This is my spoiler free review of Rivera Gold. If you have any further questions please feel free to email me at caffent17@gmail.com

https://youtu.be/FCqKTFRX8bc

I absolutely loved this book. As with every book in this series, I'm so glad to walk into the world of Russell and Holmes as they travel and lend assistance when they least expect it.

I’ve read every book in the series, but had a really hard time starting this book. I guess I wanted more of Holmes unless of the jet set kind of crowd that Mary was hanging with. I ended up skipping this installment, but am hoping there is an audio version that I can try.

I always enjoy the latest Mary Russell! This one is, as usual, filled with so much detail that it makes you feel like you were there! It's a great mystery too!

This was a quick and easy addition to the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series! This novel takes us to the French Riveria as Mary Russell tries to find out who murdered her best friend. While the mystery is very predictable, it was nonetheless enjoyable. I loved revisiting many of my favorite characters in the series! Thus, this novel is perfect for fans of Leonard Goldberg, Sherry Thomas, and Deanna Raybourne!

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention.

Another terrific read in the Mrs Sherlock Holmes series.
This one on the coast of the south of France where Mary is alone for much of the book and SH joins
her at the end.
Kudos to Laurie King for keeping up this amazing series for upwards of 18 books.

Russell and Sherlock visit Monte Carlo in this addition to the long running series where we also have the joy of reuniting with Mrs. (now Miss) Hudson. In this story, the mystery often takes back seat to loving travelogue about the area. This is fine as one of the highlights of this series is the feeling of taking a vacation in an area. A fine work in a series that is one of my most recommended series ever.

This was one of my favorite novels in the series. I’ve owned a physical copy of this for a while and wish to reread it again preparing for the next one. This one in particular I enjoyed because of the pace, the ability to keep my attention page after page. My favorite series and after finishing this one, I can’t wait for the next.

Set in the South of France during the 1920s, Riviera Gold is jam-packed with mystery. Mary Russell, wife of Sherlock Holmes, strives to clear her dear friend of murder.

I received an ARC of this book pre-publication, but I wanted to listen to the audio, read by Jenny Sterlin. I’ve listened to all of the previous books in the series, and didn’t want to miss the pace and voice that I’ve come to love!

Riviera Gold picks up where Island of the Mad left off. Mrs Hudson has been exiled/released from her long service as Holmes’ housekeeper, and she makes a casual reference to the Riviera as she leaves. Mary Russell is not completely surprised by her appearance, then, when Russell sails up on a yachting jaunt with her friend the Honorable Terry.

King weaves in a host of the characters of the day, including Lillie Langtry, the Fitzgeralds and Picasso. But the relationships between Mary, Sherlock and Clara Hudson are the centerpiece of the story, and it is just pure fun!

I received an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Those who have been fans of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series throughout its inception, will enjoy this setting of the French Riviera for our two sleuths. Russell shows a seeming new-found independence of Holmes, a freeing of her spirit in a sense. She is largely influenced by meeting Americans Sara and Gerald Murphy who have established a haven for artists. It's a historical glimpse into the Jazz Age and the gathering of such famous talents as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso.. But, it is the connection to Mrs. Hudson that Russell is most interested in from this group. Holmes shows up, too, but Russell is quite adept at navigating this paradise on the seal, a paradise that is equal parts playground and danger. When Mrs. Hudson comes under suspicion for murder, Russell and Holmes must keep their wits about them amongst the distractions in order to save their beloved friend from herself and from the law.

Riviera Gold, Laurie R. King’s 16th novel in the series proves so difficult to review. For longtime fans, this is a five-star gem. It remains so even for those who have only read The Murder of Mary Russell, No. 14 in this wonderful and wonderfully researched series. (view spoiler)

But I fear that those who stumble onto this novel as their only foray into an alternative universe where Sherlock Holmes takes on a clever, liberated but much-younger wife and partner will be confused by the references to brother Mycroft and Clara Hudson’s antecedents. For them, it will probably be a middling and puzzling three-star read. For those who come along for the ride, King peppers this fun novel with real-life characters, such as Gerald and Sara Murphy. Readers, you can judge if this clever, suspenseful novel is for you. In consideration, I average the five- and three-star ratings into a solid four.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Random House Publishing – Ballantine and Bantam in exchange for an honest review.

