Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King


Fair warning: this is my first formal book review.



Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this title thru NetGalley.

Island of the Mad has begun to restore my faith in the Mary Russell books.  I have adored this series for years... up to book 10, God of the Hive.  I re-read (listen to, actually) the books often - they are my comfort listens.

But the last four just haven't been my cup of tea.  I didn't get the humorous bent (so unlike the rest of the series) of Pirate King, felt that Ali and Mahmoud were completely wasted in Garment of Shadows (which also had too many dense blocks of historical background), can tolerate Dreaming Spies, but do my best to pretend that Murder of Mary Russell doesn't exist.  I have given the first three of these multiple attempts but there are few circumstances which could entice me to re-do MoMR even once. I had resigned myself to the existence of only 10 Russell books and some short stories.

So it was with trepidation mingled with my anticipation that I requested a NetGalley advance copy of Island of the Mad. And the more I read, the more I relaxed, feeling like I was reading a traditional Russell novel like the ones I love so much.  I kept making myself put it aside every few chapters so I wouldn't reach the end too quickly. 

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but was uneasy with the ending.  I won't include a spoiler here (although I can't speak for the comments) - for a typical mystery story, the ending was just right.  But for a story with Sherlock Holmes in it...

I am currently listening to the audio release of this Russell adventure and so far, enjoying it just as much.