The Moor

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #4

by Laurie R. King

In the eerie wasteland of Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes summons his devoted wife and partner, Mary Russell, from her studies at Oxford to aid the investigation of a death and some disturbing phenomena of a decidedly supernatural origin. Through the mists of the moor there have been sightings of a spectral coach made of bones carrying a woman long-ago accused of murdering her husband--and of a hound with a single glowing eye. Returning to the scene of one of his most celebrated cases, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes and Russell investigate a mystery darker and more unforgiving than the moors themselves.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, Mystery Thriller

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1998

About the author

Edgar-winning mystery writer Laurie R. King writes series and standalone novels. Her official forum is
THE LRK VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB here on Goodreads--please join us for book-discussing fun.

King's 2018 novel, Island of the Mad, sees Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes travel from London's Bedlam to the glitter of Venice's Lido,where Young Things and the friends of Cole Porter pass Mussolini's Blackshirts in the streets. The Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series follows a brilliant young woman who becomes the student, then partner, of the great detective. [click here for an excerpt of the first in the series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice] The Stuyvesant and Grey series (Touchstone; The Bones of Paris) takes place in Europe between the Wars. The Kate Martinelli series follows an SFPD detective's cases on a female Rembrandt, a holy fool, and more. [Click for an excerpt of A Grave Talent]

King lives in northern California, which serves as backdrop for some of her books.

Please note that Laurie checks her Goodreads inbox intermittently, so it may take some time to receive a reply. A quicker response may be possible via email to info@laurierking.com.

Reviews

[LauraRW · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read reviews warning the reader to skip over this one in the series, but that advice goes against my nature as a reader.

I wish I had been able to listen.

Meanwhile, the book is summed up as follows. (Here be spoilers)

Holmes--"Russell, come to rainy, foggy Devonshire."

Mary---"No." (Changes mind)

Mary tramps through mud, gets wet, dirty, hungry cold. Takes bath.

The Reverend Baring-Gould, "I won't be around much, but I am old, my house is queer, and I don't think much of you, only Holmes."

Mary, "Likewise, I'm sure."

Mary tramps through mud, gets wet, dirty, hungry cold. Takes bath.

Repeat.

Mary and Holmes learn nothing, but remain in Devonshire.

Holmes, "I know I sent for you in a great hurry, but now I'm going to London. Will you tramp through the mud some more, learning nothing?"

Mary, "Certainly not!"

Holmes, "Russell, I'll be back in 50 pages or so."

Mary, "That usually means a hundred at least. Holmes, that's 1/3 the book!"

Holmes, "Can't be helped. This series is about you."

Mary, "Tramping endlessly through the mud and taking baths is not improving my character."

Holmes, "Sorry. Must be off."

Mary tramps through mud, gets wet, dirty, hungry cold. Takes bath.

Repeat.

Holmes, "I'm back from London. Learned nothing there, really. You?"

Mary, "No! Oh for heaven's sake Holmes, haven't you learned yet that we only solve mysteries together?"

And they wrap it up.

Just skip this one. "O Jerusalem" is far better, and does make up for many of the sins of this book.

[Grace Tjan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear Miss Russell/ Mrs. Holmes,

Having perused the earlier installments of your chronicles with a good degree of enjoyment, I regret to say that I am somewhat disappointed in this one. The mystery’s premise is valid, if rather simple, but the execution is sorely lacking. I find it to be utterly uninvolving and rather incoherent. Where’s the suspense? And all this traipsing across the moors, abundantly padded with repetitive descriptions of mundane activities such as meals and hot baths, is extremely tedious. Where’s the fun? The use of Rev. Baring-Gould is a clever nod to Sherlockian lore, but here he merely comes across as an old bore who spouts irrelevant trivia. Your Mr. Holmes often disparages Mr. Conan Doyle for excessively romanticizing accounts of his cases, but I think you could learn a thing or two from him about creating genuinely suspenseful, compelling narratives. I sincerely hope that the next installment of your reminiscences will be much improved.