It's summertime on the Riviera, where the Jazz Age is busily reinventing the holiday delights of warm days on golden sand and cool nights on terraces and dance floors. Just up the coast lies a more traditional pleasure ground: Monte Carlo, where fortunes are won, lost, stolen, and hidden away. So when Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes happen across the Côte d'Azur in this summer of 1925, they find themselves pulled between the young and the old, hot sun and cool jazz, new friendships and old loyalties, childlike pleasures and very grownup sins.

The mystery has plenty of clues, suspects, red herrings, action, suspense, twists, and turns that all lead to a life and death conclusion. The characters are well developed, believable, and they each have their own characteristics and quirks that make them all realistic. The author makes Monte Carlo in 1925 come to life with her vivid and detailed descriptions.

I have enjoyed seeing how Mary has grown up from the sad, upset, smart, and withdrawn 15 year old in book one to the self-confident, independent, mature, intelligent, and caring woman that she is in this book. I have also enjoyed getting to know more about Mrs. Hudson and about the secrets in her past. I would have liked to have seen more development in Mary and Sherlock's relationship it almost seem like they have gotten themselves into a rut. I look forward to reading Castle Shade to see what kind of adventures Mary and Sherlock find themselves tangled up.

I received an ARC of this book from Random Hose through NetGalley for my honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot and mystery. I look forward to more in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.

I have been reading the Mary Russell books since they first came out. The first few books were magical - you were drawn into the world and the characters. The later books were missing something, I'm not sure what but they didn't have what the first books in the series had. This latest one has come closer to what the first books had - more character development and less mystery. I know that the mystery is important in a book featuring Sherlock Holmes but what made these different were the characters and how they grow and change over time - even Holmes himself. A word of caution - it helps to read The Murder of Mary Russell before this one.

The latest installment in the Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell series does not disappoint. Mary is vacationing off season on the Riviera where she meets a young American couple, Sara and Gerald Murphy who include her in their parties that include famous Jazz age celebrities like Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as local dignitaries. To her surprise, she sees that the last minute nanny for the children is non other than her own Mrs. Hudson, who had fled England under suspicion of murder and has disappeared.

Mrs. Hudson has been hiding in Monte Carlo but soon becomes a suspect when a handsome young Greek is found dead in her lodging. Mary is convinced of her innocence but Holmes who shows up to join Mary is not. Can Mary find the real killer and free Mrs. Hudson from this current predicament and youthful liaisons with dangerous men from her past?

After reading Riviera Gold, I have one question. Why am I just now discovering Laurie R King? This book was fabulous. I am scrambling looking for the previous books from the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.
Five stars.

Riviera Gold is the 16th book in the Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. Released 9th June 2020 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 368 pages (print edition) and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This entry in the series is set in the Riviera in 1925. Mary Russel has accompanied a friend on a sailboat and winds up in Monte Carlo and is soon mixed up with arms smuggling, crime, murder, and the long shadow of Mrs. Hudson's past. Holmes does make a significant appearance later in the book.

I liked that the narrative is worked around a framework of actual historical events, people, and occurrences. The author is skilled enough that it's sometimes difficult to distinguish where one ends and the other begins.

This is an enjoyable (but not quick) read. Fans of the series will find more of the same to like here. More rigorous fans of canonical Holmes will spend this book grinding their teeth. (Holmes and Mary Russel are married, she's the focus of the mysteries, and a lot of the action and the denouement stretch the bounds of suspension of disbelief to the limit). I did enjoy it a lot though. Highly recommended. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

It's April 1877 and Clara is in London. I liked the characters but got overwhelmed by how many there were. I also got overwhelmed by the descriptions. The dialogue was okay .