Megan Follows Books

This third installment in the beloved Anne series is one of my favorites. Having just completed two years of teaching in Avonlea, Anne, along with friends Gilbert and Charlie, is ready to leave the Island and make her way to Redmond College. Her four years there offer quaint-seeming insights into college life a hundred years ago. After spending her freshman year in a boarding house, Anne and chums Priscilla, Stella, and Philippa move into a little house called Patty's Place. Even though they are committed to their studies, life is never dull. Anne has no lack of suitors, turning down no fewer than five proposals during the course of the story. And her summers are full of adventure, whether it's back in dear Avonlea or teaching as a country schoolmarm.

I've read Anne of the Island each year I've been in college, and as I finished it this time, I couldn't help but relate to Anne's excitement for the future, mingled with regretful nostalgia about the college life she was leaving behind. College is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Having attended a small Christian university, I relate to Anne's old-fashioned values and the safe, wholesome environment of Redmond.

Montgomery has such a pungent writing voice, alive to the quirks of human nature and the beauties of outdoor nature. She brings spice, optimism, and a touch of cynicism to the story and the characters. Anne's most personal experiences are recounted with poignancy, and are rooted in reality, although they may seem whimsical to modern readers. The ending is sweet and satisfying. I just love Anne, and especially this tale of her college experiences. Don't miss it.

Anne of the Island is the third installment of the smash Anne of Green Gables series. The book begins with Anne leaving for college to further her education the second time. When she arrives, she encounters a slew of minor domestic problems, a new group of friends, and Love. All of which she deals with using that famous atypical personality of a "Kindred spirit"



Although the book deals with more serious subject matter than the preceding books, as a reflection upon Anne's growing older, the book starts with the lighthearted catchy fun that made Anne famous in her prequels. Most of this fun is centered on the Anne's encounters with her roommate cats Rusty, Joseph, and Sarah-Cat. Anne's exclamations of fear at being stalked by the docile house cats is classic Anne and delicious fun.



The Book also dives into more serious matter, with Lets be friends-Lets be more than friends-Lets be friends-I hate you-Marry me! Gilbert abandoning his indecisiveness and aggressively courting Anne. Although this relation is of little interest to male readers, it is made a key plot element, most likely because it is attractive to the books target demographic, pre-teen girls. Luckily, most of the content on Anne's romance does nothing to affect other parts of the story much and as a result are harmless to skip when they become drab.



Anne of the Island is a solid installment in the Anne series. Although not equaling or surpassing Anne of Green Gables, "Of the Island" leaves little to be desired besides not having a near constant usage of the word "eh". If you an Anne fan, pick up her third book. Eh.

"Anne of the Island" is my favorite Anne book, and the last chapters of my copy are worn and torn because I have read it so many times. I loved it as a young girl, and I loved it again when I read it from my college dorm room (in fact, I think it's time for another rereading!). Plus, of course, a college education makes many of the literary references more relevant than they were at age 11.

Anne fans already know how wonderful are these chapters of Anne's life. This book outlines an important epoch in the series and answers the all important question of whether they will or they won't--a turning point on which the next five books hinge. And since you must start at "Anne of Green Gables" to appreciate any of it, this review cannot convince to you read just book three. It is just one more love letter to "Anne of the Island" added to this review panel.

The story of Anne continues with this work and the author stays true to her style, story line and character developement. This, like the other books in this series, have a rather timeless nature about them and a comforting charm. The reader, of course, must remember the time they were written and the style and syntax used at that time. From my own point of view, this is great. I enjoy this type of writing and certainly enjoy Ms. Montgomery's story telling abilities. In this work, Anne goes off to Redman College and her adventure continues. Recommend these books for readers of all ages. Wish there were more works out there like it.

this book never gets old. i've had it for so long and now i'm off to college and i still enjoy reading it cover to cover. anne is a great character, one who is easy to love and who explains herself well. the other characters are also quirky. something about this book is very universal, which i think explains why even in this century i still find myself being able to relate to Anne. the plot, while essentially a love story, is not overly sappy. and while most people would probably expect the ending, the twists and turns throughout the novel keep you entertained and engaged.

