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Jun 26, 2008

WK rated it:

Like all of Laurie’s work it is finely weaved and very well told.

I was able to pick up most of the breadcrumb trail as to “who” and marvel at Laurie’s talent for sculpting that character so well that the “why” is not only believable but could even be considered admirable.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

Celia rated it:

It took me a little while to get into this political thriller - a stand alone book from King, whom I love for her excellent series. Set in the 1920s, in an England torn between unions and a conservative government, an American agent arrives seeking a terrorist suspect. Secret agents and terrorists aren't really my favourite sort of books, so it took me a little while to get past that, after which I really enjoyed this.

It's not your average secret-agent-terrorist-plot book, of cours More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2008

Andrea rated it:

I normally adore Laurie King, but the shifting point of view in this book drove me crazy, to the point where I got so angry I didn't want to finish the book. It was written in 3rd person omniscient, so we could leap between people's heads, but it was so jarring every time, I felt like I never got the chance to care for anyone (or hate the bad guys.) Maybe I'll try it again sometime, but it just troubled me.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2008

Robin rated it:

I've been a Laurie King fan since I read her first book in the Holmes/Russell series, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Before Touchstone I'd never really been able to get into what I think of as her stand alone titles, rather than those that build into a series, but this one really sucked me in.

I admit, I'm always intrigued by novels set during and around World War I, perahps because it was such an awful landmark for modern warfare, and its affect on both the world and individuals dealin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2008

megan rated it:

I was WAITING for this book. It came out on Boxing Day, but I didn't get to the bookstore over and over, and every now and then I'd think: there's a new Laurie R. King mystery out; reading will be good. Because LRK writes some of my favourite mysteries. Her Holmes is infinitely more likeable, more sympathetic, more apt to fallibility and therefore, more believable than most of Holmes in Conan Doyle. She puts Sherlock Holmes in San Francisco (twice!), with Kipling's Kim, and in Jerusalem.
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1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2008

Rachel rated it:

This was a haunting book that carefully toed the line between supernatural fiction and mystery. Laurie King is the author of several excellent series (the Holmes/Russell books are among my all-time favorites) and this was definitely closer to the suspense/thriller side of mystery than her others. The story involves an FBI agent tracking down a terrorist in the 1920's, who gets pulled into a creepy organization built around a man with a very disturbing ability. The whole book has an air of mel More...

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Jun 10, 2008

Laura rated it:

A break from the various series King pens, this book introduces Harris Stuyvesant, an FBI man (although at the time the FBI isn't called the FBI) from the 1920s. Stuyvesant is in England at a time of strife: miners are close to striking, war still looms on the minds of many, and communism is a great fear. Stuyvesant's goal is to atone for the death of an innocent woman and the life-altering injury of his brother. Along the way, he encounters many people who may be friend or foe, including the sc More...

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Jun 13, 2008

Bette rated it:

Laurie King’s newest historical novel is titled Touchstone and it is amazingly good. Set in England, post World War I, the intricate story revolves around union organizers, conspiracy, and the class struggle in Britain. The main character is a charming renegade American FBI agent named Harris Stuyvesant who is tenacious when it comes to tracking down the culprit who set bombs in the United States (one injured Stuyvesant’s brother). King is a terrific writer, particularly when it comes to histori More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 14, 2009

Roxanne rated it:

This may be one of those books you do not fully appreciate until you have read it a second time as I certainly am not appreciating it the first time around...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

Joyce rated it:

Laurie King is one of my favorite authors; her Mary Russell series continues to charm. Set primarily in the post World War I era, the series has given King a solid background in the era. She uses this expertise in Touchstone, a stand-alone thriller set in England in 1926.[return][return]At that time, there was a great deal of political unrest, much of it labor-related, in both England and the US. This was the time of the Wobblies, Emma Goldberg, and the anarchists. Sacco and Vanzetti had j More...

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Jan 01, 2009

Eva rated it:

American FBI agent Harris Stuyvesant travels to England in 1926 to conduct an undercover investigation of a Labor leader whom Harris suspects has set off several bombs in the U.S. He meets a nasty piece of work named Carstairs who has been conducting experiments using a WWI vet named Bennett Gray who, as a result of his injuries, is so sensitive that he is essentially a human lie detector (lies and deceit cause him unbearable agony) - Harris soon befriends Gray, is invited to a country weekend More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2010

Teresa rated it:

Touchstone is perhaps King s most ambitious novel yet. It takes place between the World Wars, which is not a new period for King most of the Russell books take place in the 1920s but the characters are new, and the plot felt more complex than is typical of her books. [return][return]King has a wonderful ability to craft mysteries that keep you on the edge of your seat but that also make you think about more substantial questions. I really enjoyed how in this book she could make me feel sympat More...

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Jun 02, 2010

Margaret rated it:

This is a stand-alone novel, not related to either of her series. It's 1926, and FBI agent Harris Stuyvesant has come to London in search of a bomber; for help, he's sent to Englishman Bennett Grey, whose experiences in World War I have left him with an unearthly sensitivity to other people's thoughts and who has been hiding in Cornwall for years. Almost against his will, Grey agrees to help Stuyvesant by gaining him entry into an elite milieu which includes Lady Laura Hurleigh, who is devoting More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2010

Shannon rated it:

Touchstone does what any good historical fiction should: it took me to a time and place other than my own and taught me something in the process. Touchstone is set in post-WWI England and revolves around an American there to find a terrorist (Harris Stuyvesant), a former English soldier damaged irreparably by the War (Bennet Grey), one of England's most storied families (the Hurleighs) and one of the most fascinatingly manipulative characters I've ever encountered (Aldous Carstairs).

