This is an upcoming mystery novel by one of my favorite authors: Laurie R. King. It’s another in her Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell series, so I’m certain to enjoy reading it.
Holmes and Russell are in France, where they hope to catch up with Holmes’ son Damien Adler and his family. Instead, they find that the Adlers have fled from an unknown danger. Holmes rushes after them but Russell stays to search the house for clues. She finds an old journal with a near-impenetrable code – and, of course, proceeds to solve it. The journal is somehow connected with an antique zoetrope (a lantern with paper figures that move along with the shade, producing a primitive, yet effective, moving picture) – and with the family of artist Horace Vernet, Holmes’ grand-uncle. Secrets from the past seem to reach into the present and Russell must uncover the secrets of the lantern before it is too late.
This will be another historical mystery, as it’s set in the 1920’s, and you know how I love my historical fiction. King does a great job with Holmes, as well, and I enjoy his partnership with the equally brilliant Mary Russell. It may not be what Arthur Conan Doyle would have intended for his Great Detective (after all, he wanted Holmes dead and gone), but it makes sense to me and isn’t that what a good story is supposed to do?
The book is due out right around Valentine’s Day and I’ve already pre-ordered my signed copy from Laurie R. King’s favorite bookstore, The Poisoned Pen. I’m really looking forward to settling into my favorite chair with a hot cup of coffee and The Lantern’s Dance.