The Game
Laurie R. King Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Game
" Bantam, Mar 2004, 23.95, 368 pp. ISBN: 0553801945 In 1924 Kimball O'Hara vanishes in India while Mycroft Holmes receives a package of Kim's documents that makes him concerned that an international crisis may be brewing. He sends his brother Sherlock and his sister-in-law Mary Russell (who kept her own last name) to India to learn what happened to Kim, an English spy. On the voyage out, they meet wealthy American communist bore Tom Goodheart and his traveling companions, his mother and sister heading to see his friend, Maharaja “Jimmy” Jumalpandra, ruler of the Indian state of Khanpur. Holmes and Mary do their best to avoid the pompous know it all Yank. In India the couple masquerade as native magicians helped by Mary's ability to speak Hindi, a language she learned during the voyage. As they follow the clues the married couple wonders if Kim purposely disappeared or is a victim of foul play. Their avoidance of Tom ends when their path takes them to the Goodhearts and their enigmatic benefactor Jimmy for somehow the communist sympathizer and his Maharaja comrade are connected to Kim. Besides the fact that Kim is the grown up star of the Rudyard Kipling classic, fans will appreciate the depth of detail that sweeps the reader back to early 1924. The story line is fun to follow as Mary more than Sherlock (is he over the hill?) begins piecing together the puzzle. Thus she is the strength of this historical mystery but she is so perfect that Holmes looks like he belongs in a rocker sitting in Sussex. Still Laurie R. King provides an enjoyable foray into the Jewel of the British Empire. Harriet Klausner " Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
"Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes hope they can rest awhile between cases, but then Mycroft, who is seriously ill, calls on them to do him a favor. One of his agents, Kimball O'Hara (aka Rudyard Kipling's "Kim") is missing, and he wants Russell and Holmes to find him. The two journey to India, where they encounter danger from unknown sources. Mary and Holmes split up (although they aren't separated as much as they were in the previous book, thank goodness), with Holmes going off to pretend to be a magician, and Mary going to investigate a wealthy and somewhat insane maharaja. Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. " Melissa Cookson, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Game

Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%

Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - 1900-1920's
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - escape/rescue from kidnappers
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters - Genius (really!)
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - spy - writer
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - an average amount
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - communists
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - India
City? Yes
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery) - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Laurie R. King Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:

David Loftus

SCHOLARS: Melissa Cookson Bridgette Redman

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The Game Laurie R. King Book Review

The Game
Laurie R. King Book Review