The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books are always fun. They are thickly plotted and the real villain is never exactly who it first appears to be. Garment of Shadows is no different.
My only real complaint about these wonderful books is that they star Mary Russell and not Sherlock Holmes, who is always relegated to a supporting role. I should be used to this by now, but I would still like a little more of super genius Sherlock Holmes and a little less of super genius Mary Russell. But then, what writer can ever love another’s creation more than her own?
In Garment of Shadows Laurie R King uses an old chestnut of a plot gimmick-she has Mary Russell lose her memory and wander around a good deal of the book not knowing who she is or why she seems to be lost in Fez. These are some of the best parts of the book, allowing us to wander around with Mary as she discovers all kinds of interesting things in yet another foreign land.
Mary and Sherlock continue their world tour and we find them in Morocco in 1925 dealing with the minor problem of the Rif Revolt. Not being much of a history buff, I’d never heard of any of the real world people in this story and didn’t know that Moracco was ever anyone’s Colony. Seems there was an iron mine owned by some Germans that was in some land contested by The French and The Spanish during the fading days of Colonialism. We met Important People on all sides and watch as Holmes and Russell decide which side is right and what is best for Crown and Country.
As always, the over arching political intrigue is not really important. All we care about is the safety of Mary and Sherlock as their usual meddling into affairs that have nothing to do with them leads to near death experiences. They often go their seperate ways and involve themselves in this and that and get to use the many languages they both speak and get to dress in any number of costumes that allow them to make discrete inquires into matters of international importance and personal interest.
Garment of Shadows: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
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