Anna S. (annapi) reviewed on 2/23/2010 + 334 more book reviews

It is 1921 and Mary Russell has just turned 21 and come into her inheritance. She has not lost her taste for wandering London's streets in disguise the same way her mentor, Sherlock Holmes, still does. During one of her prowls she encounters her old Oxford classmate, Veronica Beaconsfield, who introduces her to the New Church of God and its founder, Margery Childe, a feminist who has political ambitions. Despite her unease, Mary finds herself drawn to Childe's good works for women and becomes involved in the movement. But when her friend almost dies in a suspicious accident, her investigations turn up several rich women who met similar, fatal misfortunes after leaving their money to the Church. Determined to uncover the truth, Russell uses her inheritance as bait to lure the perpetrator out, but finds herself in deeper water than she bargains for.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this second volume of the series moved along at a much brisker pace than the previous. Mary's character has come into her own and is no longer a mere shadow beside Holmes, and this bodes well for the rest of the series, which I look forward to eagerly

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