The Game (King novel)

Last updated
The Game
The Game Mary Russell novel.jpg
First edition (US)
Author Laurie R. King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Mary Russell
Genre Detective fiction
Publisher Bantam Books (US)
Allison & Busby (UK)
Publication date
2004
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages400
ISBN 0-553-80194-5
OCLC 52948593
813/.54 22
LC Class PS3561.I4813 G36 2004
Preceded by Justice Hall  
Followed by Locked Rooms  

The Game is the seventh book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King, which focuses on the adventures of Russell and her partner and, later, husband, an aging Sherlock Holmes.

Contents

The author's website includes an excerpt from the first chapter. [1]

Timeline

The events in the book take place between January and March 1924, starting a few weeks after the events of Justice Hall .

Plot

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are visited by Sherlock's gravely ill brother, Mycroft, who has an intriguing case for them. Mycroft, who has connections in the highest levels of the government, has just received a strange package: An oilskin-wrapped packet containing the papers of a missing English spy named Kimball O'Hara.

Mary quickly realises that this is the same Kimball who served as the inspiration for the famous Rudyard Kipling novel, an orphaned English boy turned loose in India, whose cunning he used to spy for the Crown. But now, he has inexplicably gone missing. Mycroft fears that he may have been taken hostage or even killed. When Russell learns of that Holmes knew Kim thirty years before, she knows the die is cast: she will accompany her husband to India to search for the missing operative.

En route, they encounter the insufferable Tom Goodheart—a wealthy young American who has embraced Communism—traveling with his mother and sister to visit his maharaja friend, Jumalpandra ("Jimmy"), an impossibly rich and charming ruler of the (fictional) Indian state of Khanpur. Even before they arrive, danger shows its face in everything from a suspicious passenger on board their steamer to an "accident" that very nearly claims their lives.

With some local intelligence supplied by Geoffrey Nesbit, an English agent taught by Kim, and accompanied by Bindra, a resourceful orphan, the couple travel incognito as native magicians. Ultimately, their journey intersects with the paths of the Goodhearts, Jimmy, and the enigmatic Kim. While in India, Russell learns that it is often impossible to tell friend from foe, and that some games must be played out until their deadly end.

Related Research Articles

<i>Kim</i> (novel) Picaresque novel by Rudyard Kipling

Kim is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Ltd in October 1901. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. The novel popularized the phrase and idea of the Great Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycroft Holmes</span> Fictional character, elder brother of Sherlock Holmes

Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes Club. Mycroft is described as having abilities of deduction and knowledge exceeding even those of his brother, though their practical use is limited by his dislike of fieldwork.

Mary Russell is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mystery series by American author Laurie R. King. She first appears in the novel The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

<i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> 1970 film

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 DeLuxe Color film in Panavision written and produced by Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond, and directed by Wilder. The film offers an affectionate, slightly parodic look at Sherlock Holmes, and draws a distinction between the "real" Holmes and the character portrayed by Watson in his stories for The Strand magazine. It stars Robert Stephens as Holmes and Colin Blakely as Doctor Watson.

Sherlock Holmes has long been a popular character for pastiche, Holmes-related work by authors and creators other than Arthur Conan Doyle. Their works can be grouped into four broad categories:

<i>A Monstrous Regiment of Women</i>

A Monstrous Regiment of Women is the second book in the Mary Russell series of mystery novels by Laurie R. King.

<i>A Letter of Mary</i>

A Letter of Mary is the third in the Mary Russell mystery series of novels by Laurie R. King. This is the first case that Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes work on together as husband and wife. The story features a cameo by Lord Peter Wimsey.

<i>Locked Rooms</i>

Locked Rooms is the eighth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was published in 2005. Unlike King's previous Mary Russell novels, Locked Rooms is split into 5 separate "books". The books alternate between the familiar Mary Russell first-person narrative and a third-person narrator following Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow directly that of The Game.

<i>O Jerusalem</i> (novel)

O Jerusalem is the fifth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King.

<i>The Beekeepers Apprentice</i> First book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Or On the Segregation of the Queen is the first book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was nominated for the Agatha best novel award and was deemed a Notable Young Adult book by the American Library Association.

<i>Justice Hall</i>

Justice Hall is the sixth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King.

This article describes minor characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, Irene Adler, Colonel Moran, the Baker Street Irregulars, and characters not significant enough to mention.

<i>The Language of Bees</i> Novel by Laurie R. King

The Language of Bees is a 2009 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Ninth in King's Mary Russell series, the story features detectives Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow soon after those found in King's preceding novel, Locked Rooms.

<i>The God of the Hive</i>

The God of the Hive is a 2010 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Tenth in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The novel begins almost immediately after the close of King's preceding novel, The Language of Bees.

<i>Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud</i> Book by Andrew Lane

Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud is the first novel in the Young Sherlock Holmes series that depicts Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s and 70s. It was written by Andrew Lane and released in the UK on June 4, 2010 by Macmillan Books.

Young Sherlock Holmes is a series of young adult thriller novels by British author Andrew Lane featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s and 70s that is faced with numerous mysteries, crimes and adventures throughout the series.

<i>Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice</i>

Young Sherlock Holmes: Black Ice is the third novel in the Young Sherlock Holmes series that depicts Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s. It was written by Andy Lane and released in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2011 by Macmillan Books. It is preceded in the series by Young Sherlock Holmes: Red Leech and is followed byYoung Sherlock Holmes: Fire Storm.

"The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series Sherlock. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes. It also marks the first appearance of Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan and Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen.

<i>Garment of Shadows</i> Novel by Laurie R. King

Garment of Shadows is a 2012 mystery novel by the American author Laurie R. King. The 12th in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow those of Pirate King with their old friends, Ali and Mahmoud Hazr.

References

  1. Justice Hall, laurierking.com, retrieved May 25, 2017