| Plot Summary of A Letter of Mary |
|---|
"In the third volume in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, two more years have passed and the unlikely but sharp-minded couple are now married. A friend they met during their brief time in Palestine four years before, an amateur archaeologist named Dorothy Ruskin, returns to England to raise money for her projects and gives Mary Russell a beautiful carved wooden box from Renaissance Italy. Inside is a sheet of papyrus -- partly in Greek, partly in Hebrew, partly in Aramaic -- that purports to have been written by Mary of Magdala, an apostle of Jesus, shortly before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Within a day, Ruskin is killed by a car, and Russell and Holmes suspect foul play. As always, the mystery itself is not all that gripping, but the writing is delightful, and King has extra fun with a supporting cast that includes Mycroft Holmes, Scotland Yard Inspector Lestrade (the son of the original Lestrade from the 1880s), a cameo by Lord Peter Wimsey, and even a passing mention of an English lit scholar with a passion for Anglo-Saxon poetry and runes whom Mary encounters at Oxford, by the name of Tolkien."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
|
|
|
| Review Analysis of A Letter of Mary |
|---|
|
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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story:
- 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 40%
Kind of investigator
- british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
City?
Yes
City:
- London
- dangerous
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Unusual forms of death
- run over
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
|
|