Yours Sincerely,

A Reader

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was leary of reading this 4th installment of the Mary Russell (Holmes) series. Leary because I love the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories featuring Sherlock Holmes (most especially The Hound of the Baskervilles). It's always a crap shoot when a new author decides to play off well known characters and create a new set of stories (I can't fully describe how most of the Jane Austen knock-offs horrify and disgust me).

But I should have given Laurie King more credit, because The Moor not only held it's own, but surpassed my expectations 3-fold.

King has created an interesting character in Mary Russell, wife of fictional sleuth extraordinaire Sherlock Holmes. This installment takes the pair to the lonely, eerie and starkly beautiful locale of Dartmoor, back to the scene of Holmes' most famous case of all: The Hound of the Baskervilles. King's rich and detailed descriptions of the moor and it's people is very reminescent of the type you'd find by author Mary Stewart. You can actually "feel" the pull of the moor - the sights, the smells, the otherworldly quality it must possess. Rarely have I been so transported and captivated by a mystery as I was with this one, and but for a bad head cold, I would have devoured this in record time instead of the 5 days it took me to finish. I especially loved all the references to The Hound of the Baskervilles, which ended up playing a part (once again) in the solving of the case.

I don't hesitate to recommend The Moor to fans of the Holmes canon. King plays homage to the great detective while still creating a fresh, new perspective for him (and his wife). I've got to go catch up on #1-3 in the series now that I know what King is capable of.

Well done.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hound of the Baskervilles is my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, I think, so I guess it's no surprise that this novel is my favourite so far in Laurie King's series. You do have to relax your grip on the Holmes canon in order to enjoy this series, but King writes a good mystery should you choose to join her.

I have yet to see Dartmoor, but maybe someday when this pandemic is history, travel will again be possible. Between The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Brontes, I have a strong desire to experience the moors. But zero desire to camp there!

King uses Arthur Conan Doyle's story as a sturdy base for this excursion. I wish I could feel more clever about solving the puzzle, but I was only seconds ahead of Mary Russell in putting the pieces together. Instead, it was the hearkening back to the original work and the looming atmospheric moors that really made the book pleasurable for me.

Cross posted at my blog:

https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good adventure with Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes and they've gone back to the Dartmoor and the Baskervilles.

I guess I knew "whodunnit" but it was the how and why that was the real enjoyment in this novel. After all, the journey is the real point.

Poor Mary, though, thrown from horses, spending your nights on the moor in the rain and wind, losing her spectacles...

[Emelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I really enjoyed The Moor. I loved everything about it. I picked it up at a book sale, on a whim, and glad I did. Sherlock Holmes...married?? That was the first thing that grabbed my attention. The second was the fact the book was written from a female point of view. A female sleuth who rivals the great Holmes himself !

Holmes and Russell return to Dartmoor to help an old friend of Holmes, the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould, with the mysterious sighting of what appears to be the return of the hounds of the Baskerville's . Only this time it isn't just a hound that has been spotted. It seems the hound accompanies a phantom coach containing the ghost of a long dead noblewoman. Needless to say dead bodies start to turn up and a mystery ensues that has even the great Holmes baffled.

The characters in King's book are well written. I picked this book apart, researching Baring-Gould and his writings, the presence of military on Dartmoor, the old myths and legends of Dartmoor, it's music and it's people, along with the gold "rush" of Dartmoor, and found King to be historically accurate. Another point in favor of this book.

I found this book, dare I say, better than Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes. King has a way of painting a picture of The Moors and it's people that captivates the reader; taking them on a journey across the moonlit mists of one of the most mysterious places in England. Again the historical side of this book is what I liked best. I discovered things about Dartmoor I never knew, things that made me delve deeper into The Moor's during the 1900's. So if you are a history buff, and love a good old fashion mystery, I strongly suggest reading King's book. If I could give it more stars I would do so gladly, it was just that good.

Please be sure to check out the writings mentioned in this book by Baring-Gould. They in themselves are most excellent reads !

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this, the fourth book about Mary Russell and her relationship with Sherlock Holmes, the main character is neither Mary nor Sherlock but the louring presence of Dartmoor, which clings to this novel like fog on wool.

