Following the excellent Castle Shade, this next installment of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series takes them to the south of France where they plan to relax visiting Holmes' son Damian and his daughter and fiancé. Unexpected circumstances lead to Holmes and the family to hide in a secure place while Russell, who is recovering from a bad ankle strain stays at Damien's home looking for clues. She finds a coded diary which she translates and the contents form part of this intriguing story. It is quite a riveting read and add a new dimension to the Holmes lore that Laurie R. King does so well. Highly recommended.

Loved it! After nearly 30 years of Russell and Holmes, I was worried that the series was starting to get stale. Then came The Lantern's Dance, and the magic is still there. This has all of the things I love about this series from the homage to the canon to Mary Russell's drive to get the solution before Holmes. I couldn't put it down and it was over all too soon. I think I'm ready for a re-read already, this time at a slower pace to savor the story's unfolding!

Thanks to Random House Publishing for access to a ARC on NetGalley.

Another great read for fans of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. The plot takes us to France but includes fascinating flashbacks to 1800s India as well. I also enjoyed the continued arc of Damian Adele’s family. Sherlock and Mary are geographically separated for much of the book, and I found the beginning a little disjointed, but I think that was mostly due to not being used to the alternating chapter viewpoints in this series.

Mary’s role seemed a bit lesser at the beginning, but as is so often the case with these books, things are not always as they seem. I greatly enjoyed the revelations made as Mary completed her translation of an important journal.

Fans of the series will enjoy an unexplored aspect of a key character, and I look forward to the next book to see if and how that storyline will continue!

Oh, yes, I always enjoy Mary thinking of Mycroft and then being “filled with rage.” :) That was a small but fun bonus!

Well-written and entertaining. Another excellent addition to the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. I did find myself bewildered at times by the family genealogy and a few plot points I felt could have been better clarified. But, overall, enjoyed it very much.

Finished book Nov 9, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley for advanced reader copy of this magnificent addition to the Russell/Holmes story.
I have enjoyed this series of books and find it surprising that it is now up to 18. This latest book has threats close to family, Mary slightly disabled on crutches and Sherlock in a nervous bundle over threat to his son and family. As the action ramps up there is another revelation bubbling up where family secrets have been buried. Hinting at the conclusion would spoil the book for others so I won't do that. This book is a winner! If you have read all the books in this series as I have it is essential that you read this book that fills in many blanks on family history.

I really love this series but I must confess that the previous book and this one have just not captured my interest or attention the way the earlier titles did, and I actually found myself unable to even finish this one... That has never happened with a Mary Russell book before, and I gave it several tries because I couldn't believe I was struggling that much, but in the end I had to call it just not a good match for me. I think it's because I don't find the Damien Adler story lines all that interesting, I do not particularly enjoy him as a character nor do I enjoy the way Sherlock and Mary interact with him. I also don't like when the two of them are separated for the majority of the book, and at least as far as I got in reading this one, that was the case here. The writing and style were in line with the rest of the series, and I did enjoy Mary's investigation - although the extensive Lakshmi journal sections failed to hold my interest. It is possible that if I'd read all the way through my opinions would have changed, but I was forcing myself to keep turning pages simply for the sake of turning them, and that isn't what I go into a Mary Russell book looking to do... All in all this just wasn't a good fit for me. There were a couple of books in the middle of the series that I struggled with also, although never to the extent that I didn't finish one, so I'm hoping this is just another example of that and the next installment will draw me right back in!

An entertaining exploration of the shadowy edges of the canon. As always, the characters and settings are a treat to spend time with, even with Mary's movements somewhat limited by a recent injury. Hopefully the final published version will contain some maps and family trees to enhance the reading experience.

I am a tremendous admirer of this series and this most recent addition continues the Mary Holmes stories with a dazzling story.

The Holmes family history is clarified and embellished in this superb novel. And, the complexities of family life are highlighted through the adventures and challenges of the Sherlock and Mary Holmes.

Mary Russell, recovering from injury, finds a diary belonging to Holmes's mother, who turns out to have been Indian. As she reads the diary and begins to put things together, Holmes is trying to protect his son Damian and his family from someone--or someones--seemingly intent on hurting them. This is better than the previous Russell novels, and Russell and Holmes have at least some fun and interesting discussions, but it still pales in relation to the first set of Russell novels by King.

The Lantern’s Dance is another wonderful entry in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. I couldn’t put it down!