"Carmilla," which predates Stoker's "Dracula," introduced the lesbian vampire to literature, and this reading of the entire text by Megan Follows breathes real life into LeFanu's somewhat antiquated Victorian style. Follows makes the narrator Laura into an intelligent and compelling guide through the tale; she also puts the proper ambivalence in the descriptions of Carmilla's advances, vampiric and otherwise. Indeed, what's most impressive is how clearly the lesbian subtext is presented, and how much emotion is involved. Altbough the plot is a little obvious after two centuries of rip-offs, LeFanu's innate storytelling skill and Follows' presentation make the anachronisms fairly painless, and the uniquely unsettling bits still have their chills.

Book arrived in good condition and in a timely manner. Excellent rating for seller. Would purchase from seller in future.

No matter what age you are or what genre of book you usually read, this is a terrific work of art. Everyone should take a rainy afternoon off to sit back, relax and read one of the greatest novels ever published. (And all other novels in the Anne of Green Gables series is just as exceptional!)

My niece loves this book. She was gifted them for past christmas. She says she has read it several times now. Great story for the almost teen.

Anne of Green Gables is about an orphan who is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. It takes Anne awhile to adjust to life in the elegant Green Gables, and gets into some pretty funny mishaps, like accidently giving her friend Diana too much raspberry cordial, for example, but in the end finds her way. Anee's point fo view is hilarious and very entertaining. This is a wonderful read for girls everywhere and is a classic that is not to be missed.

but my whole family loves this book along with the whole series. L.M. Montgomery's style of writing brings you right in with Anne. She makes the reader feel like a kindred spirit.

A girl who is accidentally chosen to be adopted winds up being the best thing that ever happened to Green Gables. Lots of fun and excitement is the only thing that can describe the life of Anne.

Honestly (and maybe I shouldn't admit this here), I've never been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. It's not that I dislike the series, but it never really struck my fancy. But my mom, who sent me this book in a care package, really knew what she was doing... It's totally amazing! (Perhaps now isn't the time, but studying in a non-English-speaking country is hard on my reading material. Not that I don't enjoy Naguib Mahfouz...) The time period it evokes is really interesting, and Mary Russel is an entertaining protagonist. I like that Mary has her own distinct personality apart from Holmes, and also that she doesn't miraculously get the hang of detecting - she obviously has to work at it. I'm totally reading the rest of this series when I get home and, heck, maybe picking up a few Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Not quite Arthur Conan Doyle, but very entertaining and well written mystery that doesn't stray too far from the strengths and weaknesses of the original Holmes' character. Only major flaw is the use of base 8 numbers utilizing incorrect numbers. LRK's base 8 solution uses the digits 1-8 to solve a puzzle, but internationally accepted base 8 digits are 0-7. Picky, I know, but I'm sure Mary Russell would want accuracy in all details, even the small ones.

I stumbled over this book quite by accident about six months ago and I have been immersed in the world of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes every since.

The book, the first in a series of eight by Laurie R. King, (so far) introduces us to a young woman with intelligence and a very strong independent nature, who not only holds her own in the company of the venerable and demanding Sherlock Holmes, but she gives as much to him over the course of her apprenticeship as he can offer to her.

"The Beekeeper's Apprentice" creates a fascinating world where the old world of Victorian England (Holmes) meets the new modern world of England during World War I (Russell). It is so well done that it inspired me to read all eight of the books in the series (one right after the other) as well as returning to the original Arthur Conan Doyle books to revisit Holmes' universe before Russell came into his life and his life's work.

I enjoy the series as much for what Laurie R. King tells us about these characters as much as she leaves to the reader's imagination. Her writing relies on our intelligence in enjoying the story as well as hers in telling them to us. She creates a world of mystery and even humor with great style and heart.

This recent paperback edition with the new cover art and larger size is very attractive.

If you love Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes this series is for you. Many people have tried to capture the feel of the origional Sherlock Holmes stories and very few have succeeded. Laurie R King's Russel Holmes series has all the original feel and flaire of the origional series. Her characters are complex and human. The way in which she writes about Watson with affection for his good qualities and without overplaying his bad qualities is magnificent. Mrs. Hudson is a delightful character in this book with her own life brought more fully to the readers attention than in the original stories. You will not be disappointed, my only advice is not to start reading until you have a full day so that you can read the whole book in one sitting. It is that captivating!