Lauries R, King's prose is vivid and memorable helping me to experience the desolation of Dartmoor in winter. This is how she describes a trudge across the moor by Mary and Holmes:

"A meandering ridge on an approaching hill resembling the work of some huge prehistoric mole, became, on closer examination, an ancient stone wall nearly subsumed by the slow encroachment of the turf. A distance sweep of russet across a hillside, a scurf of firs and dying bracken and fern was cut by the dark of another ancient wall drawn along its side.

It was I supposed, picturesque enough, given the limited pallet of drab colours, but as a piece of impressionist art it served to evoke only the disagreeable feelings of restlessness, melancholia and a faint thread of menace."

As the trudge across the damp turf continues we see its impact on the spirit:

"By midday, I was as grey and silent as anything else in that bleak place; edgy, with an unidentifiable sense of waiting and aching for a spot of colour."

But the novel is not all atmosphere. There is a strong and ingenious plot, stronger, I think than that of "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", that provides an opportunity to explore every aspect of life on the moor, including a wonderful scene in which the men of the moor sing in harmony for Mary in the local inn. The plot also takes us back to Baskerville Hall, this time in the hands of an American, and shows us how times move on, even if the moor remains the same.

I enjoyed seeing Mary and Holmes working together, each understanding what the other would do and moving wordlessly to make it happen. Mary is no Watson, following where Holmes leads, she is an equal partner, trusted and depended upon.

There are two places where we get an insight into how this partnership works In her first walk across the moor, Mary tells us that the atmosphere was so spooky that:

"I might very well have heard the soft pad of the Baskerville hound behind me and felt its warm breath on the back of my neck. However, with Holmes beside me as a talisman, the spooks kept their distance and what might have been a place of animosity and danger was rendered merely desolate to the point of being grim."

"Talisman". What a wonderful word to describe one's partner, summoning up trust and safety and power.

We get to see how Holmes views Mary, his advice to a young man looking for a woman is:

"You look around for a woman with brains and spirit. You'll never be bored."

Reading this book is like settling into a favourite armchair next to a fire: comforting and deeply relaxing.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have done with a lot less slogging through the wet moors to question the populace, and fewer tedious details about the life and writings of Holmes' & Russell's host. It could also have done with less indulgence in nostalgia for the Hound of the Baskervilles. Although some of that was to be expected, more current-day spectral activity rather than just being told about rumors would have added a needed layer of suspense and Gothic creepiness. As it was, I mainly got the discomfort of the cold and wet moor drilled very successfully into my head. It did get more interesting in the last 1/4 though, enough to rescue the book from a 2 star rating.

[Christopher J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was by far the worst book of the Marry Russel series. King started off with such a great idea, discovering the reasons behind several legitimate sightings of a spectral coach carrying a cursed woman and her devilish dog on a dark moor. However the execution was tedious. King simply has a difficult time staying on topic with this book. She wrote so much on the geography of the land that the actual mystery itself seemed only to be a side plot in her summation of the landscape. There was very little suspense. In fact there was no suspense at all. The whole book consisted of Mary Russel wandering around the moor, talking to ignorant residents and taking hot baths. In fact, had she mentioned taking a hot bath one more time, I might have puked. This book came as a shocking disappointment considering that the rest of the books in the series were so enjoyable. This book was not only boring but also confusing. She included far too many geographical references which were not even pertinent to the acutal mystery. Simply do not waste your time with this story, if it can even rightfully be called a story.

[İlkim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kötü bir kitap değil ama o kadar çok betimlemelere boğulmuş ki defalarca dikkatim dağıldı. Bozkır diye belirtilen yerin bizim İç Anadolu bozkırı olmadığını bilmeniz gerek, daha çok bataklıklarla kaplı, o nemli yerlerden bahsediyor. O yüzden bozkır ne derece doğru bilemedim ama şehirden uzak kendi içlerinde yaşayan bir topluluktan bahsettiği için o kısmına uyuyor. Kitap çok yavaş ilerliyor. Baskerville Köpeği / Tazısı hikayesine bolca gönderme var, zaten aynı yerde geçiyor, o konağın da bu kitapta önemi büyük. Ama dediğim gibi aşırı yavaş. Kitaptaki ilk atraksiyon 200lerde oluyor, o zamana kadar ağır ağır işlenen kurgu biraz sıkıcı. Yine de bu seri çevrildikçe kitaplara devam edeceğim, Sherlock ve partneri Mary Russell ilginç bir çift.

