I have always enjoyed Laurie R. King’s stories about Sherlock Holmes and his protégée and later wife, Mary Russell. This book, about a mysterious document, a sinister murder, multiple red herrings and a few bees, kept my attention throughout. King is a very competent writer and the books slide by like honey, smooth and tempting and occasionally with a bit of a sting.
I try not to envision Mary with the very much older Holmes, as I find that somewhat Lolita-esque, but once that is pushed aside the mysteries are always involving without being too frightening- a perfect read for this anxious time.
I share with Holmes his feeling at the solution to the mystery- I shan’t mention it here to avoid spoilers, but I sense the book ended not quite as King would have wanted it.
That said, I will be looking for more in this series. An excellent rainy day read. ( )

This series continues to be awesome. I was a little concerned at the end of the last book that this one might descend into cheese, as Russell and Holmes do the rom-com thing and embark on an unlikely May-December marriage. However, the relationship is not depicted in a particularly romantic way, but instead continues as it was in the previous volumes, albeit with a deepened sense of mutual respect and intimacy, almost a sweetness at times. The mystery here concerns the death of a friend who appears bearing a mysterious and potentially profound document that is right in Mary's wheelhouse of Judeo-Christian scholarship. Of course this combination would be irresistible to me, representing two areas that interest me greatly. And the Holmesian ruses that are undertaken in the investigation are smart and delightful. ( )

The year is 1923 and Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell receive a visit from Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist. She shows them a scrap of ancient writing that is supposedly Mary Magdalene's. Soon afterwards she is murdered — but why? ( )

The year is 1923, Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is at their home in Sussex Downs busy with their studies. Russell with theology and Holmes with some chemical experiments. Then they are visited by amateur archaeologist Miss Dorothy Ruskin with a startling puzzle for them. She has found in the Holy Land a roll of papyrus with a message from Mary Magdalene. A couple of days is Miss Ruskin killed in a traffic accident. But was it really an accident.

The case in this book is intriguing with an ancient papyrus claimed to be written by Mary Magdalene and the death of Miss Ruskin. Was she murdered? And, if she was murdered, why? It’s up to Russell and Holmes to find out the truth.

Like the previous two books a great story. I love the theology part of the story, with a papyrus that could very well be written by Mary Magdalene. I love how Laurie R. King manages to combine theology with crime, just like in the previous book. ( )

An elderly woman archeologist whom Mary and Sherlock have met in Palestine visits and gives Mary a letter that may be from Mary of Magdala to her sister before the fall of Jerusalem. The woman dies in suspicious circumstances and Mary disguises herself as a secretary to investigate one suspect. Brief appearance by Lord Peter.