This book has been a standby for the past 10 years, whenever I need a boost or a day of relaxation I pick up Mary Russell. The first in the series and in my opinion the best in the series. I am able to "be in the book", and it feels as though I am a fly on the wall in Holmes house and Mary's rooms. It is most excellent and recommended to everyone.

Although I love _Anne of the Island_ and _Anne of Windy Poplars_ even more, this is a great book. It's not quite as gooey as Green Gables, and the hijinks of Anne and her crowd, almost adults but not yet, are fun and interesting as windows to another age. I do wish, however, I could step in and take Gilbert for myself - like all heroines whose authors wish to write many more books, she takes so young to yield!

The Dover edition is, as always, a great price.

How could anyone sit and read this boring work of fiction. I am actually listening to the audio version and I am almost falling asleep and cannot remember a word the reader has said.
I am going to stick to the movie versions of Anne of Green Gables instead of reading the rest of the books. At least the movies keep your interest.

Even though L.M. Montgomery did not intend Anne of Green Gables to be a series, she still captivates with her eager readers in Anne of Avonlea.
There are still quite a few differences, Anne has grown from a "queer", fiery, young girl to a wiser, calmer, auburn-headed schoolteacher. Yes, a schoolteacher. Also, as we follow Anne in this Bildungsroman literature, the romance between her and Gilbert Blythe peeks through shyness and past misadventures in this novel.
Some people consider it a book not as interesting as the first, and perhaps this is because Anne is no longer a child and could not grow into a young woman with the same inexperienced attitude.
Altogether, my opinion of the book is that it was a good follow-up and I sympathize that it would be hard to make up such great a book as Anne of Green Gables.

I really enjoyed the first Anne book, but the second was a bit dull. It was still nice, but Anne and Gilbert's relationship doesn't go anywhere!!! So if you want to read an Anne book where it does, I strongly recommend Anne of the Island. I just didn't find this novel as capturing as I had hoped. Maybe it was too much description. I always have a problem with too much of that. While reading I had to keep skipping ahead to see when the next time Gilbert would even be mentioned!!! So like I said, it was okay.

The Book I read was by L.M. Montgomery. It is called Anne of Avonlea. This book is a realistic fiction.
This book is the second in a series of 8. It is about an adopted girl named Anne Shirley. She won a scholarship to Redmond College but when she finds out her adopted mother Marilla may go blind she stays behind. Anne starts teaching at a local school. Marilla's Relative dies and she adopts her two twins.
I loved this book. It was funny and cute. It kept me reading. I read the third one right after I finished it. I think that this book is appropriate for aged 10 and up.

The incredible journey is about three dogs who are left home with mrs oaks when she went to work the two dogs and the cat when to find there owner which is the hunters. When mrs oaks came home she saw that the dogs and the cat where gone she got worred and when to try to find them.Mrs oaks called everyone she nows and asked them if they have seen two dogs and a cat walking down the street every one replied that no one has seen two dogs and a cat.The hunters where on vacation the dogs and the cat had to go threw the woods and they came to river the dogs where going to go threw but the cat refused so the dogs somehow got the cat to go threw they over over the most dangerios hills and the dogs got tired and worn out one of the calapsted and almost died but the cat went out and found food for the dog when the hunters got home mrs oaks told the hunters and they called the game worden and they helped look when the little girl heard a cat meiw and told every one but no else heard then the boy heard it to thats when the cat came out then the dog came out to thats all im going to tell you so i dont give it away.My opinion of this book is this book was boring but thats my opioun.
By Dakota Sanford

I think that the Incredible Journey Book is really good. I like it because it has lots of adventure and lots of different points of view. The beginning is pretty boring but gets exiting soon, like around the setting change. The things I don't like are the excessive phone-talk, and I-know-what-will-happen-feeling that it gives you. Overall I would rate it between Harry Potter and your barely-better-than-average book that you will find. The fun of it is that you never know the detailed parts outcome which has great effect in this book. I think it is very original to make the characters split up for some time and rejoin the others. I like the lazy feeling that I'm not interested. See you later -- don't care about friendship. These parts are very amusing. It may sound predictable of the ending but it is so exiting that you never consider thinking of a different part of the book because it's so addicting. I recommend this book to public readers.