[Susan]

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes return to the scene of The Hound of the Baskervilles. There’s a mystery, and it is, of course, solved, but the main fascination for this reader was the atmospheric Dartmoor setting combined with a portrayal of the real life character, Sabine Baring-Gould (reverend, folklore collector, antiquary, writer) and the evolution of Mary’s relationship with him and the moor.

Reread Aug 2025 (audiobook)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you haven't read Laurie R King before, don't start with this novel.

It is not as well paced, not as interesting, nor as well plotted as her others in the BRILLIANT Mary Russel/Holmes series. Let me be frank... I ADORE her books. Adore this series: am reading them and gushing over how breathtaking her grasp of theological and philosophical concepts, calling friends to tell them they MUST read these books, explaining to people how Ms. King's series has renewed my faith in the genre of Mystery as Not being just "popcorn" books (mildly tasty, filling, but no substence).

This particular book, however, I not only figured out within a chapter or two, but the continual droning on and on about the moor-- while vaguely interesting to begin with-- became as monotonous as walking continually around in it must have been to the characters. Maybe that was the point (Man, the moor is big and flat and rocky and boooring. Yawn....) or maybe it was an homage to Baskerville and we were supposed to love it only for that. Whatever the reason, this book didn't work for me like the others did.

HOWEVER.... I pressed onward, and began O Jerusalem. TALK ABOUT REDEMPTION!!!! Beautiful, descriptive, breathtaking, filled with action and intrigue, markedly hard to figure out and deliciously filling out the characters' lives, as well as foreshadowing the next book.... well, it was everything that The Moor was NOT.

SO.... I know, you're probably in love with this series the same way I am. I know, you're probably trying to read the series in order, because they are so lovely that way. I know, you're probably starting this book and thinking- but Heather _said_ this series was great, why am I only liking this book, not adOring it. Press forward. It's not a waste of reading, it's just not revelatory like the previous books in the series. Read it, finish it, pick up O Jerusalem, and get back into the adventure.

That said, there are some interesting characters and scenes in Moor. Baring-gould is an interesting character, and reading the inital description of the moor itself will make you want to travel there. I loved the singing scene nearing the end, but I have a passion for singing and folksong in particular.
So finish it for the good bits, of which it has lees than King's usual, but still more than general Mysteries, and then move onto her other magnificent books..... (O Jerusalem is worth it, I promise)

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this, the fourth episode in King's Mary Russell series, was made more enjoyable by immediately preceding it with a re-read of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The plot and characters of arguably the greatest of Sherlock Holmes stories was thus firmly in my head, ready to inform my reading of King's offering.

A very good offering it is. King does a superb job of evoking the most important "character" in the novel - and in The Hound of the Baskervilles for that matter - that is, Dartmoor itself: dark, lonely, mysterious, beautiful and threatening. Russell and Holmes are, as ever, on form. The supporting cast are equally well-drawn. The mystery ties neatly into the events of The Hound of the Baskervilles and is satisfying, if not particularly enthralling.

This novel does have its weaknesses. The weaving into the narrative of the life and works of Sabine Baring-Gould, while well done, was a touch excessive for my taste. I learned more about a man I'd never heard of before than I really wanted to know. And what I learned did not make me want to go out and learn even more. There was also a bit too much running around on Dartmoor done by Russell (and by Holmes, for that matter), to no great effect. The moor excursions provide plenty of local colour, but most of their travels on it only marginally advance the plot.

Still, I enjoyed this novel despite its weaknesses. King is an intelligent writer. She respects the Sherlock Holmes canon. Her version of Holmes is recognisable and Mary Russell is an interesting creation. Plus, between them Doyle and King have made me really want to visit Dartmoor. Preferably by daylight, in fine weather. And not on horseback.

