I started reading this last night before bed, stayed up late to get about halfway through it and then today I woke up and just read until I was done. So I guess I enjoyed it. ;) It was a comforting return to familiar-to-me characters. The plot remained suspenseful through the trick of chapters written in alternating POVs. To be honest the ending felt a bit rushed after all the build-up. And I'm starting to be annoyed with the splitting of one story into multiple books. I really should have reread the previous book before this one as my memory of the plot had really faded, but I was lazy. What's wrong with long books? Do publishers just refuse to put out anything over a certain page count?

At any rate I count this book as one of the successes of this series. The new characters are exceptional and the new twists on old characters fascinating. It's more of an adventure than a mystery. I'm always a little disappointed when people tell Sherlock Holmes stories in which they try to pass off suspense as mystery. When this book shines the most is when it is a Mary Russell book and Holmes is almost forgotten. Much as I love Holmes, I'm starting to feel Mary could do fine without him.

Ack, late night rambling review. Oh, well.