Locked Rooms

Starred review from April 25, 2005
In her last outing, The Game
(2004), Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, traveled to India on a case of geopolitical significance, but in the richly imagined eighth novel in this acclaimed series, set in San Francisco in 1922, Russell undertakes a far more personal investigation. Since she began her journey back to her hometown—ostensibly to deal with her father's estate—Russell has been tormented by strange dreams, one of which involves the "locked rooms" of the title, and the sight of her San Francisco childhood home opens a flood of memories and emotions, most of which she's loathe to allow into her über-rational mind. When someone takes a shot at her, Holmes enlists the help of Pinkerton agent Dashiell Hammett and Russell tries to unlock her past, in particular the "accident" that killed her family and left her an orphan in 1914. King's re-creation of San Francisco, especially the backstory during the devastating 1906 earthquake, is superb, and it's a pleasure to see the unusually competent Russell struggling with her own psyche. The plot may be a bit thin, but the narrative has real momentum, the characters are engaging and the prose, as always, is intelligent, evocative and graceful. Agent, Linda Allen.

Starred review from May 1, 2005
Tormented by recurring nightmares, Mary Russell ("The Game") returns to San Francisco after a ten-year absence. She swears to husband Sherlock Holmes that she wasn't in the city during the 1906 fire, but events soon prove her wrong. What memories is she hiding from herself? Holmes suspects they are connected somehow to the terrible car crash that claimed the lives of Russell's father, mother, and younger brother in 1915. With his normally capable wife distracted by her emotions, it is up to Holmes to recruit new Irregulars and uncover the truth behind the "locked rooms" that Russell dreams about. This latest title in King's Russell/Holmes series is steeped in the period feel of 1920s San Francisco. Two points of view (first person from Russell and third person from Holmes) add to the richness of the prose and the complexity of the storyline. Worthy of the highest recommendation and suitable for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/1/05] -Laurel M. Bliss, Princeton Univ. Lib., NJ

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2005
Adult/High School -Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are at it again. Having just traveled to India in "The Game" (Bantam, 2004), they are stopping in San Francisco, Mary's hometown, before returning to England. It is 1930, 24 years after the great earthquake and 10 years since the death of Mary's brother and parents, and her removal to Anglia. Ostensibly, she is going to wrap up some business interests and sell her parents' house, but she soon becomes aware of strange goings-on there and what seem to be attempts on her life. This is a more character-driven title than many of the previous Russell/Holmes outings, and Mary's emotions and fears are in the forefront. The story is told in alternating sections, by Mary in the first person and from Holmes's point of view in the third. This tale is self-contained, but does explain Mary's origins and probes many secrets she has kept hidden, even from herself. Along with a fascinating story, teens will be introduced on a very personal level not only to the San Francisco of that frightening earthquake, but also to the various social and racial striations so important even into the 1930s. Fans of this series will not be disappointed and newcomers may be intrigued enough to start from the beginning." -Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, VA"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2005
King makes full use of her considerable skills at probing the dark of the human psyche in this utterly mesmerizing tale of Mary Russell's trip back to the San Francisco of her parents with her husband, Sherlock Holmes. On board ship from India and Japan, where the duo's last adventure took place, Mary begins to have three disturbing and evocative dreams: objects flying, a man without a face, and locked rooms. She remembers almost nothing of her childhood except the car crash that killed her parents and her little brother. But in San Francisco, she remembers that she was there, with her family, during the 1906 earthquake. In alternating sections, told in first person for Mary and third for Holmes, the unraveling of long-buried and terrifying memories also unwinds a skein of wonderful historical texture: the place of Chinese immigrants and the use of feng shui; the nightlife of a city during the age of jazz, Prohibition, and flappers; and the presence of Dash Hammett, who plays a fascinating role as a very different sort of Irregular. A highlight in an altogether outstanding series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)