Russell and Holmes arrive to visit Holmes’ son Damien and his family only to find they’re not there and are greeted with a shotgun instead. After hearing the story of strangers searching for Damien and a break in, Holmes goes off to their current location to hide them elsewhere while Mary stays behind with a sprained ankle. Mary searches through the Vernet crates that Damien received that may have started this whole mystery, and translates a diary she found of an unknown woman. As she learns more about this woman’s background and starts to link her to the mystery, Holmes must try to not only hide his son but bond with him as well. How is this mystery diary linked to the current troubles they face? Who is this mysterious woman?

I adored this book and couldn’t put it down. The mystery was well paced. Even though towards the end I could guess at some of the details, I couldn’t stop reading to see if I was right and learn how it all would link together. The three narrators (Russell, Holmes, and the unknown woman’s diary entries) were all well written, and the story was woven seamlessly through them. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read an advanced copy of one of my favorite series! I can’t wait to share it with others in publishing day!

THE LANTERN’S DANCE by Laurie King
I did not see that coming, so many surprises! The magic lantern, or zoetrope, is the perfect illustration of this most intriguing book. The end becomes the beginning, repeated optical illusions, all not as it seems, mesmerizing.
Sherlock’s son Damian has been targeted, and must use caution to protect his fiancé and daughter. Mary is sidelined by a sprained foot (annoying) but uses time to decipher Lakshmi/Louise’s mystery journal, which has clues leading to India, indigo dye and the artist Vernet. I looked those up, as well as eyebrow windows . . . fascinating.
As strands of information wove a pattern of secrets (and secret informants), I put aside other activities and was grateful for easy food that let me keep reading. When I could no longer stay awake, I paused as Mary nodded off on the train, and boarded my own train to dreamland, departing before dawn to continue reading. Now I’m a bit sad the journey has ended, but I can repeat it later, perhaps as an audiobook.
Pub. date is Feb. 13 which gives you time to read or reread earlier books in the series.

This is another great entry into Laurie R. King’s Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes series. This episode is very much about family, and uses many of the plot devices we’ve come to expect: code-breaking, leaving the bad guys behind using disguises and train schedules, flashbacks, characters affected by the changes in society as it moves into the 20th century … Ms. King skillfully builds on a snippet of an original story by Conan Doyle and creates an engaging Russell / Holmes plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I haven’t picked up a book in this series for years, but I decided to try this one and found it very compelling! There are a few developments that have taken place since the early days of the series, but nothing that’s not at least briefly explained. So although it’s not at all meant to be a stand-alone, it can feasibly be read that way.
The blend of mystery and personal history in this installment made for a riveting read. Sherlock Holmes fans can expect a smattering of Irene Adler reminiscence and a certain amount of family revelation, all underpinned by scenes in 1920s France where Mary Russell whiles away her time with a sprained ankle by code-breaking and translating a mysterious journal.

Another adventure with Mary Russel and her husband Sherlock Holmes!

Mary Russell and her husband are heading home after the events of ‘Castle Shade’. While in Germany (completing a mission for Sherlock’s spymaster brother Mycroft its suggested) she badly twisted her ankle and is on crutches. They decide to detour to visit Sherlock’s grown son, Damian Adler, only to be greeted by a man with a shotgun at the Adler home with no Damian or his family around. An armed man broken the day before; given some of Damian’s past adventures, he decided to take his wife and daughter some place safer. Sherlock dashes off to help Damian while Mary remains at the Adler’s residence because of her hurt ankle. Damian’s recently received some crates belonging to his great-great uncle, artist Horace Vernet; she starts digging into them, finding a dancing lantern and a journal. (The lantern can be fitted with strips of paper, and when a candle is lit and placed in the lantern, it starts to spin, causing the images to dance.) The journal is in code using several alphabets including Latin and Devanagari; it takes time, but Mary is able to slowly decipher it. Written by a woman named Lakshmi, the journal describes twelve significant scenes of her life, much like the lantern only shows one scene at a time, beginning when she was four and left her mother living in France to go live with her father in India. As Mary digs deeper into the journal, she discovers a connection between Lakshmi, Damian, and the mysterious armed stranger.

What a fun book! I’ve read all the Russel novels and have found the more recent ones less memorable (for lack of a better word) than the earlier ones. This one however, is one of my favorites. I love how Ms. King takes a piece from the original stories by Conan-Doyle and expands it in her world of Russell and Holmes. Lakshmi and her journal were delightful! Reading about her adventures and trying to guess how they impacted the ‘current’ day story was a joy, especially seeing how it was tied to other artifacts in the crate afterwards. Because of Mary’s bad ankle, there’s less physical activity – nothing with her being in disguise or trailing a suspect, but I enjoyed it with the way Lakshmi and her journal had some activities.