In the Incredible Journey by Shelia Burnford 3 animals go on a dangerous current owner (John Longbridge) is not clear but they somehow know their former owner is coming back.

Three animals venture from their own home off to their old home and encounter many dangers along the way. Not long after they leave they meet a bear who starts scratching and swiping at Bodger the bull terrier. Then a couple of days later they meet helpful Indians who feed the animals and clean Bodger's wounds. After a few hours they leave the Indians. When the animals come to a river Luath gets across it fine but has to encourage Bodger to come over. Once Bodger comes over the cat won't cross the river. When he finally does the dam breaks and Luath and Tao are swept away. They meet many other exciting dangers that I'll let you read about.

My favorite character was Bodger because he was the funniest.

I would recommend this book to 8-12 yr. olds because of challenging vocabulary. I would also recommend this to animal lovers and adventure readers.

The Incredible Journey



The intro I thought it was an ok book. It's about animals who work together to get through dangerous obstacles. And death defying stunts just to get to their home and family's. It's about two dogs and a cat named sassy.
Id says if you like bears and dangerous adventures. You'd love this book. And its incredible details. And lots of punctuation. It's a pretty good book if you like animals.
There are many other characters. Like loath and sassy and much more. Has danger family and lots of animals. You'd really get a kick out of this book. The cat falls off a waterfall and luckily it survives. Its really interesting think you would love this book it has lots of details.
There are many other settings in this book. And lots of adventures. Dangerous bears and lots of fresh trees. Lots of punctuation and creatures. The animals encounter a bear and they luckily get away.
Do you like animals and danger? This b book you would like. It's filled with action and near death. This book is such a good book people read it around the world. I think the book was interesting around the end and the middle.

The Incredible Journey is a great and heartwarming book. It is about three animals (an old Bull Terrier, a young Labrador retriever, and a feisty Siamese cat) who set out to find their master and family. It was a dangerous but wonderful journey. This book made me feel like I was actually there in the Canadian wilderness. I think anyone who loves animals and adventure would like this book.

This long journey through the Canadian wilderness was dangerous. The three animals encounter many obstacles. While in the wilderness the terrier heard some wrestling in the leaves. When he turned around he saw a baby black bear. He was not afraid until the bear started to tackle him. The bear's sharp claws made deep wounds in the side of the old dogs shoulder. When the Labrador heard the fighting he came from behind the bear to help the terrier. The Labrador started to growl at the baby bear and then the bear left. The cat also encountered danger. He was chased by a Lynx who seemed very hungry and looking for food. The Lynx almost captured the cat until the cat found a small burrow and hid from the Lynx. The Lynx was too big for the burrow and after many attempts to get the cat he did not succeed. While the Lynx was making this noise to get the cat a young boy who was hunting with his father shot the Lynx because he thought the Lynx was going to eat him. While the Labrador was hunting he found a porcupine and went to go eat it but the porcupine was to fast and shot some quills at the lab's cheek. As a result the lab caught an infection. Through all these obstacles the animals survived because they stayed together and watched out for each other.

The wonderful part of the book was the companionship of the animals and their love for each other. They seemed to have human like qualities. The Labrador helped the cat and dog across a river, the animals shared food, and comforted each other. They made sure that they would all end the journey together.

The animals also encountered many people along their journey. Some people did not help the animals like the farmer whose dog attacked the Labrador and the old terrier. Mackenzie and Nell were farmers who helped the dogs. Mackenzie took the quills out of the Labradors face, cleaned out the infection and gave him soft food to eat. They also gave the terrier food and milk to fatten him up because his ribs where showing under his fur.


This book was truly an inspiration. I would recommend The Incredible Journey to anyone over ten years old. The book has many adjectives and hard words which made it difficult to read sometimes. I hope if my animals ever went on a journey they would stay together and come back home.

