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A Letter of Mary: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (Mary Russell Novels) | 
 enlarge | Author: Laurie R. King
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.88
You Save: $6.12 (44%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 48114
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0312427387
Dewey Decimal Number: 823
EAN: 9780312427382
ASIN: 0312427387
Publication Date: October 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081121221340T
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Amazon.com Review
Sherlock Holmes and his scholarly companion Mary Russell are caught up in an exciting mystery when an archaeologist leaves them with a treasured find, a papyrus supposedly written by Mary Magdalene. When the archaeoligist winds up dead and someone attempts to make off with the artifact, Holmes and Russel become embroiled in a rollicking story filled with political intrigue and highbrow sleuthing. The level of writing hasn't been higher in this Laurie King series.
Product Description
The third book in the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes series.
It is 1923. Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the retired Sherlock Holmes, are enjoying the summer together on their Sussex estate when they are visited by an old friend, Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an archeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient manuscript which seems to hint at the possibility that Mary Magdalene was an apostle--an artifact certain to stir up a storm of biblical proportions in the Christian establishment. When Ruskin is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. Brimming with political intrigue, theological arcana, and brilliant Holmesian deductions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 Laurie King is always Laurie King October 24, 2008
Laurie King's premise for her series - a female Holmes as companion/wife to Sherlock Holmes is excellent. Her plots/story lines are also wonderful. But if you read more than two of her stories (I have the entire series), you begin to "tire" of all the extraneous discriptions of "every" area, street, house, etc.. But that is the writing style of Laurie King. Personally, I could do without all the "book filler" and would love to read just a tight, well plotted, interesting characters story, which is what you will find after wading though the personal adgenda of Laurie King's world travels.
 Terrific Series! February 19, 2008
This whole series about Mary Russell and Shelock Holmes is fantastic! Start with The Beekeepers Apprentice and follow the series in the author's order and you will not be disappointed! She and the series are GREAT!
Entertaining April 6, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A Letter to Mary the third of the Russell/Holmes series is in a nutshell, entertaining. You can read it before falling asleep, on the bus, or beach and enjoy the plot which in this case is not overly complex but is not dull either. I enjoyed this book as much as I did because of the subject matter, the banter between Holmes and Russell and the interesting secondary characters. The case begins with a mysterious letter dated 70 A.D. from the "apostle Mary", Russell is just a little skeptical when she states, "This couldn't be Mary Magdelene?" Dorothy Ruskin the archeologist introduced in O Jerusalem, has given this manuscript along with an interesting box for Russell to translate and interpret. After an enjoyable day in Sussex, Holmes and Russell are horrified to learn that Dorothy has been killed by an automobile in London. The case begins and through the various twists and turns we enjoy the ride as Holmes and Russell go undercover and discover the secrets of the manuscript, the mysterious box and the murderer of their friend Dorothy Ruskin. King has created a realistic and endearing relationship between Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes and it is a pleasure to read.
 A Model of Healthy Male-Female Relationships September 3, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Laurie King's A Letter of Mary is the third volume in a series of mystery novels that portray an older Sherlock Holmes who is still solving mysteries with his young bride Mary Russell Holmes. The time is 1923, and the couple lives in their country home in Sussex Downs. Mary is studying Theology at Oxford and busily involved in her research.
The couple is visited by Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist from Palestine, who has returned to England to seek funding for her work. During the visit she leaves with Russell an antique papyrus letter that appears to be written by Mary Magdalene, an apostle of Jesus. It was given to Ruskin by a Palestinian who claims the document has been in his family for ages. Soon after she leaves, she is hit by a car in London and dies. Holmes and Russell are drawn into what appears to be a murder, but have a devil of a time figuring out who did it.
What I like about this novel is the way that King creates the atmosphere of 1920's England. The old cars and trains, the buildings, the pace of life, and the people are all described in great detail. There is a lovely scene at a party on an old estate where Mary meets and gets help from Lord Peter Whimsey, another fictional detective, that is just filled with details about dress and manners. Another wonderful description is of a woman witness's hair style as Mary interviews her.
However, it is a difficult stretch for me to envision Holmes falling in love with any woman, never mind a young orphan whose parents were killed in an auto accident. And although I feel that King develops and portrays a good partnership between Russell and Holmes (they call each other by their last names!), with each bringing their own strengths to their work together, I find it not believable when they close the door and are intimate together.
Also, the plot is a murder mystery but the book resembles real life more than fiction. There are lots of suspects, and trails that go cold or lead nowhere. I can't fault the author for this bit of realism, but it is an interesting approach to the mystery novel.
Overall, I liked the novel and plan to read the rest of the series. The friendship, based on mutual respect between Russell and Holmes, makes this a wonderful book, not so much as a mystery, but as a model of healthy male-female relationships.
Beach Reading without shame! March 28, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The third in the Mary Russell series. It's a great series - the books are a quick read, and generally touch on some topic in enough detail that your interest is sparked into finding a little more about what you're reading about.
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