My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For years now, readers of the Russell Memoirs have wondered about the tantalizing mentions of Japan. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes had spent three weeks there, between India (The Game) and San Francisco (Locked Rooms). The time has finally come to tell that story.
It is 1925, and Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes arrive home to find a familiar decorative stone installed in their garden. A stone with a name, which they last saw in the Tokyo garden of the future Emperor of Japan. It is the first indication that the investigation they did for him in 1924 might not be as complete as they had thought. In Japan there were spies, in Oxford there are dreams. In both places there is a small dark-haired woman and danger.
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The story in Dreaming Spies begins with Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell arriving home after all the adventures in Morocco (Pirate King and Garments of Shadows) and finding a rock in their garden. This rock is just the beginning or in a way the continuation of an old case that started around a year ago in Japan after Holmes and Russell's adventure in India in The Game.
We start off the story in Sussex and Oxford with the arrival of a rock and an old “friend” of Holmes and Russell. After that, we get to know what really happened in Japan before they arrived in America. Laurie R. King has as usual written a very describing and well-researched book. I felt that I was in Japan as I read and it was a wonderful treat to get to know the country and its culture throughout the story.
The only objection I have and that is that I felt a trifle impatient reading it sometimes. Because even though it was well written not so much happened, or, of course, things happened but alas so slowly. I wanted some more drive to the story. The story in Japan takes up 2/3 of the book and much of that was just to lay the groundwork for the story later on in Oxford. So even though I enjoyed the time on the ship from India to Japan and the time in Japan I liked the story best later on in Oxford when the game was afoot. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the book. I loved reading it. It was a great book and I think that fans of Laurie R. Kings books will truly enjoy reading this book.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
The only objection I have and that is that I felt a trifle impatient reading it sometimes. Because even though it was well written not so much happened, or, of course, things happened but alas so slowly. I wanted some more drive to the story. The story in Japan takes up 2/3 of the book and much of that was just to lay the groundwork for the story later on in Oxford. So even though I enjoyed the time on the ship from India to Japan and the time in Japan I liked the story best later on in Oxford when the game was afoot. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the book. I loved reading it. It was a great book and I think that fans of Laurie R. Kings books will truly enjoy reading this book.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
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