- Samantha- LA- 6

This followup to The Beekeeper's Apprentice was an enjoyable read and held my interest all the way through. It touches expertly on some very engrossing subjects, such as love between friends, and also explores the very dark elements of abduction and drug use. However the author seems to get bogged down in discussion of religious topics. Understandable, because King has a degree in theology and the topic definitely relates to the story, but it seemed to be a little too much in a "less is more" situation.
The climax of the story was also somewhat of a dissapointment; it had sort of a rushed-to-the-end feeling. The buildup to this was quite good, though, and if you loved the first in the series, you will definitely enjoy this.

I tried hard to enjoy A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and it actually wasn't so bad, but I kept having the feeling that the author was recreating for her characters, Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, the scenes and sentiments of Dorothy L. Sayers's materpiece, Gaudy Night, also set in Oxford and London between the wars. If you like King's book, please try the original. It is much better written!

A note (referring to the original hardcover edition: This book is full of typos. The worst two that I found were a reference to "chairwomen" instead of "charwomen" and the assertion that Abigail Adams was born in 1774. I gather there wasn't an awful lot of proofreading going on when this one was in production ...

A monstrous Regiment of Women is the follow up, and indeed it is a hard act to follow, of the Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King. I enjoyed this story but at the same time must admit that the poignancy and enthusiam I felt during the reading of the Beekeeper's Apprentice was missing. I chalk this up to two factors. The relationship between Holmes and Mary Russell takes a backseat in this story and at the same time comes to the forefront but in a romantic way. So there is less personal interaction during the story but the nature of the relationship changes. Romance blossoms which at times picturing Mary and Sherlock in an intimate embrace was awkward to say the least. The second factor in is the lack of personal intorspection on the part of Russell. She is a less likeable character and often appears more like a tantrum throwing, head strong brat. With that said the plot is entertaining. The reader is introduced to New Agey mystic Margery Childe and her "congregation" of the New Temple making for an interesting mystery . The end is riveting and graphic and as much as the beginning and middle move slowly the conclusion of the novel is a page turner. All in all well done.

This is the thoroughly satisfying second book in King's Mary Russell series. Mary is Sherlock Holmes protege--a young orphan who lives the life of the mind much as Holmes does. She has now graduated from Oxford and is about to receive her considerable inheritance. In addition Holmes has created considerable tension into their relationship by suggesting that Mary will propose marriage.

Russell retreats from Holmes in confusion and absorbs herself in a mystery surrounding a charismatic female cult leader who seems to be the genuine article--a mystic with healing powers and a genuine mission to help women. Yet Mary connects mysterious deaths of rich women to this cult leader. Ultimately Holmes and Mary unite in a perilous pursuit of a malefactor.

King crafts an absorbing mystery with appealing characters and with considerable suspense. Despite the considerable age difference between Mary and Holmes, they are clearly soul-mates and could never be happy with anyone else. The ending is gratifying with the mystery solved and Russell and Holmes negotiating a satisfactory relationship based upon their sharp wit and passionate souls. Highly recommended!

Mary Russell is more or less on her own in this second adventure. At the ripe age of 21, Mary comes into her inheritance and through a friend, is introduced to the New Temple of God and its mystical leader, Margery Childe. Her feminism and theology fascinate Mary, but when a series of murders claim the lives of some of the Temple's wealthy young women, Mary begins to suspect something more is afoot. With Holmes' aid, Mary confronts a cunning and vicious killer. Nevertheless, the mystery plot is really secondary to story of Mary's coming of age after the events in King's superb Beekeepers' Apprentice. Mary must come to grips not only with her academic aspirations, but her relationship with Holmes. I can't help but be enthralled with King's smart writing and the unique voice of Mary Russell. But what I like most is that King knows when to make her heroine take charge, without making her an unrealistic action hero.

