I have lived all the Mary Russell books, but this one is not up to par. There is also nothing in it that has any bearing on the characters' back stories. Read all the other books, but don't bother with this one. It was dull for the first 3/4 or the book.

Every family has he bad egg, every book series has a bad book. This is my least favorite book in the series and actually feels like a ghost author filled in for Ms. King on this one.

Thoroughly enjoyed, another great listen. Hope for more.
Especially liked details of ship and Morocco.

I've read many of the Mary Russell books and have always just absolutely loved them, but I did not like this one at all. I couldn't even make myself finish it!!! Which almost never happens! Usually, I'm so sucked into Mary Russell's world that I can't get enough of it, but not this time.
Mary was not believable in this book. She was whiny, weak, and not the normal Mary Russell that I love to walk next to. She also seemed somewhat bitter, and cynical, which isn't how I've been accustomed to experiencing her.
The story line did not grab my attention, even a little bit. And I was somewhat relieved to see Holmes finally make an appearance by nearly the end of the book, but still couldn't make myself finish the book.

If you are a Mary Russell fan, as I am, you will enjoy the new situation she finds herself in here. The storytelling is somewhat uneven, and it felt like it took a very long time to develop, and then suddenly, the story finished up very quickly, with a few loose ends that did not quite leave me satisfied. Being a "Pirates of Penzance" fan helped me understand some references that some folks might have missed. Narration was up to its usual excellent standard, and I can' imagine anyone else narrating any part of this series.

There were about three chapters that held my attention, but the rest could have been edited down considerably. All of the other Russell/Holmes books had good story lines, but this one was really slow and somewhat pointless.

I've listened to all of the others in this series, so I'll find something else.

Yes. She does a fine job, but there wasn't much to work with in this story.

I hope not.

I found I couldn't care what happened to anyone in the story. A major flaw, that.

No. It was a slog getting through it. If I hadn't enjoyed the others in the series so much I would have stopped reading after a few chapters.

yes. She is just as good as always.

No.

An interesting change of pace for the series. Although no strangers to international travel, our dynamic duo spend even more time on the road (or sea) than ever. And our femme fatale, Mary Russell, is ever more so in the driver's seat. While in most of the previous novels, her breaking the case always seems to be more happy accident than planned, here she is allowed to flex her muscles despite the appearance of being dumped in a fluff piece of a narrative. Makes one wonder if there will be a future for a set of "Just Russell" adventures.

Rollicking good fun as the author piles improbability upon unbelievable circumstance with silliness and unexpected turns of events. All in all excellent performance by the reader with a tongue placed firmly in her cheek.

Probably not, the things that make it wonderful wouldn't wear as well a second time.

It reminds me a bit of the second of Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint books, the name of which escapes me, just a bit of darkness wrapped up in well-executed fluff.

Everything! She has made the character of Mary Russell something even more special.

Two, but I had this inconvenient need for sleep.

I downgrade this, because it comes after the amazing two-book story in The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive, which show Ms. King at the amazing height of her creative powers for suspense. Pirate King is excellent for what it is, a deliciously flawed cream puff of a novel where the urge for cleverness seems to have overtaken in small part the genius of storytelling. I just can't take it as seriously as previous works in the Mary Russell universe. That said, it's still a delightful romp.