“Mary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond.

And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell’s faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs. Hudson’s son.”

It took me a long while to pick up The Murder of Mary Russell (AbeBooks) (Amazon), after losing faith in the series. It all started with that damn Pirate King (AbeBooks) (Amazon) book (most people either loved it or hated it and I loathed it), and then found the two books that followed it too different and not what I expected of the series. So when this book came out, I didn’t even bother to pick it up. Shame on me.

It was nice to return to Sussex for a mystery after all the traveling Holmes and Russell have done. But the story is mostly about Mrs. Hudson’s past, with brief visits to Mary’s present day.

There was no great mystery, but the story moved at a good pace, and it was nice to see Holmes do detective work. Too often in some of the books, Russell and Holmes go their separate ways and Holmes is rarely heard from. I get that these are Mary Russell books and not technically Sherlock Holmes books, but I think most fans can agree that the interaction between Holmes and Russell is a big reason to like this series.

To read my review of the latest Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes book, 2020’s Riviera Gold (the 16th in the series) (Amazon) (AbeBooks), click here.

For more reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

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