Overall, I thought that this installment was marginally less sucessful than number 3, but still most enjoyable. Possibly closer to 3-1/2 stars.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars is a combo of me not being in the mood and forcing it, and the book being not as good as I wanted it to be. Full review later.

(five months later)

No, I'm not even going to make excuses for this. It was very dull! The setting was dull. The mystery was dull. The interactions between Holmes and Mary were dull. Holmes was dull! And the resolution of the mystery did nothing for me. Returning to the setting of the best Holmes novel (but not the best Holmes story) could have been interesting, but it didn't work out.

I'm probably not going to continue the series for a while, maybe a couple of years. Want to give myself a break, and there are so many other books I really want to read.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Russell is summoned by Sherlock Holmes to Dartmoor to help investigate a mysterious death that is said to be heralded by a phantom coach carrying long-dead noblewoman over the moors. Around the dead body was it oversized paw prints…

This book is especially interesting since it brings Sherlock Holmes back to Dartmoor, the place where The Hound of the Baskervilles cases took place. It’s quite a dark and chilly tale, and the dark and deadly moor adds a special atmosphere to the tale. Like the previous books a 5-star book!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm finding that as I get further into this series, I'm not enjoying the books as much. I think it's because there's less material about the relationship between the two main characters, Sherlock Holmes and his now-wife Mary Russell, and their personalities. I really enjoyed the first two books that followed their courtship while they were engaged in solving mysteries.The mystery in this book is not meaty enough to carry the novel on its own. I think more time was spent describing Dartmoor than in presenting the reader with an interesting puzzle to solve, and I became somewhat bored.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great atmospheric setting to read, snugly inside on a cold winter day.

"..discussed.. the possible meanings behind the avenues of standing stones … which I decided were the result of near terminal boredom of the natives, who would have found heaving large rocks into upright lines an exciting alternative to watching the fog flow about"

The mystery came running up all at once at the end tough, where was the sustained suspense?

[Stacy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfectly atmospheric read! I just wish I read it in a comfy chair, next to a blazing fire, while sipping tea and eating scones with clotted cream:)

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but foundy attention wandering at times. I was a bit confused by some of the characters names and struggled to keep track of who was who. But, I do enjoy Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as previous entries but I do enjoy Mary and Holmes' interactions.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book # 4 in Laurie R. King’s Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell series, which I am finding to be fun, enjoyable reads. The first 50% of this one though, is very slow. As slow as the bleak, gray oft-described moor is lonely. The mystery picks up after the 50 % mark, but still is not nearly as good as the second or third books in the series.

Here Russell and Sherlock team up to solve a mystery for an old friend. The Baskerville Hound, or one like it, along with a glowing coach is being seen on the moor. And there are two murders to go along with those sightings. One will learn a lot about Dartmoor, and it’s geographical and physical makeup. As well, the culture of the moorish people is explored.

The mystery is average, and the dialogue between Russel and Holmes is stilted. Still, I would recommend for fans of the series.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid mystery and fun to revisited the Moors from "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in the original Holmes story. The Moors are just as creepy as ever and I like the way they wove the original mystery into the current one.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greatly entertaining as King has Holmes (and Russell) revist Dartmoor, the site of the earlier Conan Doyle story, "The Hound of the Baskervilles"

[Tawallah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Moor is an interesting retelling of The Hound of the Baskervilles. This one is not as thrilling and fast-paced. Instead, King allows the reader to dwell for a while in a new character, Dartmoor, aka The Moor. There is something ominous to outsiders to this harsh desolate area filled with ghostly tales. Setting this installment in the autumnal months with the rainy spells and the new sighting of a newish ghoul, Lady Howard's chariot makes this best suited for the spooky season reading.

In this slower paced novel, the reader will once again be treated to further insights of the Russell-Holmes partnership and marriage, a new character in Sabine Baring-Gould based on a real person and of course hints to the well known The Hound of Baskervilles. (Fun fact, a relative of Sabine Baring-Gould wrote a biography on Sherlock Holmes).

This gets mixed reviews for its slow and meandering pace and lack of tackling the mystery head-on. Having read this series, the author is more interested in character studies, every new installment brings a fresh character to ponder. Here there are two who are so closely intertwined. And naturally religion will play a role in this series. And honestly, I didn't mind the meandering over the Moor, mainly as I felt that Mary does a lot more of the investigation and continues to grow. But, if you are here only for the mystery, then it isn't quite center stage and you will be disappointed.

