12th in the series and probably better if you have previously read O Jerusalem and Justice Hall. The 11th in this series, PIRATE KING, was a rather light-hearted romp involving a movie company and pirates both real and fake. This one takes a 180 and goes into dense political intrigue in 1920s Morocco. Despite what could have been exciting plot complications offered by Mary's amnesia, a potential assassination, and kidnapping, I found this one very dull. There's a lot of talk about the political situation, the treaties, the tribes, more politics...my eyes glazed over. It does have a nice sense of place but I'm getting tired of Mary and Sherlock in the Middle East. What happened to solving murders in good ol' England? The only fun thing I took away from this one is wondering how Mary's feud with Mycroft is going to end.

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I really enjoyed this read. Once again author explanations about the Rif rebellion in Morocco were fascinating to me. Of course, she explains that many of the characters in the novel did play a vital part in Morocco's history. The thread of the story winds around and around and illustrates the chaos that can be found in an area that is struggling to find its own path in spite of the actions of more established countries with motives such as revenge, colonialism and greed all playing a part in the events of the day. It so pleases me that the author has made Mary Russell such a strong intelligent character who untangles what is happening at the very end of the book. Awesome read.

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This book has a beautiful cover.
It had a very slow beginning and as I started coming up on the middle of the book, I couldn't take anymore. It has a lot of history of Morocco and background and such. It is a very atmospheric book but I just couldn't hang on anymore. Not for me, but I think there are a lot of history buff people who will like this book.

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