Allreaders.com
Author Laurie R. King booklist (click here)

Book Review By David Loftus
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King

The fifth Sherlock Holmes-Mary Russell adventure actually takes place in time near the end of the first book, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, when Holmes and Russell have raced off to Palestine to recover from a bombing and possibly do some secret government work for Holmes's brother Mycroft. The year is 1919. With Mary disguised as an Arab boy and Holmes as a Bedouin, the pair hooks up with Arab-British agents Mahmoud and his nephew Ali, and begin to investigate the murder of several of their other agents in the delicate period after England has defeated the Turks to take control of what will become Israel 27 years hence. Holmes divines that a mastermind named Karim Bey, who used to torture prisoners for the Turks and briefly has his way with the British detective, plans to dynamite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem--right when British General Allenby is meeting with various local leaders above. Holmes and Russell must find their way through the tunnels, cisterns, acqueducts, and caves beneath the ancient city to prevent this from happening.


Plot & Themes
Time/era of story:
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 %
Who's the terrorist enemy here?

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Israel
Desert? Yes
Desert: - hostile arabs

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Kind of jargon? - archaeology
Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Back To Main Menu