A Monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie R. King

I sat back in my chair, jabbed the cap onto my pen, threw it into the drawer, and abandoned myself to the flood of satisfaction, relief, and anticipation, that was let loose by that simple action.

This is the sequel to The Beekeeper's Apprentice, a book which I thoroughly enjoyed. The next book in chronological order is O Jerusalem (I think that's what it's called), but this one was the second ever written. It is set 6 years after The Beekeeper's Apprentice, and Mary Russell is finishing her studying at Oxford and about to become a wealthy heiress. Also, her relationship with Holmes is changing. She becomes interested in the New Temple of God, and its charismatic feminist leader Margery Childe, who Russell is drawn to. But when four bluestocking women from the Temple turn up dead, right after changing their wills, Russel and Holmes must investigate.

I liked this one a lot; there was a lot less of Holmes in it, which was kind of disappointing, but it shows that Mary is going her own way and growing up. I was rather surprised at how their relationship changed; I always thought of Holmes as a father figure to her, not a romantic interest. There's such a huge age difference between them. Still, this is an interesting series, and I look forward to reading the next book, A Letter of Mary, as soon as I can get my hands on it (it is unfortunately not at the local library).

Read A Monstrous Regiment of Women:

• if you liked The Beekeeper's Apprentice
• if you like mystery
• if you like Sherlock Holmes

278 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!