« Yup, I've Got It | Main | Books I Read After Catching the Sick Child's Virus »
February 28, 2006
Books I Read While Babysitting a Sick Child
A Monstrous Regiment of Women
by Laurie R. King
From Booklist: Mary Russell, introduced as the worthy successor to Dr. Watson in The Beekeeper's Apprentice , makes a triumphant return here. Russell has reached her majority, completed her studies at Oxford, come into her inheritance, and uncovered a passel of trouble in Margery Childe, a charismatic mystic with political aspirations in 1921 London. Childe has organized a temple to proselytize her mixture of feminism and what would be called, in a later decade, "liberation theology." Unfortunately, wealthy members of her inner circle keep dying, shortly after rewriting their wills in her favor. Russell launches the investigation of the temple while her employer, Sherlock Holmes and his brother, Mycroft, pursue drug smugglers in France. King expertly captures the details of the period, although some of her characters, attitudes, and actions seem anachronistic. Most of the well-loved figures from the Doyle canon make appearances, including Mrs. Hudson, Dr. Watson, and even Inspector Lastrade's son. Though purists will be offended by Holmes' behavior at the tale's conclusion, less-finicky fans will find the book thoroughly enjoyable.
My Review: I *heart* Mary Russell stories. ADA gave me this book, along with the others by Laurie R. King, and I read it like there was no tomorrow. It made me very, very angry that I didn't have access to the third book in the series. (A problem I hope to alleviate tomorrow.)
----------
A Grave Talent
by Laurie R. King
From Publishers Weekly: Although it gets off to an uncertain start, this first mystery boasts an appealing female detective and a few good shocks delivered close to the end. Three children's bodies are found near a reclusive community of eccentrics not too many miles from San Francisco. Young cop Casey Martinelli and her embittered, tyrannical partner Alonzo Hawkins think they've identified the perfect suspect in Vaun Adams, the community's resident artist, who once was convicted of murdering a child and who is secretive even by the standards of her weird neighbors. Adams is a strong, enigmatic creation: haunted, gothic and broadly dysfunctional, with a dark past that may contain the lurking killer. But the plot exhibits cracks--a tenuous piece of deduction conveniently dictates that the murder suspects can come only from the community--and King stumbles several times in developing her detectives' characters. She is coy about revealing the gender of Casey's lover (most readers will spot the "surprise" a mile off), and she lets Hawkins' initially gruff manner dissipate within a dozen pages. If King plans a series, she will need to flesh out her protagonists.
My Review: Well, I knew that Martinelli was gay from the start, so it wasn't much of a stunner. And while I agree that this book wasn't a huge page turner, it did make for some fine baby-sitting reading. The book jacket proclaims King as the NEW P.D. JAMES, to which I silently query "who?" Apparently, I am not much of a crime/detective reader.
----------
To Play the Fool
by Laurie R. King
From Library Journal: San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli strays from the stereotypical path of policewoman. As an openly lesbian and much-publicized heroine, Kate returns to her job facing a difficult case: street person Brother Erasmus, suspect in the murder of a homeless man, communicates entirely by way of literary quotations. The author presents her homeless characters with honesty and compassion, much in the way she describes the relationship between Kate and her lover or her police partner, Al. A fitting and well-done sequel to the award-winning A Grave Talent.
My Review: Again, I wasn't totally head-over-heels in love with this book, but it made for a fine afternoon of reading. Actually, it made me want a new Mary Russell book even more badly.
