Well, one word - he's classy in any way one can think of. Later a wonderful female hero coming in. (Her name is Harriet, did I mention that?  )
I'd start with one of the books in the middle of the series. Not the first ones, not the last ones.
The very first ones still need to mellow a bit, the last ones need to be read in the right order.

So, which of them would you advanced readers recommend to us?
Copy and edit as much as you like 

    1994: The beekeeper's apprentice - YES 
    1995: A monstrous regiment of women
    1997: A letter of Mary
    1998: The moor
    1999: O Jerusalem
    2002: Justice hall
    2004: The Game
    2005: Locked Rooms
    2009: The Language of Bees
    2010: The God of the Hive
    2011: Pirate King - LESS 

Last edited by Harriet (March 30, 2013 12:31 pm)

Harriet wrote:

Well, one word - he's classy in any way one can think of. Later a wonderful female hero coming in. (Her name is Harriet, did I mention that?  )
I'd start with one of the books in the middle of the series. Not the first ones, not the last ones.
The very first ones still need to mellow a bit, the last ones need to be read in the right order.

Aww….  I believe you did mention that to me some time back, but - cool.    More people named after literary favorites!

@Susi - Also cool!  Nice to hear…  and definitely agree with remarks on.


Re: the 'feel' of the titles, as Harriet mentioned, though….

    1994: The beekeeper's apprentice - YES 
This should be a very obvious 'Yes'.  The first book of any series typically sets the groundwork for it, after all!  Plus I loved seeing how she started it, Russell growing up, and yes, the mystery is pretty good, and funny repartee and losing myself in the 'what-if' imaginary spin-off of the pair.
    1995: A monstrous regiment of women
Fun.  Kinda heavier with history lesson/period feminism.  Mystery is slow-building.  Not my top favorite, but definitely up there with interesting subject matter and several dramatic character-building Russell/Holmes moments that help to know for later continuity.
    1997: A letter of Mary
We get another little interesting historical stuff with this one, this time with Russell's chosen field of theology.  Liked it, but for those at the mid-range of enjoying the series but only enough to read the 'most appealing' ones, it's pretty self-contained to be able to skip, if want.
    1998: The moor
The very first page made me laugh, with a tweaked Holmes quote  (She is pretty good at throwing canon references in every so often!).  And King does a neat job of making this the one that reflects a return to a famous Holmes tale - the Hound.  About on par with the rest, and pretty interesting/accurate as they trek through Dartmoor.
    1999: O Jerusalem
I read this one second, after a helpful review saying it fit chronologically right before the ending of the first book, and I like to keep myself 'fresh' in the feeling of what had just happened story-wise.  Recommend reading it early, too… it's also a pretty awesome one with the cat-and-mouse game and usual banter/hijinx between the pair (even though, yeah, the trip itself is a little odd).  My second favorite.

And that's it, for recommending any others, or not…… unfortunately between checking out multitude other things, haven't exactly rushed my way through the whole series, meaning to get to Justice Hall next.  ;P  Although kinda disappointed, because… yes… I heard the same thing about the Pirate King one (and it sounds like it could be so cool!)

So, to bring it around to the order of things, vice versa…  Harriet - you mentioned a similar vibe with the order quality/first choice of your favorite?  ;)

Yes, Susi!  Despite the sometimes slowness, definitely yes, with the intense moments (weren't some of those awesome, character-investment-wise?), fairly good subject matter/character stuff going on, and easy enough fun read to get into.    Cool.

I don't know if I need a spoiler warning for the sentence ahead for those who haven't gotten to this one yet, even though it has nothing to with the main plot, but there it is.   Ha… and another strong 'yes' to your last comment - you hit on the second other item (besides minor details//traits/styling) that were the only things that really bugged me about King's choice with the characters, besides the part with the treatment of Watson!  Seriously….  huh?  What son??

I can be on board with an author fleshing out more about a character's background or adding neat details that you might not have thought about, but totally fit with the character.  The son thing…. just, doesn't fit, for me.  No, you didn't miss anything… that's the only time it's mentioned (unless it comes up in mention again in books I haven't gotten to, but doubt it).  It's a neat idea, sure, … even the great Holmes had a heart for certain people, and mellowing as he got older, could have fallen in love with someone.  But even he himself explains to Russell his struggle with his change of emotions and how usually kept away from such relationships, much less ever going near the idea of a society convention such as marriage.  But such a Victorian gentleman as Holmes was would likely never had gone so far to have a son without having been married to the lady first… no?

Anyway....  enjoy!     Fun to hear thoughts back on....  and out of just my own sense of huge curiosity and not because it works better one way or the other, are you going to move on to the next book in order, or skip to 'Jerusalem' to see what happened during their trip? 

I'm not afraid of spoilers here, just to let you know... (For sure I won't read these books for their sophisticated suspense but for their other qualities  )

Russell, I will add my list to the DLS thread soon.

Now I finished "O Jerusalem" and liked it quite well. The beginning was a bit slow as with Russell and Holmes getting acquainted with the country, culture, and language but then the story gained momentum. The historical background is original and just the right thing for me as I've been a fan of Lawrence of Arabia for a very long time. The novel tells us what happened in Palestine after the Turks were defeated. 
The chemistry between Russell and Holmes is well done and has some moving and funny moments. I think all in all I liked it a bit more than "A Monstrous Regiment". 

Yes, they were great. As I said, the book got better and better and I'm glad I didn't put it away. I also liked the angsty bit when Holmes is in that villa … (no spoilers here). 

Then we can meet again and compare our ideas about no. 4. 

I'll give a report about vol. 4.