Greatly enjoyed the characters, found the mystery somewhat wanting, troubled by the ending as in other reviews. I'm sure as hell going to read the next one, but wondering if I'll end up recommending the first as a standalone. ( )

Enjoyed this book as well as the first in the series.
I did think the final solution of the mystery was brushed over too lightly, I would have liked more details and explanation.
Relationship progress interesting :) ( )

Another tasty tale of Holmes and Russell (or rather Russell and Holmes). This time Mary finds herself drawn into a community of women, and particularly enthralled by its charismatic leader. But her suspicious, detective's nature keeps her wary and aloof, and she ends up uncovering a nefarious plot within the organization, at no small personal cost. There are some harrowing scenes here, but also some excellent academic interludes that reminded me of some of my own pursuits, undertaken when I was Mary Russell's age (though I was nothing like the scholar she is). I'm not sure I'm happy with the turn Mary's relationship with Holmes takes at the end of this story, but I love Mary so I'll keep reading these books, and see how it plays out. ( )

The betrayal I felt at the end of this book regarding this romance angle was IMMENSE. The first book was a good time, well written and with a really refreshing view of Holmes from the perspective of a teen growing into a newly modern woman. Went into this book expecting a fun 1920s mystery romp with a dash of Sherlock thrown in, great, good fun, love it. This book is still well written, researched, and had a supernatural angle which though is a bit hard for Sherlock fans, is tied in kind of as the book references Doyle's occult phase. Then a bit of romance rears its head as the protagonist nurses a crush for her mentor/father figure. For Mary to have a crush on Sherlock, who is about 40 years her elder, fine. We've all had a crush on Sherlock at some point, it's very college-age-person-crushing-on-professor vibes. But to take a character as iconic as Sherlock and marry him off with a child who just turned 21 and who he essentially helped raise since she was in her mid-teens....YUCK GROSS WHYYYYYY. It caught me off guard, as in my mind I had firmly crossed off that possibility. The strength of the book imo was in the building of a family by 2 lonely people with similar traits and interests who are frequently misunderstood, plus adventures. So stupid to throw that away on a kiss that I think most people would find disgusting, and which really undermines the entire relationship. To add to the grossness, he says he's wanted to kiss her since he first saw her, to which she saucily replies, you mean when I was dressed like a boy (winky face) instead of what we were all screaming in our heads, which was, YOU MEAN WHEN SHE WAS 15 YOU PERVERT?!?! (angry face). It ruined the book for me, and brought me here with my rant. ( )

A Monstrous Regiment of Women continues Mary Russell's adventures as a worthy student of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and as an ever more skilled sleuth in her own right. Looking for respite in London after a stupefying visit from relatives, Mary encounters a friend from Oxford. The young woman introduces Mary to her current enthusiasm, a strange and enigmatic woman named Margery Childe, who leads something called "The New Temple of God." It seems to be a charismatic sect involved in the post-World War I suffrage movement, with a feminist slant on Christianity. Mary is curious about the woman, and intrigued. Is the New Temple a front for something more sinister? When a series of murders claims members of the movement's wealthy young female volunteers and principal contributors, Mary, with Holmes in the background, begins to investigate. Things become more desperate than either of them expected as Mary's search plunges her into the worst danger she has yet faced. ( )