A very neat little mystery that promises a great deal in the way of theological intrigue and misogyny yet resolves itself in a mundane way. Much to Holmes's chagrin. How boring for him and a nice change for the reader.I liked this installment of Mary Russell's "memoirs". It continues in Mary's theological vein, with the arrival of a purported letter from Mary Magdalene where she identifies herself as an apostle, but rather than the death-defying cat-and-mouse games of the first two books it has a bit of a slower pace. Also interesting to learn a bit about the Russell/Holmes marriage - one of the best scenes was one where Holmes attempts to out-logic his gut reaction to Mary working undercover as a misogynist's secretary; he views Mary as his partner in deduction, not a subservient wife, yet really has to fight an innate urge to keep his loved one from harm (a scene that made me laugh was one where Holmes attempts to cajole Mary into something and she describes her nice warm bed as "invaded" by a cold, bristly male person smelling faintly of cheap gin and strongly of tobacco (I'm paraphrasing, since I don't have the book to hand but you get the picture); another scene where a writer is able to show intimacy between her characters without being graphic).

Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are happily ensconced in their Sussex countryside home. Well, maybe happily isnt quite the right word. Mary has graduated from Oxford and is writing a theological book, while Holmes prowls their little house like a bad-tempered cat. Some days he inhales the London papers, others hes a bit too calculated in his refusal to keep updated on the goings on of his old city. Mary knows hes hungry for a new case, but shes reluctant to admit her own itch for a bit of adventureThen adventure and danger come looking for them in the form of Dorothy Ruskin, an old friend Russell and Holmes met during a trip to Palestine. Miss Ruskin is visiting family in England, leaving behind her archeological expedition and making a detour to the Holmes residence to show Mary in particular, something that might change the face of Christianity forever.Ruskin has a papyrus scroll that was gifted to her, and she believes its a letter from Mary Magdalene that suggests she was an apostle of Jesus Christ.This is quite an explosive find and Ruskin is keen for Mary to study the papyrus and do with it what she will. But before Mary can make any decisions, news reaches her that Miss Ruskin has been killed while in London, in a hit and run car accident. Mary and Holmes know Ruskins sudden death is linked to the scroll she left in Marys care which has now placed them in the firing line of whoever wants to keep Mary Magdalenes letter a secret. A Letter of Mary is the third book in Laurie R. Kings Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mystery series.When I began this book I expected a bit of upheaval in Russell and Holmess relationship. After all, when A Letter of Mary begins, Mary Russell is twenty-three and Holmes sixty-two-years-old, and theyre recently married. I wasnt so much surprised by their becoming husband and wife (its mentioned in the blurb of all the other books, and there were hints right from book one as an older Mary was narrating) but I was curious to know if there would be a new dynamic between them, now that their relationship had become an intimate one. Im happy to report that aside from making Mycroft occasionally blush with the knowledge of their marriage bed not much has changed between Russell and Holmes. Since about the age of nineteen, she has been his equal and that theyre now married has just seen them become even more of a unit. Under his guidance I harnessed my angry intelligence. I found a direction for my life, and I cam to terms with my past. When I was eighteen, we worked together on a series of cases, which culminated with finding ourselves the target of one of the cleverest, most deadly criminals he had ever faced. After that case, I was an apprentice no longer I was, at the age of nineteen, a full partner. There are still some adjustments to married life for the both of them too, which provides a new emotional layer to the story. King is now showing us these two evolving as partners in their detective work, and as a united, married front. This also allows for some tender moments from Holmes, whos not exactly the most easily affectionate of characters: I wish I had been there. I find it difficult to work with second-hand information, even when it comes from you.So why didnt you go? I said irritably. I am not criticizing, Russell. There is nothing wrong with the way you gather information far from it, in fact. It is only that I still find it difficult to accustom myself to being half of a creature with two brains and four eyes. A superior creature to a single detective, no doubt, but it takes some getting used to. I will say that the whodunit in this book didnt quite fascinate me as much as those in books one and two. I should point out at this point that Laurie R. King has included theological aspects in all of the books so far mostly pivoting around the idea of faith. This is probably because Laurie R. King herself admits a fascination with theology that shes also given to the character of Mary who is also very proud of her Jewish background. But the discussions have never been so prominent as in A Letter of Mary, which explores shaking the very foundations of Christianity with a theological feminist investigation. Look, its interesting in one regard but a bit too faith-heavy for my liking. In another way I really enjoyed this book because it majority takes place in London, with Russell doing some under-cover work and really getting stuck into the meat of the investigation and flying solo. I also really enjoyed when Mary was given a glimpse of Sherlocks old life before retirement, and just how much of an impact he had on Scotland Yard: Some of the men laugh at him, make jokes about his pipe smoking and violin and all, but theyre laughing at all those stories Dr Watson wrote, and they dont like to admit that their training in footprints and the laboratorys analysis of bloodstains and tobacco ashes comes straight from the work of Sherlock Holmes. Even fingerprints he as the first in the country to use them in a case. Miss Russell, when he says there was murder and a burglary was connected with it, then I for one believe him.Speaking of Laurie R. King looking at the impact of Conan Doyles Sherlock on her new Sherlock, I read this book at the same time that a huge decision was being made around the copyright of Sherlock Holmes, the character. From the Guardian: A US court has ruled that Sherlock Holmes along with 46 stories and four novels hes appeared in is in the public domain, reaffirming the expiration of the copyright once owned by the estate of Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The federal suit was brought in early 2013 by author and scholar Leslie Klinger. The suit became necessary after the Doyle estate attempted to extract a license fee for a new book he was co-editing with Laurie R. King. That was really interesting to have in the back of my mind, because I just kept thinking how respectful King is of Conan Doyles creation, often paying tribute to his past stories and old cases and ensuring that any Sherlock Holmes fan would find a lot to love in her spin-off series with Mary Russell.

