A review by calthapalustris
A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

WE'RE SO BACK BABY

After the slight disappointment that A Monstrous Regiment of Women bore, this book makes great effort to redeem the series and I dare say it succeeds in this endeavor. Though I feel that nothing will ever compare to The Beekeeper's Apprentice, this is a solid addition to the Russell series and an improvement on the developments of its predecessor.

The plot this time is not as stressful as in the prior books—no masterminded supervillain stalking our protagonist, ready at any moment to kill—but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 

Another positive development is the dynamic between Russell and Holmes in this piece: the strange, almost aggressively heterosexual tension between the two that haunted me in A Monstrous Regiment of Women has  dissipated and we are left with scarcely more affection than in the first book. My relief is immeasurable. Aside from the occasional addresses to "my wife" or "husband of mine" (which do feel surprisingly natural!) you would not be able to tell that they're married at all. I personally much prefer that over the weird pining in the second book. 

Overall, I'm thus quite pleased with A Letter of Mary.