There were so many things about this book that I enjoyed; the drama, the glamour, the characters. The one thing that I didn't enjoy was that too much of the book was taken up with descriptions of bronze casting.

Slow going, slightly humorous and way too descriptive. I had little or no interest in the ins and outs of bronze castings and there were pages devoted to this artistic, sweaty craft. There is a plot, there are glamorous people, the beach, house parties and the high life of the Riviera. In the center of the glitter, the Russian ex-pats and the criminals, is Mrs. Hudson, her new life and troubles. The story assumes the reader has a background with Mrs. Russell, Sherlock Holmes and his former housekeeper and I am unsure how a newbie would handle coming to this dance without any previous history of relationships and events. The marginally unbelievable chase scene was yet another “oh really”?!

Not a great hit nor a total miss, just sort of blah. Thank you NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine/Bantam for a copy.

3 stars

This is the sixteenth book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I think the main problem was that the Sherlock Holmes parts didn’t come in until later near the back of the book. I think that was a mistake. The author is going to lose a ton of readers before SH even makes his appearance.

I thought it was overall okay. There seemed to be a lot of “Mary went here and did this.” “Mary went here and did that.” All that stuff seemed like pointless narrative. I wanted the book to start off with a bang and draw me in. It never did that. And that makes me sad.

If you love a good historical mystery, definitely check this one out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

After Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes' adventures in Venice, Sherlock is off somewhere (probably for brother Mycroft). It's only eleven weeks after Clara Hudson, Holmes' longtime housekeeper, left their employ inThe Murder of Mary Russell. A seemingly offhand remark from Mrs. Hudson saying that she always liked Monte Carlo leads Mary to believe that she may be there. Mary still has plenty of questions to ask Mrs. Hudson. Mary takes the opportunity to sail up to Monaco with friends where she finds Mrs. Hudson on the beach at Cap d' Antibes with Gerald and Sara Murphy, American expatriates with an extensive circle of friends among The Lost Generation of writers and artists who wandered Europe in the 1920s. Mrs. Hudson is not eager to talk to Mary and disappears from the group quickly. However, when a young man is found murdered in Mrs. Hudson's lodgings, Sherlock and Mary become involved, Sherlock having been in Monaco already.

The Russell/Holmes series has been a favorite from its beginning, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Ms. King can take this reader to places and times unknown. The descriptions are so vivid, and she can drop historical figures into the narrative effortlessly. The Murphys themselves were real people, and they include such people as Picasso, John Dos Passos, and Scott and Zelda Fitgerald in their entourage. Monaco at the time was a gathering place for such as Sir Basil Zararoff, the sinister international arms dealer, and smugglers, along with all sorts of conmen and women. Mrs. Hudson's old friend in Monaco is the legendary Lille Langtry, who is still a beauty and plays a major part in the story.

I highly recommend Riviera Gold to fans of historical mystery and thank NetGalley and Bantam for an advance digital copy. I am particularly looking forward to the next in the series which evidently will take Mary and Holmes to Romania in pursuit of "vampires". The opinions are my own.

RATING 4.5 Stars

It’s been 26 years since the first book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice,” and Mary Russell is no longer glam enough for her own series. For one thing, Russell can’t be on the cover, because she is a defiantly unfashionable bookworm with glasses. So who is the person on the cover? In my opinion, this series peaked with “The Game” and “The Moor” but, as with any long-running detective series, a reader is in mostly it for those beloved familiar characters.

My beloved familiar characters are part of a regular Ziegfeld Follies in this novel. “Glam and glitz it up,” you can imagine some cigar-chomping publishing exec saying to the brilliant Laurie R. King. “Sherlock and Mary are getting old and boring. What year is the series up to now? Find all the sexy famous people who are or might be in Europe plus some royalty, people that the reader has heard of, and put them ALL in the book. And the setting needs to be somewhere sexy. Not England.”

Mrs. Hudson has a secret past (seriously), and in this novel, Mrs. H. scarpers off to the Riviera and Mary Russell (Mary Russell!) chases her down and then lazes about for a good fourth of the novel, rubbing elbows with dozens of famous people before Mrs. H. (Clarissa/Clara) gets herself into trouble and must be rescued by Sherlock and Mary. I had to force myself to keep reading when my Kindle said I was 20% of the way through.