I recommend this for those who want an atmospheric read and don't mind a slower paced book that is more interested in character study than just solving the crime. Or if you don't mind the Easter eggs about Sherlock Holmes.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still really fun but mostly boring talk - the other stories in this series have some great action but this didn’t have nearly as much. Pretty disappointing because Mary is a fascinating character that I want to hear more from!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was good! I'm really looking forward to book 5.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have loved to have reread The Hound of the Baskervilles before this, but I was in a hurry to get to the ARC of Pirate King that was waiting. Next time – because these are definitely books I will reread now and then as time goes by.

It's great fun to watch the investigation into new reports of spectral happenings on the Moor, punctuated by Holmes's disgust with the common man's susceptibility and Russell's very private never-spoken niggling question as to whether in such a weird (in the classical sense) place as this the supernatural might not be real. But best of all is the emotion in the story: another glimpse of Holmes the human being, the fierce friend.

The Moor is a prime example of why this series isn't mere fan-fiction, why it rises above the level of most pastiche. I'll probably grow repetitious with these reviews, but so be it: Laurie R. King's Sherlock Holmes is beautifully true to Doyle's, having realistically aged since the last of the original stories, and having found a new lease on life. LRK knows the world she's writing in, both the real world of the 1920's and the earlier London and its environs of the original stories and books – knows it well enough that she can move so confidently from, as here, London to Yorkshire that the reader never questions a detail. Generally the books in the Holmes and Russell series pay only passing homage to the original works; obviously The Moor is a law unto itself. In more ways than one. And honestly, who could resist doing honor to The Hound? It's such a beautiful opportunity to both tie the progenitor and the offspring together and to create the distance this Holmes desires between the things that man Doyle wrote about him and what an intelligent and loving wife would set down. And it also ties together the fictional hero and the man who wrote his "biography", Sabine Baring Gould, in a lovely manner.

Yes, I'm the one who constantly complains, bitterly, about the use of real people as characters in fiction (as well as the use of other people's characters). But there is a world of difference between the Jane Austen, Lady Detective books (not to mention Jane Austen, Vampire or whatever) and this sort of treatment. This was … wish fulfillment, in a way. Like the Doctor Who episode Vincent and the Doctor – which was something of a valentine to the artist, not so much never-was-or-could-be as an I-wish-this-could-have-been (and I really do) - it's a lovely thing to imagine that this great aficionado of Holmes, Sabine Baring-Gould, was in fact the detective's old and valued friend. I think he would have loved it. As with the setting and Holmes himself, it is obvious that LRK knows what she is talking about inside and out, and has the utmost respect for both the fictional and the actual. It's what makes the series not only tolerable but wonderful.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

(See my review for book 3, A Letter of Mary....the thoughts below pick up where it leaves off)

...Along the same lines, one thing that surprises me in this book is that Russell complains that the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould's treatment of theology is haphazard--yet doesn't seem to realize that he's not merely evaluating theology, he's doing it. (Which means that as a scholar herself she needs to be evaluating what he's doing on its own terms.) Again--deliberate on King's part, or a flaw in her ability to portray this particular character?

(On a similar note, because the pet peeve fits well here: Russell at one point complains that Sunday is the day that the Christians "mistakenly call the Sabbath." However...it is the Christian Sabbath. And there are a number of distinctly Christian reasons why it is so. Therefore, for Christians to call it their Sabbath is not a mistake. Russell could get away with this remark if she were merely Jewish, but she's a scholar of theology who appears to focus a great deal on Christian history and interpretation at Oxford. Was she simply being irritable, or surprisingly unthoughtful?)

Yes, I nitpick because I love this series and read it over and over. Even the books I like less, I still enjoy. So I can complain if I like.

