice if you find it slow-going at first is to keep going as it definitely gets better!
crystalmbookshelf83's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bmueller90's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
I have read others in the series and enjoyed them but I found this one a bit tedious with far too much description of the physical landscape. The first 200 pages were a bit of a slog, but the end picked up.
gmamartha's review against another edition
4.0
The missing adventure to 1918 Palestine journey from The Beekeepers Apprentice.
b0hemian_graham's review against another edition
2.0
Actually, it's more like 2.5 stars, since Good Reads refuses to do that half star thing.
Mary Russell has officially plunged into the deep end of Mary Sue with the
Next time anyone who claims Steven Moffat has ruined Sherlock and that Season 3 Sherlock was totally out of character, just point them to this series, because Moffat and Gatiss are far truer to the character than King. While Sherlock may, it's far more in character than having a That particular bit from A Monstrous Regiment of Women bothered me when I first read the novel, long before Sherlock was even on the air.
King's writing isn't terrible, it's just not Sherlock Holmes. It's only been re-reading them that they seem lacklustre, and with so many other good characterisations of Holmes out there recently, this series seems worse than it is. Perhaps there's still some hope for improvement of this series.
I am interested in seeing if Moffat and Gatiss do take anything from King's canon, as according to them, "everything is Canon," and they have borrowed heavily from other non-ACD versions of Holmes.
Mary Russell has officially plunged into the deep end of Mary Sue with the
Spoiler
perfect knife throwing abilities and skinny dipping parties with Sherlock Holmes. I'm now remembering why I gave up on this series back in 2008/2009. The Beekeeper's Apprentice had trace amounts of "sue-ness," (actually, quite a lot after re-reading a few weeks ago, hence taking off a star from my initial rating), but it was tolerable, and it's still a fun novel to read. However the "sue-ness" of Mary Russell progressively became worse, and after re-reading the first four books, and getting into this one for the first time, it seems to jump out even more quickly. I will finish the series, as I did stick it out for Sookie Stackhouse, another series that started out decent (entertaining, but definitely not high calibre fiction), but became laughably bad with each subsequent novel.Next time anyone who claims Steven Moffat has ruined Sherlock and that Season 3 Sherlock was totally out of character, just point them to this series, because Moffat and Gatiss are far truer to the character than King. While Sherlock may
Spoiler
shoot CAM in the head at the end of His Last VowSpoiler
60-ish Sherlock passionately kiss a woman almost 40 years younger, and claiming that he's wanted to do that since he first met her. Extra squickiness, she was 15 at the time and was dressed as a boy.King's writing isn't terrible, it's just not Sherlock Holmes. It's only been re-reading them that they seem lacklustre, and with so many other good characterisations of Holmes out there recently, this series seems worse than it is. Perhaps there's still some hope for improvement of this series.
I am interested in seeing if Moffat and Gatiss do take anything from King's canon, as according to them, "everything is Canon," and they have borrowed heavily from other non-ACD versions of Holmes.