Rating: 
Summary: Almost As Good As Being There . . .
Review: I had the luxury of reading this book second, where it naturally fits timewise in the series, and I could not find the lack of plot and cold narration that other readers noticed. In fact, to me, this book is as good or BETTER than Beekeeper's Apprentice, simply due to the very details that some said would better fit in a travel guide. The way to snare a reader is to make them feel they are really there. I could almost feel the sand between my teeth and smell the smoke from the campfires. I'm sorry, but I love that kind of detail. Why read if all you want is taut dialogue? Might as well listen to the radio or something . . . Give me the descriptions anytime. All in all, I have found King to be a lovely read, and all too often, I find that I have over-stayed my time on lunch breaks because I've detoured through the Holy Land with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Jewelrusalam!
Review: Oh Jerusalem is a true jewel in young adult literature. I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. King entwines theology, religion, history, and a thrilling plot in this facinating mystery. The characters come alive in King's story. This book expands on the established storyline of King's previous The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Sherlock Holmes has "apprenticed" Miss Mary Russel. Their relationship continues to deepen as both Holmes and Russel try to determine their relationship with each other while solving a mystery in war ridden Isreal. They must help this land sacred to three of the worlds great religions for Queen and country. They meet new characters which return in other books. I would really recomend this jewel for your reading. It is a thrilling mystery which wraps around you like a hurricane, flying and spinning, never knowing where or what will happen next. I hope you will read this book and that you will enjoy it as much as I have.
Rating: 
Summary: Holmes is where the heart is!
Review: Laurie King has hit upon a good idea in her continuing series! Resurrect Sherlock Holmes! And certainly King does-- as the Master Detective, along with his apprentice Mary Russell (What? New readers may ask: Sherlock deigns to work with a female?), is off to Palestine in this episode, indeed continuing to be one of the world's hot spots! The game, forsooth, is afoot, as the pair discover a plot to blow up Jerusalem and send it to kingdom come! No small time villains, here! Will Sherlock head off what is surely to be a holy war? Well, don't be surprised if Holmes doesn't solve the puzzle (duh!) and "all's well that ends well" (some OTHER Englishman once wrote!). King's story is a delight to read--perhaps not so for dyed-in-the-wool Holmes minimalists--but if you've an open mind about Holmes, this one's worth a gambol, although probably not as sparkling as earlier episodes!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but . . .
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing, as one would expect from Ms. King, is superb: full of lucious detail, fleshed out characters, and an unfaltering narrative. Her knowledge of Palestine, Arab culture, theology, and history make this book into an educational experience. Holmes and Mary are once again delightful and their interaction with the "brothers," Ali and Mahmoud, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the book. I was also impressed, after going back through Beekeeper's Apprentice, that Ms. King had obviously planned this book as she wrote the first one. My only complaint is, as a Sherlock Holmes mystery, this book isn't really one. There is a lack of deductive reasoning and no real villain. The ending fails to tie up the loose ends and present a motive; it feels as if Ms. King was interrupted before she could write the conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A dastardly plot is afoot...
Review: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are sent by Mycroft to Palestine as a way to temporarily remove them from London and the perils that await them there (see "the Beekeper's Apprentice", the first novel in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series). In Palestine our two heroes get embroiled in investigating and fighting a devilishp plot that might change the course of the whole post WWI era. Great fun: Laurie King has managed to make Sherlock Holmes a much more human character, and Mary Russell is a spunky heroine. In many ways I prefer King's novels to Conan Doyle's originals.
Rating: 
Summary: A Pale Imitation of the Imitations
Review: A Sherlock Holmes story without a developed villan is not Holmes-- or enjoyable. One of the many reasons that I so enjoy the canon of 56 short stories and four novels is that Watson was always careful to be sure that we understood why the villan had behaved as he had. Mary Russell does not understand why and seems neither to care or imagine why anyone else would either-- it is sufficient that the matter is closed. For all we know, she was going to tell us but ran out of paper. Then there is the problem with the narrator. It is hard to imagine a woman who is linguistically gifted and capable of throwing knives as well as a circus performer and still manages to be no more interesting than cold oatmeal, but that is what we have here. This is less a detective story than a travelogue for those interested in biblical archaelogy. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a cracking good mystery-- the kind that keeps you turning pages and ends with your saying, "Why didn't I notice that the dog did not bark?" then you must look elsewhere. This mystery needs a mystery, a narrator with a personality and a villan with motive and flair. All these pastiches are pale imitations of the real thing, but this is a pale imitation of the imitations.
Rating:
Summary: O, Jerusalem
Review: Laurie King keeps the reader guessing until the last page with this intelligent, highly suspenseful fifth mystery in her series involving Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell. The reader gets an education along the way, dipping into history, archaeology, Arab customs and criminology. Who would have thought anyone could reinvent Holmes and give him a female companion while remaining so true to Conan Doyle's original man? I will give this book as gifts to many friends, then await their excited reviews. Tell King to keep the Mary Russell books coming!
Rating:
Summary: Keep this series comming!
Review: I truly love this series, after searching desperately for intellectual, character driven, well written mysteries. I found this book to be well thought out, typical of her series. The mystery is definitly not hard boiled, but King has the wonderful ability to draw one into a story, and not feel that one is being stupified by a simple plot with predictable writing. I truly feel that I am learning as I follow her "Russel" stories, much in the same way as with Sayers, Allingham, Cross, and Cauldwell. I thought that "O Jeruselem" was clever, interesting, and atypical for a "travel piece." I hope that this author continues to produce this series, and never loses the bluestocking tone of the first five.
Rating: 
Summary: Mysterious travelogue
Review: This story is full of Romantic lore and incidents, and fascinating history from the British conquest of Palestine, but lacks sustained and clever Sherlockian deduction a la Conan Doyle. But then, King is not writing in the Holmes pastiche genre but in her own style. We don't get the traditional explanations of Sherlock's brilliant ratiocination (which is a bit thin and sparse here), because Holmes' assistant, young Mary Russell, is no befuddled Dr. Watson (although still usually a step behind). Old Holmes himself has lost much of his original icy insight and arrogance. This is bad or good, depending on how much you seek a difficult mystery with clues, or an exotic setting and budding romance. Actually, Russell seems a bit of a supernumerary-with-attitude, rather than an intellectual counterpoise to Sherlock here, and the tension between them is not particularly romantic. The final unmasking of the master villain is almost an afterthought.
Rating:
Summary: Not Up to Par
Review: When I first read "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" I was sure this was the beginning of a wonderful new series. The writing was sharp and evocative, the plot was intriguing and the characters really came alive. I couldn't wait for more! Unfortunately the author has never reclaimed the past achievement. The writing remains exteremly good but the plots have degenerated to the point that, in "O Jerusalem", there is none. Ms. King does a commendable job in painting pictures with her words, descriptions, and dialogs. Unfortunately in this book, the pictures are constantly of Mary Russell being dirty, smelly, hungry, etc. We are subjected to long discourses on historical biblical sites that add nothing to an already thin story line. Nothing is explained regarding "the case" but much of the book is taken up with arabic customs, words and dress. Interesting in a travelog but not in a "mystery". I hope the next book in the series concentrates more on Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell, and a good mystery than on Jewish custom and history.
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