Review: Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King

Another home run from Laurie King! I love this series so much, and am always so glad to read another installment. This copy I purchased, probably at Barnes and Noble, although possibly from Amazon.

This book continues Holmes' and Russell's adventures, following closely on the heels of their time in India, which was explored in the last book, The Game. Once they concluded their business in that novel, Holmes and Russell headed towards America, specifically San Francisco, so that Russell can prepare to divest herself of the last of her family's holdings there. On the boat as they travel from one side of the world to the other, Russell has three disturbing dreams: one of various items flying about the room, one of a faceless man, and one where she is consistently walking past a locked room, to which she has the key, safely hidden in her pocket. While trying to puzzle out the reason for these dreams, she and Holmes arrive in San Fran. Ultimately, Russell realizes that the dreams are her subconscious trying to tell her something. What that is leads her and Holmes on a quest through San Francisco, through Chinatown, down the coast to Mary's parents' summer house, and into her parents' haunted past.

This was a (I should say ANOTHER) well-paced, taut, exciting ride with Holmes and Russell, full of interesting puzzles. We learn quite a bit more about Mary's past and some troubling facts related in previous novels are laid to rest. This novel is different from the others, as it is told from both Mary's first-person point of view, as well as a third-person omniscient point of view, which allows the reader to follow both Holmes and Russell when they are investigating Mary's past each on their own.

As I always do, I loved it. What can I say? Holmes and Russell are two of my very favorite characters in all of literature, and I can only hope that Laurie King continues to give us new installments of their adventures for years to come! Five out of five Whatevers. Read this if you are a lover of Holmes, a lover of this series, or if you want a taste of San Francisco during the Roaring Twenties (the descriptions of the scenery, the dress, and the lingo of the time are wonderful).

2012-17