A disappointing read compared to the more gripping and psychologically astute The Beekeeper's Apprentice (the first in this series) and the far superior (alternate) historical novel Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford, the book I read just before. In Mary, the plotting is loose, the red herrings belabored, the ultimate solution tawdry; and the most interesting element in the book, the one most likely to attract the interest of those not already invested in the series, turns out to be a mere distraction, a dangling bauble constructed to emphasize and underscore a theme already well developed in the book's other elements and plot points. I would recommend this only to Holmes fanfic completists and to those whose chief pleasure in reading mysteries is in solving their puzzles. ( )

Another excellent installment in this series. I love the relationships and deep subject matter that bring the mystery together. ( )

I have always enjoyed Laurie R. King’s stories about Sherlock Holmes and his protégée and later wife, Mary Russell. This book, about a mysterious document, a sinister murder, multiple red herrings and a few bees, kept my attention throughout. King is a very competent writer and the books slide by like honey, smooth and tempting and occasionally with a bit of a sting.
I try not to envision Mary with the very much older Holmes, as I find that somewhat Lolita-esque, but once that is pushed aside the mysteries are always involving without being too frightening- a perfect read for this anxious time.
I share with Holmes his feeling at the solution to the mystery- I shan’t mention it here to avoid spoilers, but I sense the book ended not quite as King would have wanted it.
That said, I will be looking for more in this series. An excellent rainy day read. ( )

This series continues to be awesome. I was a little concerned at the end of the last book that this one might descend into cheese, as Russell and Holmes do the rom-com thing and embark on an unlikely May-December marriage. However, the relationship is not depicted in a particularly romantic way, but instead continues as it was in the previous volumes, albeit with a deepened sense of mutual respect and intimacy, almost a sweetness at times. The mystery here concerns the death of a friend who appears bearing a mysterious and potentially profound document that is right in Mary's wheelhouse of Judeo-Christian scholarship. Of course this combination would be irresistible to me, representing two areas that interest me greatly. And the Holmesian ruses that are undertaken in the investigation are smart and delightful. ( )

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? ( )