Mrs Hudson and the Malabar Rose
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4.4 • 123 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Sherlock Holmes and Mrs Hudson are faced with a new challenge...
Dangerous magicians! Precious gems! Dastardly Plans! Sherlock Holmes is just the man... But what if Holmes isn't the only brains at Baker Street?
As snow falls on Baker Street, the wintry city is abuzz with excitement: the Malabar Rose – a fabled and enormous ruby – has been sent as a gift to Queen Victoria by the Marharajah of Marjoudh. An extraordinary condition is attached: the gem must be displayed at London’s sumptuous Blenheim Hotel. How can the safety of this priceless jewel be assured? The authorities wisely enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr Watson… but fortunately for them, they are also on the receiving end of help from Holmes’s redoubtable housekeeper Mrs Hudson and her able assistant, Flotsam the housemaid.
The Malabar Rose isn’t the only exotic attraction stirring up excitement in the city, however. World famous magician the Great Salmanazar will be amazing the lucky few who can secure tickets at a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular. Not only that, but the world’s most beautiful woman – the glamorous, if rather risqué, fire dancer Lola Del Fuego – will be joining him on the bill.
With all this excitement and a peculiar disappearance in Ealing, Mrs Hudson and Flottie have their hands full this festive season. Their investigations take in snow-shrouded streets, a toyshop full of wonders, a tumultuous Covent Garden as the New Year rings in and even theatre dressing rooms in Stepney.
This fresh twist on classic Victorian mystery will delight fans and new readers alike.
Martin Davies grew up in north-west England. In addition to the Holmes & Hudson Mysteries, he is the author of four other novels, including The Conjurer’s Bird, which sold over 150,000 copies and was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club and Havana Sleeping, which was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA Historical Dagger award. He works as a consultant in the broadcasting industry.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Davies' light-hearted second caper (after 2004's Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse) to feature Mrs. Hudson, a Baker Street housekeeper and crime solver, the Malabar Rose, a priceless Indian ruby given to Britain by the maharajah of Majoudh, arrives in London just as the Great Salmanazar, famed magician known for his vanishing act and "escapology," comes from Europe for a much-heralded Boxing Day performance. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are standing guard duty when the gem inexplicably vanishes while Salmanazar is performing nearby. The indefatigable Mrs. Hudson suspects a link with Salmanazar, and leads scullery maid Flottie, her assistant, on a search of London alleyways. While Holmes remains aloof, Watson eventually joins the hunt and is treated to a humorous encounter with an exotic dancer linked to the case. Tension builds as shadowy figures lurk outside Flottie's bedroom at Baker Street, but she ultimately measures up to the challenge and joins a breathtaking chase amid New Year's revelers in Trafalgar Square. The author has eliminated the confusing narrative shifts that bedeviled the first in the series, making for a seamless and enjoyable adventure.
Customer Reviews
Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose
Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, and her protégé, Flotsam, assist their employers once more. When a distraught mother-in-law approached them with the disappearance of her son-in-law, Holmes turns her away because a much larger case requires all his attention—the protection of a priceless ruby. Undeterred, Mrs. Hudson helps both her boss and the woman, bringing Flotsam along as well. Soon, the pair finds their holiday filled with such festive visions as jewels, astonishing blue eyes, unique moving dolls, acrobats, magicians, foreign dancers, and eve fire. But will the Malabar Rose disappear in the holiday excitement?
I enjoyed traipsing along with Flotsam as she tried to make sense of clues dropped in Mrs. Hudson’s wake. Plus the cast of characters in this installment livened things up.
Wonderfully engaging
Marvelous writing! Very clever plot that interweaves new deductive and investigative methods of Mrs Hudson within the context of a standard Holmes mystery.