Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Justice Hall  By  cover art

Justice Hall

By: Laurie R. King
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Only hours after Holmes and Russell return from solving one murky riddle on the moor, another knocks on their front door...literally. It's a mystery that begins during the Great War, when Gabriel Hughenfort died amidst scandalous rumors that have haunted the family ever since. But it's not until Holmes and Russell arrive at Justice Hall, a home of unearthly perfection set in a garden modeled on Paradise, that they fully understand the irony echoed in the family motto, Justicia fortitudo mea est.

A trail of ominous clues comprise a mystery that leads from an English hamlet to the city of Paris to the wild prairie of the New World. The trap is set, the game is afoot; but can Holmes and Russell catch an elusive killer, or has the murderer caught them?

©2002 Laurie R. King (P)2003 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A spellbinding mystery...superb." (The Washington Post)
"Consistently smart and poignant...[Conan Doyle] would probably approve." (Chicago Tribune)
"Audacious...Mary Russell is never less than fascinating company." (Los Angeles Times)

What listeners say about Justice Hall

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,593
  • 4 Stars
    439
  • 3 Stars
    111
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    20
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,459
  • 4 Stars
    211
  • 3 Stars
    40
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,298
  • 4 Stars
    324
  • 3 Stars
    67
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Holmes since Arthur Conan Doyle

This is my favorite detective series; the writing is superb and the narrator is perfect. This is currently the only one available on Audible, however, and although the book can stand on its own as a complete story, it is a richer experience to listen to them in chronological order. Assuming Audible will make the rest of the series available soon, the order is: Beekeeper's Apprentice, O Jerusalem, Monstrous Regiment of Women, A Book of Mary, The Moor, and Justice Hall last. (This is not the order in which they were written, but the order in which they take place.)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Well done

I enjoy King's extension of the Holmes story very much. This happens to be one of my favorites of the series, revisiting as it does two characters I loved from an earlier novel, Ali and Mahmoud. Other reviewers complain that the book is uneventful, though perhaps they are misremembering Holmes stories as proceeding like James Bond novels. King doesn't rush the story's progression, certainly, but most readers will enjoy the slow building of tension and the sudden revelation of relationships, motives, and crime. The excerpts from the diary of a young soldier are fascinating. As for one reviewer's dismissal of the story as "unbelievable" because two Englishmen pass as Arabs, I wonder why they would bother with a spy/detective novel at all. Besides, there are plenty of people in the world who speak more than one language fluently, and who are at home in more than one culture.
My only quibble with this otherwise excellent performance was the narrator's rendition of a Canadian accent. One character in the novel is supposed to be from Toronto, but sounded like a speaker from Tennessee trying to imitate the speech of Manhattan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not one of the best Mary Russell books

I'm a fan of the series, but this book was a disappointment.

It's too long.

It's poorly edited. A central character's army rank wobbles throughout between 2nd lieutenant (correct) and sublieutenant (wrong).

The charm of the series is the tension of the relationship between Russell and Holmes, and on this case they spend little time together.

The plot is weak. Russell achieves her two breakthroughs by having the author hand them to her on a plate (chance personal encounters, stumbling over evidence in a chest) instead of working them out.
Worse still, a crucial plot point hangs on a factual inaccuracy, which I can't reveal without spoiling the story.

The narrator does her best with the longueurs. Other reviews say she isn't much help, but it's hard to see what else she could have done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

best listened to immediately after O Jerusalem

this was my second time listening to Justice Hall, and this time I listened immediately after O Jerusalem, so all the characters and references would be staying my mind as context and back story. Laurie King definitely stands up to a second listen, with the details of the setting, exploration of the concerns of the time period, and thoughtful use of language. not to mention the intelligence and ascerbic wit of Mary Russell!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Really well done!

I first read this book without having read the first 5, so I thought it was well done, but perhaps not great. However, after reading this as part of the series - I find this book to be fantastic! And the characters are amazing! Read the whole series, if you can - so it will make more sense. Audible is missing 2 of the series, currently, and they are well worth a trip to the bookstore! Great book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Lengthy

I loved other books by this author, but with regard to this book, the combination of a very slow reader who emphasized what seemed like every other word, and the detail into which the author went regarding the life and times of the setting, just made for a long read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent reader and story

This is one of the best audio books I've listened to. A wonderful reader; deft, understated, but dramatic, with both male and female voices sounding just right. The story itself is a wonderfully intricate tale, with powerful images and compelling characters. I'm saving this one to listen to again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Do Get this one!

Excellently written, excellently read. Darker, perhaps, than others of the Mary Russell stories (why doesn't Audible have more Laurie King?).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Mary Russell yet

Like all the books in this series, this is more story, characters, and thriller than deduction. I enjoyed this story and these characters the most of all in the series yet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I am addicted to this series

I've always prided myself that I am not addicted to anything but I am definitely addicted to the Holmes and Russel adventures. I have now listened to six of these books and am dreading the day that the series runs out. I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan since childhood and I was wary of a new author trying to capture that enigmatic character but Laurie King does it brilliantly.

Her writing is elegant and precise with enough detail to make the characters real and make the reader (or listener) really care about them but not so much that the plot gets bogged down. I was also wary of a female reader bringing Holmes to life (I had no doubt she could do Mary Russell) but I will now listen to ANYTHING read by Jenny Sterlin.

Listening to these adventures is a thoroughly enjoyable experience with the ability to transport the reader to a British Manor House (as in this one), to the Sussex countryside, to the lonely windswept moors or to Jerusalem - my favourite experience so far.

In my experience an enjoyable adventure must have more than just a strong plot. All the characters - not just the principal players - must be fully drawn and credible and the localities must transport the reader. Laurie King, togeter with Jenny Sterlin, succeed in all of these and more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful