Depending on what you read, this work is described as either a short story or an e-novella (about 50 pages long). To me, it’s a little long for a short story and maybe just shy of a novella, e-book or otherwise. Also, it’s important to know that I am not a fan of short stories; with few exceptions I find them unsatisfying--not enough length to develop either a solid plot or satisfactory characters.

In this case, character development is not important--IF you are a fan, as I am, of King’s Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, one of the most consistently excellent of the crime fiction genre. We all know who these two are. What makes is doubly delightful is that, in the first book of the series, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the story of Homes and Russell’s first meeting is told at some length--from Mary Russell’s point of view. In this story, we get a very different picture of that momentous first encounter--that from Holmes himself.

However, that takes up about a quarter of the book. Most of the rest is devoted to the recounting of an episode of those early days, an episode that none of us knew about before--because Mary Russell herself, whose memoirs the series is, never knew. It’s not a question of the solving of a crime, but of preventing one--the early demise of the 15 year old Russell in order to get at her wealth. In it, Homes returns to London and employs his now grown-up Baker Street Irregulars.

It’s very good writing and mildly interesting but light-weight, at least for me, thanks to the length. The book is really two episodes, the first being the meeting and the second the London episode. While I enjoyed both immensely, I was left unsatisfied, feeling that it would have been better if each had been part of a longer work. There is an unresolved feeling to the book for me as a result.

Also, to my surprise, I found myself wishing that the book had been edited a little more. There are redundancies in the early part that could have been avoided, it seems to me. This is all the more apparent because I have NEVER felt that way about King’s works before; as far as I’m concerned, there is not an extra word in any of her other works.

So yes, I enjoyed it. But I have a feeling it would not “turn on” any readers who are new to the series with a thirst to find out more. And that’s too bad.

Included at the end of the book are an “interview” with Mary Russell by Tweet (a "Twinterview"), and two chapters of her forthcoming book, the next in the series, The Pirate King. The former was uninteresting while the latter leaves me impatiently waiting for the arrival of the new book!

Recommended for fans of the Holmes/Russell series.