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bibliogrammaMary Russell’s War and Other Stories of Suspense is a collection of short fiction by Laurie R. King. The title story, Mary Russell’s War, is a novella that I’ve previously read as a stand-alone ebook, but the other pieces, all part of the Mary Russell saga, were new to me.
“Mary Russell’s Christmas“ is a delightful story about Mary’s childhood, her charming rogue of an uncle, Jake, and her introduction into the fine arts of card sharking and con jobs. And how she got her throwing knife.
“Beekeeping for Beginners” retells the story of Mary Russell’s first meeting with Holmes, and the early days of her “apprenticeship,” from the perspective of the retired consulting detective.
“Mary Russell’s Marriage,” which is set just after the events of A Monstrous Regiment of Women, is exactly what the title suggests, an account of the wedding of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Naturally, these two can’t just have a simple wedding, either in church or registry office - there has to be a mystery, a scheme, a unique circumstance, an adventure.
“Mrs. Hudson’s Case” features Holmes’s intrepid housekeeper in a case that both she and Mary Russell suspect that Holmes would not deal with appropriately - so they do what must be done, making certain that the great detective never knows the truth.
“A Venomous Death” is a short story indeed, merely a few pages in which Holmes almost immediately deduces the murderer. It’s mostly about bees.
“Birth of a Green Man” deals with the backstory of Robert Goodman, one of the characters of The God of the Hive.
“My Story” is a piece of metafiction, in which Mary Russells discusses how it came to be that she chose one Laurie R. King the editor of her volumes of memoirs, and the madcap adventures surrounding the timing of her decision. Its sequel, “A Case in Correspondence” is told entirely in postcards, letters and newspapers articles, and deals with the mysterious disappearance of Holmes and the political repercussions of the volume of Russell’s memoirs published as “The God of the Hive.”
In “Stately Holmes,” Russell and Holmes return to Justice Hall to deal with a singularly material ghost.
With the exception of the novella, Mary Russell’s War, which I have spoken about elsewhere these are for the most part slight pieces, enjoyable largely for the small glimpses into the characters lives when they are not in the throes of a full-blown adventure. I found the ones set earlier in Russell’s life the most interesting, with “Mary Russell’s Marriage” being perhaps the most moving, as it gives us a glimpse into the emotional lives of two people singularly notable for keeping their emotions quite firmly to themselves. The collection as a whole is best seen as something fun to read for Mary Russell fans awaiting the next novel.
“Mary Russell’s Christmas“ is a delightful story about Mary’s childhood, her charming rogue of an uncle, Jake, and her introduction into the fine arts of card sharking and con jobs. And how she got her throwing knife.
“Beekeeping for Beginners” retells the story of Mary Russell’s first meeting with Holmes, and the early days of her “apprenticeship,” from the perspective of the retired consulting detective.
“Mary Russell’s Marriage,” which is set just after the events of A Monstrous Regiment of Women, is exactly what the title suggests, an account of the wedding of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Naturally, these two can’t just have a simple wedding, either in church or registry office - there has to be a mystery, a scheme, a unique circumstance, an adventure.
“Mrs. Hudson’s Case” features Holmes’s intrepid housekeeper in a case that both she and Mary Russell suspect that Holmes would not deal with appropriately - so they do what must be done, making certain that the great detective never knows the truth.
“A Venomous Death” is a short story indeed, merely a few pages in which Holmes almost immediately deduces the murderer. It’s mostly about bees.
“Birth of a Green Man” deals with the backstory of Robert Goodman, one of the characters of The God of the Hive.
“My Story” is a piece of metafiction, in which Mary Russells discusses how it came to be that she chose one Laurie R. King the editor of her volumes of memoirs, and the madcap adventures surrounding the timing of her decision. Its sequel, “A Case in Correspondence” is told entirely in postcards, letters and newspapers articles, and deals with the mysterious disappearance of Holmes and the political repercussions of the volume of Russell’s memoirs published as “The God of the Hive.”
In “Stately Holmes,” Russell and Holmes return to Justice Hall to deal with a singularly material ghost.
With the exception of the novella, Mary Russell’s War, which I have spoken about elsewhere these are for the most part slight pieces, enjoyable largely for the small glimpses into the characters lives when they are not in the throes of a full-blown adventure. I found the ones set earlier in Russell’s life the most interesting, with “Mary Russell’s Marriage” being perhaps the most moving, as it gives us a glimpse into the emotional lives of two people singularly notable for keeping their emotions quite firmly to themselves. The collection as a whole is best seen as something fun to read for Mary Russell fans awaiting the next novel.