Krishna
This was written after The Moor, which we reviewed earlier but chronologically this is supposed to occur much earlier, in fact right in the middle of the first book timeline (The Beekeeper’s Daughter). However, the preface is annoying. The author pretends that she got the documents by post and knew about what happened. In my view, it is equivalent to Wilbur Smith considering himself quite the historian in The Seventh Scroll.
The story starts when Holmes and Mary Russell seem to be smuggling themselves into Jerusalem in a small boat in the middle of the night. They travel in tents in the company of a Jew and an Arab, and come across a scene where their companions’ associates have been found murdered.
After impressing them with her fighting skills and her knife throwing skills, Mary, dressed as an Arab man, earns their respect. All in all, pretty boring, and with delusions of grandeur as all Arabs in Palestine sing the praises of the British, who ‘liberated’ them from the Turkish rule. Yeah, right. They go on an adventure, visit a village with Mahmoud and Ali and then move on from there. Pretty boring stuff, with Holmes doing nothing but talking about what is obvious. As I commented in the review of The Moors, this is not the Sherlock we know. It is just another ordinary detective.
They go in search of a white mysterious evil man and since he had a beeswax candle and a monk’s attire, they start visiting monasteries.
When Holmes is kidnapped after their car was rammed in, with Mary being unconscious, Mahmoud, Ali and Mary go and rescue him. They go to the next monastery where they realize that the assassin had visited this place (by the candle smell).
Holmes goes in search of the assassin and by the description given to Holmes by an abbot, they realize he is a professional killer who also kidnapped and tortured Holmes himself.
Homes is puzzled by a basket that was stolen and returned and sends Russell to an archaeological excavation site. She finds a broken phial.
Sherlock and Mary do some ordinary legwork sleuthing, which is what I complained about in the review of her earlier work, The Moors.
They finally find the tunnel and defuse the bomb kept there to kill the British General Allenby who was to make a speech in the holiest place in Palestine. They investigate and catch the spy in the act of fleeing but he kills himself with a detonator he carries before they can catch him.
It is all about the mighty British and how the locals love them despite their conquering habits. Rings hollow but a fairly interesting story.
The ending lifts it a bit but not enough to change your opinion that this is a very draggy story with all the negatives of the passive Sherlock portrayal in all of Ms King’s works.
Let us say 4/ 10
– – Krishna (July 2018)