There are numerous throwbacks (with boring dialogue) to Mrs. H.’s young and wild years in ballrooms and such. The girlfriend she is talking to during the throwbacks is kept a secret at first, but turns out to be yet another glamorous period character that the reader has heard of. Sherlock reveals her name at the conclusion of a chapter, as if it’s exciting. The constant character-name-dropping of famous people feels extremely forced.

The author pulls off a thrilling denouement, which she certainly has the talent to do. On the strength of the conclusion to the mystery, “Riviera Gold” is about as good as most other titles in the historical mystery genre, or not quite half as good as this series was at its peak 15 years ago. But hey, it comes with animated memes!

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley and was encouraged to submit a review.

I love Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes -- I've been reading the series since before it was (technically) a series. I admit, right off, that the earlier books are my favorites. With that as my disclaimer, I have to state that this is as much a review of a series as of this individual book, Riviera Gold.

I'm trying to be very careful as I write and not give away any specifics so I'm just going to say that if you're already hooked on Russell and Holmes, you're going to enjoy this one. If you haven't read any of the books, you should know these are wonderful books--quality reads that are smart and fun. In reading the series I've learned so much about the earlier part of the twentieth century and assorted locales. (Did we ever even touch on these subjects in school?!) If you're the sort of person who likes to know the background of the characters and their relationship to one another, you might want to read The Beekeeper's Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Women first. But no matter whether you need the backstory, or you prefer to just dive in where you are, I hope you enjoy Riviera Gold as much as I did. It's a window into a different time and place that I found very welcome in the middle of "coronatime."

Just finished Riviera Gold and loved every minute. It was wonderful to spend time with Mary Russell again.

After their adventures in Venice, Sherlock and Mary split up for different destinations. Holmes is off to Romania for something to do with vampires while Mary sails to the South of France with the Honorable Terry and some friends. Mary wants to see if she can locate their former housekeeper Mrs. Hudson who left a clue that Monaco was her destination when she left them.

Clarissa Hudson is in Monaco with some plans for her retirement that means she needs to interact with some of the shady characters who are making Monaco their home base in 1925. From smugglers to arms dealers to White Russians who fled the revolution, Monaco is filled with shady characters.

Monaco is also the home of a growing group of American ex-pats led by Gerald and Sara Murphy who are gathering a group of artists of all kinds from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Pablo Picasso.

When the body of a handsome young man is found in Mrs. Hudson's sitting room, Mary and Sherlock get involved in finding out what happened since Mary, at least, is certain that Mrs. Hudson had nothing to do with the murder.

I loved the setting and characters in this story and the way real historical characters are included in the story along with the fictional ones. The historical detail in intriguing. The story moves at a fast pace and was engaging. I can't wait for more adventures starring Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes.

I very much enjoyed this latest installment of the Mary Russell series (which I have been reading for more than half my life at this point, so it's always nice to catch up with an old friend). I loved learning about Monte Carlo and the Riviera through the eyes of Mary Russell. There was a lengthy description of the process of creating bronze sculptures that dragged a little and felt a bit research-heavy, but it was overall relevant. While probably not the best entry-point into the series (likely by design since this is Book 16 and is very closely related to The Murder of Mary Russell), this was another strong and intriguing mystery by Laurie R. King!

Laurie R. King brought a new vision of Mrs. Hudson to her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. The Murder of Mary Russell revealed Clarissa Hudson’s history as a con artist, leaving Sherlock and Mary Russell behind at the end. After visiting Venice, Russell is invited to join her friend Terry on a cruise around the Italian coast to Cap d’Antibes.. She agrees to the trip, hoping to find Mrs. Hudson in nearby Monte Carlo. On their arrival, a quick walk to the beach introduces them to the Murphys and a group of artists staying in the area. Tending the children in the group is Mrs. Hudson, temporarily filling in for their nanny. With the help of her friend Lillie Langtry, she has settled in Monte Carlo, where she has become involved in dealings with a Russian count, the banker to the former tsar.

Mary’s fears for Mrs. Hudson are realized when she is arrested for the murder of a young smuggler who also has ties to the count. Despite Mrs. Hudson’s assurances that she will be fine, Mary enlists Sherlock’s help to investigate the murder. Somewhere among the artists, Russian nobility and smugglers there is a murderer and Mary is determined to find the person responsible. King once again provides an intriguing mystery which culminates in a chase that endangers both Mary and Mrs. Hudson and will have you quickly turning the pages to reach the conclusion. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine Publishing for providing this book for my review.

