In the 'Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes' series, set around the 1920s, Sherlock Holmes is an older gentleman, tending his bees in Sussex.
Holmes is also married to a young woman named Mary Russell, whom he took under his wing some time ago. Holmes and Russell are a detective duo, and Russell has shown herself to be an intrepid sleuth with nerve and smarts.
This 19th book in the series focuses on a real event, the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels - also known as The Jewels of the Order of St. Patrick - in 1907. The crime went unsolved, but maybe Russell and Holmes can shed some light on the scandalous affair.
The book works fine as standalone.
The Irish Crown Jewels
*****
Mary Russell was orphaned at the age of fourteen.....
......but her Uncle Jake Russell didn't show up to offer comfort. Jake loved his niece but he was a swindler and thief with a warrant on his head, so Jake resided overseas to avoid arrest.
It's now been over a decade since Mary heard from Uncle Jake, and she assumes he died in some foreign land. So it's a shock when Jake shows up in Sussex, with (of course) an agenda.
Jake admits he was involved with the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels in 1907, and Mary is appalled!! She knows the jewels vanished from an impregnable safe at Dublin Castle a few days before English royals were to arrive for a visit, at which time the jewels were to be worn. Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes were brought in, but the investigation was suppressed, and the jewels were never recovered.
Uncle Jake explains that Sir Arthur Vicars, a pompous prig, was in charge of keeping the jewels safe in Dublin Castle. But Vicars was a show-off, and he would invite friends to the castle, get drunk, and take out the treasures.
Sir Arthur Vicars
Dublin Castle
When the jewels disappeared, Vicars' friends were implicated. However, they were never charged because a 'homosexual scandal' might be exposed.
Uncle Jake admits to being in league with Vicars' villainous friends, but says the jewels were squirreled away, and he never got his share of the booty. Jake now thinks he knows the location of the jewels, and he asks Mary to accompany him to Ireland to look for them. Since Jake is family, Mary agrees.
In the meantime, Sherlock Holmes is being sent on a similar quest. Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes, who's high up in government circles, asks Sherlock to find the Irish Crown Jewels to ease the hostility between England and Ireland.
Thus Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes start off on separate trips that have the same goal....to find the lost Irish treasures.
Most of the story follows these dual adventures, which eventually merge as Sherlock meets up with Mary and Jake. In the course of the quest, Mary dresses as a man to disguise herself; Uncle Jake is slippery and evasive; Sherlock makes pertinent deductions; and the searchers meet a variety of interesting people.
The story is an engaging cozy mystery, and the author nicely captures the ambiance of early 20th century Ireland.
However, I can't picture Sherlock Holmes being married, and Uncle Jake is a speck too self-satisfied and arrogant for my taste. That said, the 'Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes' books are popular, so if you're not familiar with the novels, you might want to give them a chance.
Thanks to Netgalley, Laurie R. King, and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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