Rating: 
Summary: Very Boring
Review: Overall, I found this book very boring but was forced to read it for a book report. Basically, this book is a continuation of a series but where I bought it, it didn't state that. Basically, Ali (a distant freind) shows up at there door and faints due to his terrible injuries he received when in a mob. They then follow him back to the middle east where they find he has a lot of problems to solve with the royalty of his family and has to find his brother, Mahmoud. They do a long search for him and get to go through the trenches of WWII and many other places and finally find him. This was a very disapointing ending and a disapointing book. I give it a 1 Star rating and don't advise it to anyone wanting to read a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Not too Good
Review: This book is about two "detectives" that have gone to arabia in the past and now the person whom they travel with has shown up at there door badly injured and seeking there assistance. They do not at all know what is wrong with him but they soon discover that he has been beaten up in a mob.
They go back to his palace and many issues come up. It takes them through the trencheds in WW2. They travel to many different places to find out what happened to there freind's brother.
I think that overall this book is one of the most boring books that I have ever read. I would not advise it to anyone looking for a good mystery book. I give it a one star rating.
Rating: 
Summary: A well written but disappointing sequel
Review: I'm a fan of the first books of the series and I found that so far Ms. King had very skillfully reinvented Sherlock Holmes, giving him an active and attractive partner/equal in the person of his wife rather than a passive 'Watson' one. In this book however, nearly all the elements I liked in the original Holmes stories and the first Holmes/Russel ones are absent. No interesting plot, no real detection, no clever reasoning. Holmes is so much in the background and achieves so little that he's almost absent. Mary Russell does more (feminist) socializing than detection. Even the characters of Mahmoud and Ali, so interesting in 'Oh Jerusalem'are disappointing because they are 'overdone'. What's left is a somewhat interesting depiction of post WWI England, with a nice insight in the life of England's 'names' families and their estate (but if you like that go for 'Gosford Park' instead, at least you'll get a subtle plot), combined with a depiction of life in the trenches during WWI (pages and pages of a soldier's diary mostly unrelated to the plot) and a critcism of the execution for 'cowardice' of soldiers. And I almost forgot, the usually interesting game of Holmes the misogyn vs. Russel the feminist is almost absent, it has been supplanted by a more carricatural feminism, such as the character of 'the-wonderful-lesbian-who-did-it-once-with-a-friend-and-is-therefore-also-a-mother'.
Nero Wolfe would say 'pfui!', and so do I.
Not a bad book, but not a Holmes/Russel one, and definitely not a Holmes one.
Disappointing !
Rating: 
Summary: Good to the almost-last drop
Review: Laurie King is too good a writer to have given us such a perfunctory ending. This is--to my thinking--the best book of the series, with wonderfully developed characters and a carefully researched context that engages the reader from beginning to almost-end. It felt as if Ms. King was herself deeply involved in her own story until she suddenly gave it all up to a quick, formulaic tying together of loose ends. Zip. Done, and done quickly with little artistry.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth the Read Even if Not the Best in the Series
Review: While there isn't much of a mystery here - and there are no plot twists - the writing is amazing. King's phrasing is beautifully done and a delight to read. More than once, she made me smile and even laugh at loud so perfect is her cadence. If you haven't read the rest of the series, don't start with this outing rather start with "The Beekeeper's Apprentice," the first in this series. You'll be hooked and will soon find yourself searching for a copy of "Justice Hall."
Rating: 
Summary: A welcome return for Holmes and Russell!
Review: For all fans of the Holmes/Russell books, you will not be disappointed. This is possibly the best book overall in the series save for the original, _The Beekeeper's Apprentice_ (by the way, if you haven't read the other five books, don't read _Justice Hall_ - I highly highly highly recommend that you read all of the books in order). Sherlock Holmes and his young wife and partner, Mary Russell, take a back seat in _Justice Hall_ - making way for the heartwrenching WWI story of Gabriel Hughenfort, whose death under scandalous (and suspicious) circumstances Holmes and Russell are investigating. Old friends are brought back (remember O Jerusalem's Mahmoud and Ali?), and new ones are made - hopefully these new characters will make reappearances in later books. Those who like Holmes and Russell will love _Justice Hall._ Those who aren't familiar with them need to read the rest of the series, beginning with _The Beekeeper's Apprentice._ Those who can't even fathom the idea of Holmes having another partner than Watson.. well.. keep an open mind. Russell's a both a refreshing and infuriating character - as intelligent as Holmes, slightly arrogant, with an acerbic wit, who buries herself in theology texts and feminist papers... She's very different from Watson, but after reading so much of Watson, it's nice to see a change, and see Holmes from the point of view of both an intellectual equal and a woman of a later generation.
Rating: 
Summary: King has lost her way...and her edge
Review: When I read the Beekeeper's Apprentice, I found King's writing and plotting to be ingenious and compelling. I've read each subsequent novel with high hopes, but have become more and more disappointed. This latest addition contains little appeal of the first two books--sharply drawn and interesting characters, a clever, edge-of-your-seat pacing, and clever plotting and detection. While King is still a stellar writer, Justice Hall dragged from beginning to end, with Mary and Holmes trudging through the leg work of present-day police procedurals, relying upon luck rather than their characteristic keen insight to make sleuthing headway. Some authors sacrifice fast pacing for meaningful character development, but that is not the case here. Needless scenes have been inserted to buoy the thin plot, while Russell and Holmes behave out of character at several key points. What draws readers like me to this series are Russell and Holmes' powers of detection and their unusual and fascinating relationship. I hope King gets back on track and offer readers the wonderful plotting and characters that have made many of us her fans.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: As a fan of the Mary Russell series I found this latest one a disappointment. Sherlock is aging and has lost his caustic edge; Mary's prickly outlook has been smoothed; their relationship seems more like brother and sister than a married couple; the story is simply "The List of Adrian Messenger" with Sherlock Holmes and WWI.
It is saved by Laurie King's writing -- always compelling -- and by the story of the horror of the executions.
Rating:
Summary: Justice Hall
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was completely riveting throughout. I too, would like to see Iris back for another story. I have listened to all Laurie R. King's Mary Russel books on audio tape and I think Jenny Sterlin does a wonderful job. I hope it's not so long until the next one.
Rating:
Summary: TAUT WITH SUSPENSE AND RICH IN PERIOD DETAIL
Review: Through the years the legendary Sherlock Holmes (the fictional English detective with amazing powers of deduction created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) has gained mythic proportions. Web sties abound dealing in all matters Sherlockian: there is even a museum devoted to the ace crime solver. One would think that any attempt to resurrect such an iconic figure by another author would be both a waste and a travesty. Not so with the very gifted Laurie R. King who presents her sixth in a series pairing Holmes with his partner, Mary Russell, rather than the redoubtable Watson. Russell, as readers of the author's earlier works have learned, is a match in every way for the formidable detective. Her intellectual acumen and derring do are once again showcased when they pair journey to Southeastern England to help their old friends (introduced in "O Jerusalem") Muhammed and Ali Hazr. As Muhammed and Ali share their dilemma with Russell and Holmes the scene shifts to a beautiful, mysterious mansion in Sussex, Justice Hall. The quartet are soon confronted with inexplicable events that both confound and invigorate Holmes and Russell. Once again the author presents a story taut with suspense and rich in period detail. - Gail Cooke
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