Laurie R. King: Locked Rooms

Locked Rooms

Laurie R. King

In 1924 Sherlock Holmes and his wife Mary Russell journey from Bombay to San Francisco where she plans to settle the estate of her deceased parents who died a decade ago along with her brother in a car accident. However, during the watery trek across the Pacific, three dreams haunts Mary. The first dream involves flying objects; the second contains a faceless man telling her not to be afraid little girl; finally her last nightmare centers on a locked room. Holmes is worried about his wife who looks pale and has not slept well nor eaten properly.

In San Francisco, Mary meets her late father's attorney who explains the will to her and in response to her question says they met in 1906 when the earthquake devastated the city. Mary is stunned as she insisted she was not here during the quake. Holmes acting more like Freud believes her dreams are repressed memories trying to surface. As Mary begins to put together what happened, she begins to remember, but someone prefers her memories remain hidden behind the LOCKED ROOMS of her mind.

This author shows why she is a genre king with the terrific eighth entry in the Russell-Holmes series. The story line psychological thriller that grips the audience from the moment Holmes displays his concern for his wife until the complex finale. Mary is terrific, perhaps her best role to date, as she struggles with inner demons that threaten her sanity while her beloved husband can only offer platitudes and a degree of safety as he follows her around San Francisco. Laurie R. King is at the top of her game with this superb historical mystery.

Harriet Klausner