But here's a neat little ironic historical tie-in and one of the reasons I love and enjoy Laurie R. King's work so much. (I like layers. Complex ones.) Why write Sherlock Holmes into the life of the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould? According to the Wikipedia entry on Sabine Baring Gould, one of Baring-Gould's grandsons, William Stuart Baring Gould, was "a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar who wrote a fictional biography of the great detective—in which, to make up for the lack of information about Holmes's early life, he based his account on the childhood of Sabine Baring-Gould." Laurie R. King, in turn, cheekily writes a fictional biography of S. Baring-Gould in which the great detective not only appears, but is supplied with a childhood--at least in part--in the revelation that the Reverend Baring-Gould is Sherlock Holmes' godfather. And thus the line between fiction and reality doubles over and blurs still more...

As Russell observes in her preface to The Beekeeper's Apprentice, "I do not remember when I first realised that the flesh-and-blood Sherlock Holmes I knew so well was to the rest of the world merely a figment of an out-of-work medical doctor's powerful imagination. What I do remember is how the realisation took my breath away, and how for several days my own self-awareness became slightly detached, tenuous, as if I too were in the process of transmuting into fiction, by contagion with Holmes."

Irony upon delicious irony.

[Whisper19 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to give this book 2 stars and then chapter 25 came. And my least favourite thing in detective/crime thrillers - the VILLAIN DOESN'T JUST SHOOT THE HERO BUT EXPLAINS THEIR WHOLE PLAN. It was the straw that broke this poor camel's back.
In addition to this the book's first two thirds are just talking and sort of vague investigating of basically nothing.
So, no, I don't think I'll be continuing with this series. 4 is quite enough to see that this is not my cup of Sherlock.

From Blog

The Moor – Laure R. King
(Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #4)
Read: May 2021

I first came across Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes in 2011. The first book, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice was fun. It was a new look at the old favourite that is Sherlock. But after that first book the following books just got progressively weaker. The lowest point being The Moor. If you read the blurb you’d think this would be a spooky book set in the “eery wasteland of Dartmoor” where Sherlock and Mary investigate the “spectral coach” and the murders that keep appearing.
What you get, instead of the gothic murder investigation caped in fog, is the two of them traipsing across a gloomy landscape, making stupid moves and just waiting for the last two chapters for things to make sense.
This novel tries to do the classic Sherlock thing where all the little pieces and red herrings are given to the reader and if they are as smart as Sherlock, they can catch the killer. But the problem is that clues and fishes King offers are a mishmash of half thought-through plotlines and ideas. I don’t mind not being able to guess who the killer is (I very very rarely do in Sherlock and Poirot books) but this was just a jumble of nonsense.
The second cardinal sin this book commits, and the thing that lowered the rating of this book for me, is the “villain’s last stand.” You know that thing in all the Hollywood movies where the baddie doesn’t kill the hero, but instead explains their whole plan and origin story. This of course takes enough time for the reinforcements to come or for the hero to get away and kill the villain. Yeah, well, spoiler for chapter 25 – the villain is overly loquacious, the heroes get away and happy ending, everyone lived happily ever after, the fog is gone, there is sunshine on the moors and the fucking spectral coach is no more.
I think it is safe to say that I will not be continuing with this series. There are so many other good detective series out there, there is no point in wasting my time with mediocre or simply bad ones.

[Sue Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read! Love this series and the indomitable couple of Sherlock Holmes and his lovely, astute and resourceful wife Mary Russell. Such a duo they make – matched in wit and deductive reasoning that one really can’t be seen without the other, although I do think that Mary can do quite well all on her own if it really came down to it. She certainly brings up her game on this tricky case where they return to the scene of one of Sherlock Holmes more notorious crime scenes – the Moor and the case of the hound of the Baskervilles.

It’s a romping good story that takes you across the Moor and into some memorable spots along the way, along with meeting some memorable local characters, including the new Lord of Baskerville. Brought back by a long time friend of Sherlock Homes, the Reverend Baring-Gould to investigate not so much of a case but rather a sense of something not-quite-right in the Moor: mysterious sightings of a legendary ghostly coach and the ever-present spectre of the hound of the Baskerville. However it doesn’t take too long before bodies appear turning things into a case in earnest with more at stake than can be imagined.

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and how it unfolds. Can’t wait to carry on with the series.