Garment of Shadows (Mary Russell #12)
Author: Laurie R. King
Publisher: Random House
ISBN-10: 0553807994
ISBN-13: 978-0-553-80799-8
ASIN: B007JC2ELA
Sometimes people adapting well known characters in the literary public domain goes very well, and other times horribly wrong. Laurie R. King managed to do that successfully and bring her own spin to things through Mary Russell, a woman who becomes first an apprentice to (as a beekeeper), and later the wife of, the legendary Sherlock Holmes. Adventure and mystery never seem to quite let Sherlock go into an easy retirement, though make no mistake, these are Mary Russell’s stories first and foremost. Their latest adventure takes them to Morocco in the 1920s, where Mary originally went with a film crew and ends up waking up having lost her memory after what appears to be a vicious attack. Set against actual history of the time (which does admittedly bog the book down a little in spots), Mary must reunite with Sherlock and figure out who attacked her in the first place. As mentioned previously, the copious details of setting and political intrigue do detract from the character story at points but the overall plot does work and the amnesia angle does not look like merely a simple foil to create a story. Overall, worth a read.
Disclosure: A free copy of this book was furnished by the publisher for review via Netgalley, but providing a copy did not guarantee a review. This information is provided per the regulations of the Federal Trade Commission.