I didn't know the story of this novella until I received the cassette. This is an indication of the loss to the world of all the works destroyed at Margaret's death. Like the romantic young woman who wrote this tale, perhaps she couldn't bear the thought of her works not being presented as she would have them be. I can't help but see a lithesome Megan Follows at nineteen in the role of Miss Ross when I hear her read this, with her usual mastery. I don't know how it is possible, but she makes the transition from sweet young lady to grizzled seaman in a way that makes this a pleasure to hear. The South Pacific locale and ship terminology seemed real and my limited knowledge found no technical snags-not bad at all for a sixteen year old! The only fault I can think of is that it ends so quickly. Although I believe I could listen to Megan read the phone book, this is much less a strain on her considerable talents. It is a steal at these discounted prices.

I liked the story in the book, however, I thgouht that the letters were boring but had good pictures. I reccomend this book! I just wish that the story itself would have been longer!

If you're a GWTW fan, don't miss this love story! Lost Laysen is second fiddle to the real story in this offering: Margaret "Peggy" Mitchell's letters to Henry Love Angel. Their story fascinated me much more than the fiction she pinned as a teen. Her letters and the photos and the story of how they surfaced made me feel like the young "Peggy" defied time and was alive again. Peggy's Henry must have been very special!

Having read and re-read "Gone with the Wind", I desperately wanted to read other books by Margaret Mitchell, and was thoroughly disappointed to learn that it was the only work by the author, until I discovered "Lost Laysen".

But after having read it, which, didn't take me more than a half hour, I was disappointed even more. The book contains a few letters between Margaret Mitchell and her Beau, Henry Love Angel, and several pictures. In the correspondence, Margaret comes across as a somewhat selfish lover with almost no feelings for Henry and in almost every letter, asks Henry to run some or the other errand for her. The pictures are interesting, though. Apart from the letters and pictures is a story written by Margaret when she was sixteen, which she later presented to Henry. The story ends almost before it begins. It's about a "Miss Ross", and her experiences on board a small ship called "Caliban".

Margaret Mitchell has an astounding number of fans throughout the world and I feel, this book is NOT AT ALL something they'd like associating their much-loved writer with. It almost spoils her image, if I may say so.

The overwhelming emotion you are left with, after having finished the book is, disappointment, in capital letters.

I will not recommend the book to anyone, let alone Margaret Mitchell lovers.

I found this book quite by accident. I was so excited I read it all through my favorite class, art. Later on a school bus, I was a freshman, I read the story itself in a half hour. By the end of the story I was crying so hard my shop teacher wondered what was wrong. I loved it! It was great the way the heroine chose to keep what she held precious even in the face of danger. I also loved the letters between Mitchell and Henry Love Angel that compose the first half of the book. Especially the letter about the train ride and the soldier's coffin. That is probably one of the best forms of symbolism I have ever read.

This book was first published in 1998, the same year as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. However, from the text, it appears to have been written much earlier. There is a major character named Hermione. And, there are 13 "sacred hallows" - some of which look very, very familiar. The story has other similarities with HP7, so it does seem like JK was influenced by this book.

Katherine Neville is a truly gifted writer. Her books are well researched, paced to keep you turning the pages, and are definitely more "literate" than the offerings of most authors in this genre. If you thought the DaVinci Code was good, you'll think Magic Circle is great. After you read this one...try her book "The Eight". It's amazing!

I am in total agreement with Booklist and Publishers' Weekly! Good grief! If Neville was trying to 'wow' us with her intellect and intelligence, she had already done that quite nicely in "The Eight", a novel which blended the tale with extremely informative and thought-provoking historical reference. I hope "assume" is not the wrong word- but I assume, since Neville does not credit outside sources with her research, that she does her own or is herself possessed of that photographic memory of Ariel's which is, while both admirable and enviable, at root the bane of this book! When upon completion of a reading, you find that you could reasonably extract the entire storyline and reformulate it into a very enjoyable short story with little effort...well, let's just say if I wanted to get from Vermont to San Diego- I would not go via Iceland and Miami. Katherine Neville jumped into my top ten favorite authors with "The Eight", among Elizabeth George, Greg Iles, John Case, Jeff Long. Her obviously incredibly wide range of knowledge and experience [and maybe a little AADD?] is great fodder for her writing, more of which I look forward to in earnest. I, too, will hang on to my copy of "The Circle", but it will go into my reference section for further study on myriad factual tangents too numerous for even an above-average reader to fathom at once!