This book is the completion of the saga of Mrs. Hudson after she leaves the employ of Sherlock and Mary Holmes. It is very well done and the setting of Monte Carlo lends an exotic flair to the story. It is a very well done read. I highly recommend!

I've been reading this series for so long that Russell and Holmes feel like old friends at this point. Riviera Gold is another great installment in the series and features an interesting storyline about the previously missing Mrs. Hudson. Mary does alot of her solo sleuthing again in this one and there are references to events in previous books. I'm eagerly awaiting their next adventure in book 17!

As always, King delivers an excellent novel set in the mythology of Sherlock Holmes. I began the novel with my morning coffee and finished just before dinner. It was a day very well spent.

So fortunate to get my hands on an advance copy of this! (Thank you, NetGalley!) This installment of the Russell/Holmes saga picks up right where the previous book ended, with Mary in Venice. She accepts an offer to crew on a vessel headed to Monaco, and once there, finds herself in the midst of a swirl of interesting characters. Just after she encounters her former housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, a young man is found murdered in said housekeeper's home, setting up the usual complex mystery that Russell and, to a lesser degree, Holmes must solve.
I enjoyed the chase, meeting new characters--even a sprinkling of whom were persons from history, and seeing the Riviera from Mary's perspective. My only complaint is that I would have liked Holmes to have been a larger part of the narrative. The return of Mrs Hudson was a welcome respite from her absence.
Highly recommended

Laurie King fans will have a lot to celebrate with the release of her newest installment of the Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes series. The beautiful Mediterranean coast and the Principality of Monaco are the setting which brings a cast of characters together including villains with past ties to Czarist Russia, smugglers galore, and a crowd of expat Americans who invade the area during the unfashionable heat of summer. Throw into that mix a dab of historical figures such as Lilly Langtry, Pablo Picasso, and the Fitzgerald’s and you get the foundation for a fun romp with plenty of mystery to engage every lover of the genre.

Mrs. Hudson has left England forever and has made her way to the area and her friend Lillie Langtry to begin her new life. Laurie King delightfully offers the reader glimpses of the young Clarissa Hudson revealing the layered complexities of the elderly longtime Holmes housekeeper. As Mrs. Hudson navigates the seedy side of Monaco to secure her future economic stability, she is arrested for a murder. But fear not for Mary Russel and Sherlock Holmes are there to set things aright.

It has been too long since the last Mary Russell novel, so it was a pleasure to catch-up with her and Sherlock Holmes. This book picks-up where the previous one ended, following-up on the intriguing plot twist involving Mrs. Hudson. The story moves slowly at first, filled with King's gift of painting pictures of the European backdrops, but it is worth the time to get to the heart of the story. As always, Mary and Sherlock do not disappoint, and it is fun to learn more about the elusive housekeeper with a suspicious past. I so appreciate King's writing of an intelligent and capable female character in Mary Russell.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes on the French Riviera. Mrs. Hudson present and past comes back to haunt her or is she just up to her old bad tricks? A fun mystery sprinkled in with some well known characters make for a good read.

I have really enjoyed the other Holmes and Russell books, but I tried and failed to get into this one. Maybe it’s me, or the setting? Anyway-did not finish it.

It's 1925 and Mary Russel is in Monaco with some friends who are taking a leisurely cruise around the Riviera. She finds her old friend Mrs. Hudson has been living there as a stylish older lady and socializing with some surprisingly dashing people. When a murder is committed and Mrs. Hudson is arrested for the crime, Mary finds Holmes already in Monaco on another errand and the two of them jump in to investigate in order to exonerate their friend. Mrs. Hudson's previous elderly housekeeper persona has hidden a very colorful past and Holmes and Russel must figure out if and how it all connects to the murder. Some well known names of the era, like Lily Langtry and Pablo Picasso make appearances while the crime seems to have connections to Tsar Nicholas' banker and lost wealth. It's all fun and an interesting window into a lost era as well as a decent mystery. I enjoyed the character of Mary's friend, the Hon. Terry and hope we see him again in future books.

This book picks up right where the last one left off. Mary and Sherlock continue their travels by going to Monaco and catching up with Mrs. Hudson. But it isn’t long before they have to put their detective skills to use when a murder occurs in Mrs. Hudson’s new house and the prime suspect is none other than Mrs. Hudson herself! As always, things aren’t always what they seem and they soon uncover at tangled web of criminals and smuggling. A smart and entertaining read.