Knave of Diamonds
Mary Russell’s allegiances are tested by the reappearance of her long-lost uncle—and a tantalizing case not even Sherlock Holmes could solve.
When Mary Russell was a child, she adored her black sheep Uncle Jake. But she hasn’t heard from him in many years, and she assumed that his ne’er-do-well ways had brought him to a bad end somewhere—until he presents himself at her Sussex door. Yes, Jake is back, and with a load of problems for his clever niece. Not the least of which is the reason the family rejected him in the first place: He was involved—somehow—in the infamous disappearance of the Irish Crown Jewels from an impregnable safe in Dublin Castle.
It was a theft that shook a government, enraged a king, threatened the English establishment—and baffled not only the Dublin police and Scotland Yard, but Sherlock Holmes himself. And, now, Jake expects Russell to step into the middle of it all? To slip away with him, not telling Holmes what she’s up to? Knowing that the theft—unsolved, hushed-up, scandalous—must have involved Mycroft Holmes as well?
Naturally, she can do nothing of the sort. Siding with her uncle, even briefly, could only place her in opposition to both her husband-partner and his secretive and powerful brother. She has to tell Jake no.
On the other hand, this is Jake—her father’s kid brother, her childhood hero, the beloved and long-lost survivor of a much-diminished family.
Conflicting loyalties and international secrets, blatant lies and blithe deceptions: sounds like another case for Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.
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Laurie R. King
Laurie R. King writes mysteries that feel less like puzzles laid out on a table and more like lives unfolding under pressure. Her stories take their time, circling around character, memory, and place, until the truth emerges not as a single revelation, but as something earned.
Born in California in 1952, she grew up surrounded by landscapes that would later echo through her work, coastlines, small towns, and the quiet edges where ordinary life brushes up against something more uncertain. Before turning fully to fiction, she studied theology, an influence that still lingers in her writing through questions of belief, morality, and identity. Those themes rarely sit on the surface, but they shape the way her characters think, doubt, and act.
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes opens with a quiet encounter on the Sussex Downs, but it doesn’t stay quiet for long. What begins as a meeting between a retired detective and a sharp-minded young woman gradually reshapes one of literature’s most familiar partnerships into something far less predictable, and far more human.
Mary Russell steps into the story not as an observer, but as a mind that refuses to stand in the shadow of Sherlock Holmes. Their connection unfolds slowly, built on intellectual friction, shared curiosity, and a mutual recognition that neither of them sees the world in quite the usual way. Over time, the dynamic shifts, mentor and student becoming equals, partners, and something deeper, creating a relationship that evolves alongside the mysteries themselves.
Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes consists of nineteen books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
