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THE PIRATE KING
by Laurie R King
Bantam, September 2011
300 pages
$25.00
ISBN: 0553807986


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Randolph Fflytte is the king of the silent film industry. He is something of a megalomaniac but many claim he deserves the reputation as he will go to extremes to get his movies made the way he wants them. This includes traveling to distant lands and hiring natives as actors. Of course there are several rumors about him, including one that claims whatever happens in Fflytte's movie also happens during production - an example of life imitating art. Regardless, there is the chance that something criminal is occurring on the set of these movies so Inspector Lestrade dispatches Mary Russell to investigate.

Mary Russell is traveling undercover as a secretary and girl Friday. Fflytte's previous secretary disappeared without a word and Mary is to determine whether foul play was involved and if so, if Fflytte knows anything about it. No one involved in the production is aware of her true identity and her true purpose. Fflytte is going to do a movie about pirates and the law wants to make sure there are no pirates, no drugs and no criminal activities involved in this production.

The movie is called the PIRATE KING and is based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. The explanation of the movie makes little sense to anyone beyond the producer but everyone is eager to appear in it. But Fflytte insists on accuracy and everyone goes off to Morocco where he insists on hiring native sailors to play the pirates. Mary is sure that what he has done in fact is to hire actual pirates. Mary has limited time to investigate the missing secretary as she tries to keep the various crew members under control, as well as deal with the starlets from Hollywood who are hoping for some freedom. When a decrepit boat is hired to be the pirate's ship, Mary realizes how out of control the situation is.

By this time, a disguised Sherlock Holmes has joined the cast and can combine forces with Mary Russell to the heart of the matter and capture the true criminals.

I have to admit that I am always amazed at the number and variety of situations Laurie R King creates for Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell. In THE PIRATE KING, they seem trapped in a horrible pirate musical where nothing goes right. At times the situation seems over the top, yet, Mary and Sherlock always manage to keep their cool. I enjoy this series as it adds the collectedness and calm of Sherlock Holmes to Mary Russell's more modern sensibility. Once again, King has proved she has the ability to combine these two characters and create an interesting story. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

§ Sarah Dudley, with a BA in English Literature, currently lives in PA with her herd of cats.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, December 2011

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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