I read the first book of Katherine Neville and thought this one might turn out good. Instead, the history part of the book was kind of obscure and didn't seem to conjure the whole story. There were some interesting characters but overall the story was shabby related and lack the focus of a main theme.

This book was a mess. At first I thought that it was going to be interesting and suspensful, but I was wrong. The main plot line of the story is good, but the background and historical chapters are confusing and totally distracting. I love books of this nature and this was a total disappointment.

This whole series about Mary Russell and Shelock Holmes is fantastic! Start with The Beekeepers Apprentice and follow the series in the author's order and you will not be disappointed! She and the series are GREAT!

A Letter to Mary the third of the Russell/Holmes series is in a nutshell, entertaining. You can read it before falling asleep, on the bus, or beach and enjoy the plot which in this case is not overly complex but is not dull either. I enjoyed this book as much as I did because of the subject matter, the banter between Holmes and Russell and the interesting secondary characters. The case begins with a mysterious letter dated 70 A.D. from the "apostle Mary", Russell is just a little skeptical when she states, "This couldn't be Mary Magdelene?" Dorothy Ruskin the archeologist introduced in O Jerusalem, has given this manuscript along with an interesting box for Russell to translate and interpret. After an enjoyable day in Sussex, Holmes and Russell are horrified to learn that Dorothy has been killed by an automobile in London. The case begins and through the various twists and turns we enjoy the ride as Holmes and Russell go undercover and discover the secrets of the manuscript, the mysterious box and the murderer of their friend Dorothy Ruskin. King has created a realistic and endearing relationship between Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes and it is a pleasure to read.

The third in the Mary Russell series. It's a great series - the books are a quick read, and generally touch on some topic in enough detail that your interest is sparked into finding a little more about what you're reading about.

The first two books detailing the further imaginary adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell, were entertaining - sadly the same cannot be said of the third, A Letter To Mary. The irritating elements of the first novels - an over-precious writing style and a marked inability to convincingly recreate the aura of Sherlock Holmes' society in England in the early 20th century - become far more pronounced here and a relatively weak and unexciting plot compounds the dissatisfaction. The writing slips into occasional preachiness and the characters are becoming less, rather than more, believeable. Disappointing to be sure - I hope the author regains the form of the earlier novels in her next effort.

Laurie King's A Letter of Mary is the third volume in a series of mystery novels that portray an older Sherlock Holmes who is still solving mysteries with his young bride Mary Russell Holmes. The time is 1923, and the couple lives in their country home in Sussex Downs. Mary is studying Theology at Oxford and busily involved in her research.

The couple is visited by Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an amateur archaeologist from Palestine, who has returned to England to seek funding for her work. During the visit she leaves with Russell an antique papyrus letter that appears to be written by Mary Magdalene, an apostle of Jesus. It was given to Ruskin by a Palestinian who claims the document has been in his family for ages. Soon after she leaves, she is hit by a car in London and dies. Holmes and Russell are drawn into what appears to be a murder, but have a devil of a time figuring out who did it.

What I like about this novel is the way that King creates the atmosphere of 1920's England. The old cars and trains, the buildings, the pace of life, and the people are all described in great detail. There is a lovely scene at a party on an old estate where Mary meets and gets help from Lord Peter Whimsey, another fictional detective, that is just filled with details about dress and manners. Another wonderful description is of a woman witness's hair style as Mary interviews her.

However, it is a difficult stretch for me to envision Holmes falling in love with any woman, never mind a young orphan whose parents were killed in an auto accident. And although I feel that King develops and portrays a good partnership between Russell and Holmes (they call each other by their last names!), with each bringing their own strengths to their work together, I find it not believable when they close the door and are intimate together.

Also, the plot is a murder mystery but the book resembles real life more than fiction. There are lots of suspects, and trails that go cold or lead nowhere. I can't fault the author for this bit of realism, but it is an interesting approach to the mystery novel.

Overall, I liked the novel and plan to read the rest of the series. The friendship, based on mutual respect between Russell and Holmes, makes this a wonderful book, not so much as a mystery, but as a model of healthy male-female relationships.