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Jan 08, 2008

Vicki rated it:

A brilliant historical thriller set against the turmoil of England's 1926 general strike. In it, an FBI agent crosses the Atlantic on the track of a bomber who could push England into outright revolution. He joins forces with a human "touchstone," a shattered WWI veteran with an uncanny knack for discerning the truth, to avert disaster. There is a bevy of fascinating characters and a gobstopper of an ending that will occupy your thoughts long after you finish the book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 05, 2009

Shannon rated it:

good plot; nice mystery; neat idea (result of being shelled is ability to recognize internal dissonance in others. I missed one of the things I generally like about Laurie King, however, and that was lack of depth of character - although characters are fully realized (enough background to make them interesting), their thinking and responses to each other are faded in color.

But still King impresses; I haven't read anything worth quoting in a long time, but I was fascinated with thi More...

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Aug 25, 2008

Agathafrye rated it:

Touchstone took a little while to get to the punch, but it ended up being a very well researched and suspenseful look into life in England during the 1926 strikes. King always does a really great job of describing settings and characters in great detail. I learned quite a bit about the political and societal atmosphere in 1920's England by reading this book. The ending almost surprised me, but not quite.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 16, 2011

Lisa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 25, 2010

Kelly rated it:

As a great fan of Laurie R. King, Touchstone was a very interesting read. It was the first stand-alone of hers that I've read and, to be quite honest, I prefer her Kate Martinelli and Mary Russell books.
Touchstone is a well-developed story with quite a lot of information about Communism and anarchy in the 1920s both from the point of view of an American and from the British aristocracy. It's quite fascinating information, but it seems as though more emphasis is put on the development of th More...

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Jul 27, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

An interesting new set of characters for Laurie King. I liked learning more about the tensions at the time of labour uprisings in post WWI Britain and the sweeping changes in world order or British World Order wraught by WWI. Bennett Grey, having been metaphorically dipped in acid to make him overwhelmingly sensitive to the thoughts of others was a perfectly extreme survivor of WWI trenches. Coincidentally there is a brilliant "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode about the same thing whe More...

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Apr 19, 2010

Bondama rated it:

This book sheds a light on a mostly forgotten part of the "modern age" -- The setting is post WWI (roughly 8 yrs) England. An American agent, employed by the newly established FBI, travels to England in disgust, tracking a bomber. He's disgusted primarily because the new Head of the FBI, J. Edgar Guess Who, has diverted most of the FBI's resources into tracing rumrunners (The Volstead Act - Prohibition) is in force, and the protagonist of this book is far more interested in catching a More...

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Jun 02, 2009

Skip rated it:

I see that Ms. King has recently published the latest in her Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell series (can't remember its name) but when I went looking for it on my library shelves, it was not immediately available. I did see this one - Touchstone - though, and picked itup. It had been a while since I'd read a King novel and I've always liked her.
This one is set in the mid-1920s and has an FBI agent travelling to London to track down a bomber wreaking havoc in the US. It's got a character in it More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Lizzy rated it:

The beginning of this book finds Harris Stuyvesant, hard-boiled agent of the U.S. Justice Department, landing on British soil to investigate a man who he believes is the culprit in a series of tragic bombings that have occurred in several American cities in recent months. However, he soon encounters nothing but dead ends, as all authorities in London are preoccupied by the threat of the General Strike of 1926 looming on the horizon. Then he meets Aldous Carstairs, a non-descript government offic More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 15, 2008

Aunty rated it:

I like Laurie King and was excited that she wrote a nice, thick book. I was so bored with this book, but I kept reading hoping it would get better. No luck. Her other books I recommend (they are mysteries) but don't bother with this one. BOOOOORRRIING!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 20, 2010

J rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 16, 2010

Diane rated it:

Laurie R. King is one of my favorite authors. This book involves new characters and takes place in 1926 at the historic home of a duke and duchess just outside of Cornwall. Rich characters and dark motives make this a very readable book.

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Aug 02, 2011

Morgan rated it:

I found this book to be really hard to get through. The story itself centerd around an American detective in search of a man whom he thinks is responsible for terrorist acts committed in the US at the turn of the century. The story takes the reader to England where the key to unraveling the mystery of the supposed terrorist is a man with telepathic abilityies. The overall plot was good but the same story could have been told in half as many pages and still have been sufficient. I liked the f More...

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Feb 01, 2012

Cball rated it:

I give this a 4.5 and rounded it up for good measure. Post WWI in England, meets x-files. If you like one of either of these topics, then you will pick up this book up and my work is done. Need more? Add FBI, 1920s and terrorism, union busting style, and that should add a few more interested readers. I'm always intrigued when there is an argument for terrorism: what does it take to make a terrorist? The other fascinating part I got from this book was how far we've come from the 1920's (tec More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Karen rated it:

A pretty good thriller set in Britain during the decade following WWI. Labor unrest and the rise of Bolshevism in Russia and across the world sets the action of the book in motion as an American FBI agent, with plenty of personal reasons for hating "The Reds", travels to England to track down the man he believes is responsible for several bombings in the U.S. I found the characters well drawn and the plot rather gripping, although I was pretty certain of the identity of the elusive b More...

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Oct 24, 2009

Martha rated it:

There was a lot of hoopla about this book before it came out (at least from the Laurie R. King website. It was a good story, but it could have been cut about a third of what it was. People are hanging around at a mansion, cloistered in order to talk about peacemaking between the industry fat cats and the labor unions. At the same time, an American agent and a British clairvoyant are trying to uncover a major terrorism plot. It was complicated and the historical setting was cool, but ultimatel More...

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