Jumping Back To Palestine
O Jerusalem by Laurie King
It's becoming increasingly popular for authors to jump about in the chronology of their series. Faithful readers rarely complain as it gives them a chance to absorb the backgrounds of characters they have come to know and love.
One might expect that a prequel would be difficult to pull off when your series features Sherlock Holmes and his background is already well and thoroughly documented. Laurie King, however, has never been one to shy from a challenge. And O Jerusalem probably can't be called a prequel in the truest sense of the word. Yes, it jumps around in the series, but the events of the book are all self-contained in the time period of the debut novel of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.
In that first novel, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Holmes and Russell are forced to flee England after suffering temporary defeat from a dangerous adversary. They are sent (by Mycroft Holmes) on a mission in Palestine. The Beekeeper's Apprentice skips over the details, merely telling us that they experienced adventure and completed the mission and returned several months later to England. O Jerusalem returns us to Palestine to tell us the tale of that adventure.
For all that this book is out of strictly chronological order, it firmly belongs exactly where it is published. Much like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, the books read better when not read in order. For reasons that can't be shared without giving away too many plot details, O Jerusalem really should be read after A Letter of Mary and definitely before Justice Hall.
In O Jerusalem we meet two characters who will return and play major roles in Justice Hall. These two characters are Mahmoud and Ali. They meet Russell and Holmes and act as their guides and contacts while they trek through the deserts of Palestine. Russell is instantly suspicious of them as they appear to be little more than cutthroats.
This installment of the series is very much an adventure novel filled with politics and historical tidbits. We even get to meet a few famed historical figures. King is able to aptly capture the political picture, history, and culture while still telling a gripping story with fast pacing. There is plenty of danger, interesting dialogue, and mystery to satisfy any fan of the genre.
It was also fun to return to a time when the relationship between Russell and Holmes was still in the uncertain stage. Russell is much younger and still takes some uncertain steps. In this novel, she is disguised as a boy-Amir. As such, she is able to assert herself in ways that most women of the age were barred from doing. Granted, Mahmoud and Ali know she is a he, and that causes them no small amount of discomfort and skepticism. The handling of such issues is an element that adds to the book's entertainment.
Laurie King has quickly become one of my favorite novelists as her work is intelligent without being stuffy and deep without being obscure. She is an excellent storyteller and she lets the story dominate, even when she is playing with themes that she obviously revels in. O Jerusalem is one of the stronger books in a very strong series. It does not have the credibility flaw found in A Letter of Mary nor does it have the stalling that slightly mars Justice Hall. It is a tight, well-told mystery that I've enjoyed reading several times now.
The latest in the series is now out and I'm eagerly awaiting its return to the library.
