Pirate King

A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King’s books have received high praise from critics and have earned the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards. As Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark on their 11th adventure together, they find themselves immersed in the world of silent filmmaking. Here, the pirates are real—and unlike the shooting done with a camera, this sort can be deadly.

In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate rumors of criminal activities that swirl around Fflytte’s popular movie studio. So Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for moviemaking for a generation - or sink a boatload of careers.

Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the 13 blond-haired, blue-eyed actresses whom Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

Pirate King is a Laurie King treasure chest—thrilling, intelligent, romantic, a swiftly unreeling masterpiece of suspense.

Listen to another Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.

©2011 Laurie R.King (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

A light-hearted Russell book after God of the Hive

We're now deep into a series and it seems unlikely that this book would be considered "great" as a one-off, without the broader context of the series. That said, it's a fantastic series that is well worth reading--just start at the beginning with the Bee Keeper's Apprentice.

Laurie King seems to be developing a pattern of inserting a more light-hearted/humorous novel in between several heavier tales and while I didn't enjoy Pirate King as much as The Art of Detection (the last lighter Holmes/Russell book), it was fun and held my attention to the end. The novel gets off to a slow start and the insertion of Holmes into the story is a little bit awkward, but generally this is another good read from Laurie King and as always the performance by Jenny Sterlin is remarkably good--I can imagine no other voice for Russell than hers.

I can not get into this.

I tried multiple times to listen to this story but it can not hold my interest very long. My daughter enjoys sherlock but I am afraid I can not.

Not the Best of Mary Russell but Worth the Credit

Very well performed BUT took forever for the story to get going. Worth a credit.

Just warm

King blows hot and cold with this series. Pirate King is not as bad as her worst, nor anywhere near her best. It is hard to escape the conclusion that she's simply bored with her work these days. I keep listening because I'm hooked on the series, but now wish it otherwise.

Book eleven.

This is a great series if your a Sherlock fan. Mary Russell is brought to life in a way actually reading this book could never do. Jenny Sterlin is one of the best narrators in the business. Less that enthusiastic about the cover art Recorded Books gave this title, the hard cover was attractive enough.

Mystery? What mystery?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

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

Would you recommend Pirate King to your friends? Why or why not?

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.

Have you listened to any of Jenny Sterlin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yes. She is just as good as always.

Could you see Pirate King being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

It grows on one

Have listened to the entire series many times. The first time I was irritated by the rather manic energy of this one. However, now I enjoy this one too. In part because I know what comes next 😎.

One of the best in series

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

Meh

It took me a long time to get through this one. I've listened to all of them thus far and for some reason this one didn't grab my attention much. I felt like I was going through the motions of listening just to get it over with. Jenny Sterlin is still fantastic - I love listening to her performances. She's cemented Holmes' voice in my head.

confusing!!

The first half of the book was very confusing. I only hung on because I have loved her other Mary Russell offerings. The second half did improve but as a whole, this was my least favorite volume.