Some back story about the Russell stories: about ten years before the events of ‘The Lantern’s Dance’, Mary Russell was walking around the Sussex Downs, still healing emotionally and physically from the tragic crash that killed her family, when she nearly steps on Sherlock Holmes (yes – that Sherlock Holmes). He recognizes her sharp intellect and takes her his wing, training her in his methods of detection. In the 18 books since, they’ve become married and have solved numerous cases taking them across the globe. While reading the past books would be useful, there is enough description in the current story to get a sense of the story without knowing the details; for example, Damian’s past adventures are briefly mentioned, enough to let the reader realize there is a good reason for him to be concerned about his family’s safety without dragging down the current plot with unnecessary description. If you’re ever looking for a new series to pick up, I recommend the Mary Russell series. They’re entertaining and well-written, and Ms. King does a wonderful job of picking out the perfect word to convince the reader that Mary is a woman in the early 20th Century in England.

Highly recommended! I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes have decided to spend some time with the son, Damian, whom he just learned about and the son's family in France. Mary is recuperating from a badly sprained ankle resulting from their last adventure. When they arrive at the home, the family is not home. Damian, his wife, and daughter departed after someone broke into their house. It appears that Damian's life is once again in danger and Holmes goes to find the family and get them to a safe location. Meanwhile, stuck at the cottage due to her injury, Mary begins her own investigation into the break-in and why people have been asking after Damian in town. She stumbles upon some crates in Damian's studio, one of which contains a journal written in some mysterious code. This gives Mary something to fill her time, and what she discovers in the journal is quite shocking. Working separately and together, Mary and Holmes uncover something totally unexpected. It's a great ending to the book.

Fresh from their adventures in Transylvania (and a brief sojourn in Berlin which left Russell with a sprained ankle), Holmes and Russell make their way to France, eager to spend time with Holmes’ son Damian and his daughter and fiancée. Upon arrival to the Adler house, however, they find the little family gone, having fled after a break-in seems to indicate a threat to their safety.

While Holmes sets off immediately to locate Damian and determine where and why someone seems to have such an interest in his family, Russell’s injured ankle leaves her behind and at loose ends. Being Mary Russell, she promptly finds herself caught up in a puzzle to solve. While going through crates Damian received from a Parisian art institute, she finds a coded journal. After breaking the code, Russell sets about reading. It's written from the perspective of a young French girl — nicknamed Lakshmi — taken to India to live with her father's family in the French settlement of Chandernagore.

After unexpected events, Lakshmi finds herself fleeing India incognito with only the company of a beloved family friend as protector. As Russell gets further into the journal, she begins to see that it’s no coincidence this book ended up in Damian’s possession at the same time that parties from India are searching him out. But what is the connection, and who exactly is this mysterious Lakshmi?

All in all, I very much enjoyed this installment in the series. It was admittedly slow in parts, but I liked it more than other recent ones. I do prefer when Holmes and Russell are together rather than separated, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are stopping in France in hopes of spending time with his son and family.. instead they arrive to find that the family has fled after an unknown intruder enters their home. Sherlock and Mary separate and reunite a few days later with each having discovered pieces of this mystery, one that reveals much to Sherlock about his family.

Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are planning to visit Sherlock's son Damian, but upon arriving at his home, they discover Damian has disappeared. As Sherlock goes after his son, Mary stays behind and discovers a journal in code that slowly reveals old family secrets. Thoroughly enjoyable addition to the series, and a nice glimpse into Sherlock's early life. The journal entries were fascinating, and Holmes and Russell have their usual great rapport. NetGalley provided the ARC in exchange for a review.

I love a good Russell/Holmes book and this one was quite enjoyable. I love the framing of the mystery and really enjoyed the attention to detail within it. It's a pretty convoluted story but you can follow along and see where it's going easily but with delight. Another solid entry that I think fans will enjoy!

The Mary Russell series is one of my all time favorites, and one of my go to recommendations. I was so excited to see another addition to the series.
After a bit of a slow start, this turned out to be a great story that really drew me in. I have always loved the books in the series that give the reader more background into Russell or Holmes, and this one did just that. This book is well written and the background introduced to readers is unexpected but fascinating.
Fans of the series will love this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.