Excellent addition to Laurie R. King's alt-Sherlock Holmes universe, A Letter of Mary finds Holmes and Russell, erm, rusticating , for want of a better term at their home on the Sussex downs. Both are relieved to get an intriguing letter from Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist Russell had met during their last visit to Palestine.Russell is shocked when only hours after visiting the couple, Miss Ruskin suffers an "accident" in London, and Holmes and Russell are back on the case.A very solid contribution to the series.

4.5 stars. A librarian who met her recently told me that Laurie R. King is a "true intellectual," and after reading this third book in the Mary Russell series, I have to agree. Her books read like classics. They are books to savor and to thoroughly enjoy. I truly enjoyed this installment, and will definitely be continuing with the series. It didn't earn a five from me because it lacks the emotional power of my recent fives. However, it's extremely well-written, intelligent, and I love Russell and Holmes. What a team they make. It's as though Conan Doyle wrote it himself. I can't give it higher praise than that.

A Letter of Mary is the 3rd book in the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes mystery series by Laurie R. King. I have to say that I continue to have mixed feelings about the series. The concept in itself, Russell who started off being mentored by Holmes is now his wife and works cases with him. Holmes, himself, is basically retired from detective work and they live on a piec of land in Sussex where Holmes raises bees and Russell works on a degree at Oxford while also spending time with her husband.An acquaintance of Russell, a lady archaeologist, Dorothy Ruskin, visits them, gives them a letter she had found in a dig in the Middle East, a letter purported to have been written by Mary Magdalene to her sister. The next day, Ruskin is found dead, hit by a car in London. Holmes and Russell get involved, suspect that Ruskin has been murdered for some reason. The same day, Holmes' home is broken into and searched. Further suspicion now that it was murder and not an accident.The rest of the story involves their investigation, with help by the son of Lestrade and also Sherlock's brother Mycroft. Both Holmes and Mary follow different suspects; one a misogynist Colonel, the other the sister of Dorothy. So that's the barest outline. The story is interesting, but, personally, I do find it difficult to warm to Russell. At one point she calls Holmes a prig and I thought, no, you're the prig. She is a strong-willed, intelligent character, but so much time is spent with her kind of anti-snobbishness that she seems to be a snob. I'm not saying this correctly. I like Holmes, I like Mycroft, I like Lestrade and Russell is OK in her own way. I liked the story, but I didn't love it. At the end, I thought, OK, there you go. So what. Does that mean I won't read any of the others I still have on my bookshelf. No, it doesn't, but I'll read a few other books before I do. Try the series and let me know what you think. (3 stars)