The Game

My journey to find a good British mystery series has led me to the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell, his student and wife, by Laurie R. King. I will not hide the fact that I was extremely sceptical at first. I mean, Sherlock having a wife other than The Woman a.k.a. Irene Adler? Preposterous! How could that have happened? I am not the most open-minded person when it comes to retellings of any kind. Especially when we're talking about Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes, I adore the BBC Sherlock, but it took me two seasons to be convinced. Dont't start me on Elementary though, because the rant button will be triggered to no end. So, taking all these prejudices of mine into consideration, I took my time and read as many reviews as I could about the series. Just to be on the safe side...

I had a great difficulty in finding the previous installments, so I started with the only one that was available at the time, The Game. I enjoyed it very much, plain and simple. I will not bore you with plot details. However, I must stress that the setting of the story - India during the turbulent period of the 1920's- was a major plus. It made for an exotic read. The descriptions were vivid and rich. In fact, they were so detailed that they ended up becoming seriously tedious after a point, especially when I wanted the story to move forward. I don't need to know every single detail of decoration or dresses or plants. This was a major fault, in my opinion. A fault that continued all through the book. It was too wordy, too descriptive, and even the dialogue itself was tiring at times, although faithful to the era depicted.

Mary Russell is a very interesting character. She is clever and kind, but not obnoxious, and patient enough to deal with her genius of a husband. She is a worthy companion to Sherlock who - I am glad to say- retains his familiar characteristics. Laurie R. King created a version of Sherlock Holmes that the lifelong reader of Arthur Conan Doyle can connect with. She didn't try to make Mary appear ‘‘smarter'' than him, nor did she make a dogmatic, all-knowing Holmes. She created a worthy couple, equal in intelligence and respect, and that was refreshing. The mystery itself was innovative, although a bit predictable, blending Kipling's Kim in the narration, and finding an equal balance between a world full of superstitions and concepts written in stone and the people who desire their freedom.

The Mary Russell series is nothing earth-shuttering or Booker Prize-worthy, but it is a quality light read with two superb characters. Thankfully, I've found the other books since I bought this one, and I intend to follow the couple's adventures.

P.S. Hey, Elementary ‘‘writers'', pay attention! This is how you create a female companion without making Sherlock appear an idiot!