O Jerusalem

A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

It is 1918. Coming out of retirement, an aging Sherlock Holmes travels to Palestine with his 19-year-old partner, Mary Russell. There, disguised as ragged Bedouins, they embark on a dangerous mission. If they fail, the holy city goes up in flames.

With her unerring flair for the dramatic, Laurie R. King packs this novel with bloodcurdling adventure, clever disguises, and layers of intrigue. Jenny Sterlin's superb voicing of the prickly Holmes and the fiercely intelligent Russell captures every nuance of their unconventional relationship.

©1999 Laurie R. King (P)1999 Recorded Books

Suspense

No dislike only like! This author is fabulous!!! All her books are great and a must read.

if you like Russell as theologian

and like to imaginitvely explore the geography (physical and spiritual) of the holy land circa 1919, then you will love this.

I agree with other reviewers that this is not for those who want a fast-paced, straight forward mystery.

I love the narration; in fact, I don't think I'd enjoy reading this series. But I can see that the very distinctive style is one that listeners will either love or hate, especially if they discovered this series first in print.

A bonus: This fiction can actually help you better understand the Middle East and the aftermath of WWI - It sent me to listening to "Paris 1919" once I'd finished.

Arguably my favourite Russell & Holmes book

Would you listen to O Jerusalem again? Why?

I've listened to O Jerusalem several times. Jenny Sterling's narration bring all the characters to vivid life, and I shiver and laugh with them all through. I love the whole Russell / Holmes series but I think this is my favourite. I am so glad it appeared out of sequence! After "Monstrous Regiment", I felt that some of the sexual tension between Russell & Holmes disappeared ... it was great to go back to the "old days" and feel that unspoken tension again.

What did you like best about this story?

This book has the very best final sentence of any book I've ever read. But do NOT cheat and skip to the last sentence without hearing the WHOLE book first! or it will mean nothing, and spoil it for when you do arrive there.

Another great installment

Although it was next in line as a book, it takes place earlier in the timeline of the story. Not a problem though; still great.

One of the BEST in this series

I loved every book in this series, but this is one of my favorites because of the setting and also because there are so many surprising plot twists. I also love that historical war setting and the imaginative way Sherlock and Mary intervene in the outcome of the war.

My favorite of the Mary Russel / Sherlock Holmes

This is is favorite of the Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes stories. I thoroughly enjoyed Jenny Sterlin's ability to come up with all the different voices and accents. I've always liked the Holmes series and was hooked on Laurie King's from the first page of the first book.

I've read all of King's series on Holmes and now have the joy of getting to listen to them! Thank you!

one of the best for Mary Russell

the plot and mystery as always twist and turn to the very end, and the setting is so we'll done, the time and place in all it's complexity described accurately and with feeling. if one has been to Israel and Jerusalem one can picture the places and people.

Won me back!

I really liked reading the Bee Keepers Apprentice (hardcover) and thought this series would be perfect for easy listening. The writing is not heady or hard to unravel but not stupid either. Perfect for listening on a walk or drive. So, I listened to A Monstrous Regimen of Women…and it was rough. The narrator doing Holmes’ voice in the same slow haughty tone without variations drove me crazy. She did everything else beautifully, so I stuck with it. Then I started listening to A Letter of Mary and couldn’t handle it. Perhaps because the dialogue and relationship bored me (it starts with the characters suffering from boredom), the dragging sameness of Holmes’ voice especially irritated me. I stopped listening and skipped ahead to O Jerusalem because I missed the Mary and Sherlock of the first book. It was so much better! I got used to her Holmes voice and loved the way she read everyone else. The story meanders through Israel, often slowly and painfully but it’s good, like feeling the winding, dirty journey with them. It was not an amazing mystery to unravel but I enjoyed the story, landscape and characters all the same.
I think I will get the next one in paper because I miss the mood, and especially Holmes, being filled out through my own imagination.

Delightful ending. Amazing journey.

Thank you both author and performer. A great deal of research and history was evident. No mushy muck drivel here. A solid, deep, impressive story with wonderfully human characters.

Holmes and Russell take a "Vacation "

In the middle of one of their early cases, Holmes and Russell must get out of England until things cool off a bit. They end up walking all of Palestine. If you enjoy the series, listen to this one, but it's not a must. As always I love the narration but this story was long and wandered aimlessly in spots.