 [Larger view] | Justice Hall (Mary Russell Novels (Paperback))
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 Is it just me? | |
| I pose just 3 questions:
1. Has the author ever read a Sherlock Holmes novel? 2. Has the author ever spent any time in the UK? 3. Has the author ever studied plot as a function of story telling? I don't get it, in spite of all the great reviews (with all due respect). I keep getting the sense that the empress wears no clothes. Frankly if I were Sherlock Holmes (or A. Conan Doyle, I would be offended. | |
| Holmes aficianados deserve better | |
| Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell, are summoned to Justice Hall, a rich estate headed by an old friend, Duke Marsh Hughenfort. They came to know Marsh as Mahmoud, an Arabian fighter, in a previous book, and his brother Alistair (known to them previously as Ali), has asked them to help Marsh cut his ties to the estate so that the two of them can live their lives contentedly in the Middle East. The problem is that, as rightful heir to the Dukedom, Marsh can't leave unless he is sure that there is an able successor. Without his vigilant watch, the estate will fall into the hands of a scheming couple, the Darlings, who act as Regents to the estate. Before long, it appears that someone in the line to the throne is attempting to clear the line of successors so that he can take the seat of power, but it isn't clear until the end which of the various suspects is responsible. In the end, the villain is revealed, and his ambitions are thwarted after Holmes and Russell unearth a five year old boy who is rightful heir.
The Good and the Bad: On the one hand, I have a ton of criticisms of this book, all of which I feel are very valid and which spoiled the book almost entirely for me. On the other hand, I find myself open to the possibility of reading another novel about Holmes and his wife, so King must be doing something right. One problem with the book is the writing, which is steeped in the overly-proper verbosity that characterized the Arthur Conan Doyle series. This is not so bad when there is action provided to keep us interested, but the book breaks down entirely for long stretches in which nothing exciting happens. For example, a ten page description of Russell's first tour of Justice Hall was particularly excruciating, as it was mostly description of room after description of room, with very little to break it up. It seemed to me almost as if King, having researched the time period extensively, didn't want to leave out the slightest detail. So, clearly, the pacing was poor, especially in the first third of the book or so. Not until an attempt on Marsh's life are we involved in the story, and that doesn't come until about 130 pages in. Another problem is the characters which populate the novel. Many of the secondary characters are presented in monotone; for example, there is little said of Phillida Darling that does anything other than underline her tediousness and adherence to the social conventions of an aspiring socialite. The annoying characters are unfailingly annoying, while the members of Holmes' team are unfailingly good-hearted. Marsh's lesbian wife Iris is particularly gratingly good at everything and virtuous. The actual villain is only not obvious because he is conspicuously absent from the scene throughout the book. I don't know that he had a single line of dialogue-not a very interesting character, to say the least. Since the wheels of justice are turning inexorably, we get the idea that the villain will be captured, and his identity becomes completely trivial. Holmes himself was humanized in the first Russell novel, which I can live with. However, I felt that in this novel there was nothing left of his exceptional abilities at all; anything that resembled the specific powers of deduction for which he is famous (induction, as all big fans know) is wasted on completely unimportant details, such as the fact that a letter was carried for a while before it was posted. The sole exception is when he applies himself to a game bird that has been shot, noting from the angle of various wounds that it had actually been shot twice. His expert disguise tactics also get a workout when he poses as a priest to make contact with an unsuspecting suspect. But for the most part, his near-supernatural powers of observation have dried up, it would appear. Russell, for her part, is gifted at reading the intentions and motives of people, based on their gestures and mannerisms. This is interesting as a counterpoint to Holmes' powers of analyzing evidence and constructing logical chains of thought; as a stand-alone act, it seems unrealistic, a worse fault given that the only reason to rob Holmes of his powers is in the service of realism. For the most part, the mystery in this book is uncovered by tedious travel to witnesses who bear information waiting to be imparted. This is not very interesting detective work. All of this might be forgiven, if the key evidence in their case, a marriage certificate, wasn't stumbled upon by Russell completely by accident moments before acquisition of the evidence becomes critical to presenting the climax. This was so shockingly artificial that I thought it must be a misdirection, but sadly it was meant to be swallowed. My final complaint (the last one I feel like noting, anyhow) is that the villain, Ivo Hughenfort, is hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed, thereby preventing quite a bit of suspense. A lone criminal against a large team of outstanding detective, who are blessed with superior resources in every field imaginable, is a huge underdog. I want the villain to be an underdog only when it is in the service of mythologizing the hero; in this case, he was an underdog for no reason other than to give lots of characters their props. What I learned: The Lord of an estate in early 20th century England had a kind of alliance with the people of his area. They looked to him for guidance, leadership, and resources when they were in need, repaying the debt with their deference and fealty. At some point, tax laws made the agricultural resources that an estate typically had completely unable to provide for the system, and so the nobility had to turn to other enterprises in order to maintain revenue. | |
 Another Winner | |
| I really enjoy this series. I think that author Laurie R. King has done one of the best, probably the best, jobs of keeping Sherlock Holmes alive and well. The books that revolve around him and his wife Mary Russell are well-written, well-plotted, and well-characterized.
In this entry, Mary & Sherlock are summoned to an old English estate to help out two friends. One of them is the newly appointed Duke but does not want to be there, preferring to return to the Middle East where he had lived for twenty years doing undercover work for Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. Someone is out to murder him, however, with their own eyes on the dukedom. There are suspects aplenty and lots of clues thrown in to entice the reader to guessing whodunnit. Part of the story revolves around the past - another member of the family was put to death in front of the firing squad for treason during WWI and Mary & Sherlock work to solve that mystery as well. Some of that story is told through the warfield diary of that soldier and some of the passages are truly heartbreaking to read. An excellent book, both as a mystery and as a novel. |
