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Island of the Mad

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Island of the Mad

By: Laurie R. King
Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
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About this listen

With Mrs. Hudson gone from their lives and domestic chaos building, the last thing Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, need is to help an old friend with her mad and missing aunt.

Lady Vivian Beaconsfield has spent most of her adult life in one asylum after another, since the loss of her brother and father in the Great War. And although her mental state seemed to be improving, she’s now disappeared after an outing from Bethlem Royal Hospital...better known as Bedlam.

Russell wants nothing to do with the case - but she can’t say no. And at least it will get her away from the challenges of housework and back to the familiar business of investigation. To track down the vanished woman, she brings to the fore her deductive instincts and talent for subterfuge - and of course enlists her husband’s legendary prowess. Together, Russell and Holmes travel from the grim confines of Bedlam to the winding canals and sun-drenched Lido cabarets of Venice - only to find the foreboding shadow of Benito Mussolini darkening the fate of a city, an era, and a tormented English lady of privilege.

©2018 Laurie R. King (P)2018 Recorded Books Detective Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Marriage

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All stars
Most relevant  
Exuberant ending to this latest story, which is so much better than the previous one.
It flits from location to location - rather like a James Bond film - following a rather tenuous plot thread, but each part is distinctive and well-drawn.
More than in any others in the series, the story is firmly rooted in a specific era (interwar years). It’s nice to see both Mary and Sherlock espond to the age - and begin to age.

Bedlam and the Bright Young Things

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I love these books, a new take on Sherlock Holmes & I've read all the books in series so far. I find it really hard to put down, as it were. Very often a character in each book, being real or fictional, sends me scrambling to find out about that character, their story, so it's like a book within a book! I will never tire of Miss Mary Russell's Stories!
Jenny Stirling reads the books very well, changing accents & the pitch of her voice seems effortlessly to bring the characters to life. Her voice is very clear & she reads at a steady pace, making it easy for me to hear & follow.

Another Delight From Laurie R King.

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They're all brilliant. I can't wait for the next one. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

Brilliant!

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Laurie R King is back in top form with "Island of the Mad" . fascinating and exhilarating, it is topped off by the enjoyment of recognising Cole Porter lyrics and titles! The eponymous Jenny gives a Sterlin(g) performance as always.

immensely enjoyable.

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A great story, with the usual Russell and Holmes exciting adventures. The narrator is good, clear voice with the ability to differentiate between the characters, male and female and to keep one’s interest well. My only caveat is her atrocious pronunciation of Italian words and names - I wish someone had coached her better!

Very enjoyable listen

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Evocatively set in Venice the story is initially slowly built up but the characters are deftly developed to draw us into the strange and entrancing events of socialites and outsiders in the 1920s.

Another intriguing episode for Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.

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This was so much better than the previous story, which was boring at times and too far fetched. This moves on from the loss of Mrs. Hudson, and is another of the exciting stories I’ve enjoyed from Laurie R. King. The only thing that disappointed was the end, which seemed very abrupt, and left things a bit unfinished. Apart from that, it was a great listen.

Back on track

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Ms King continues to grab our attention with her marvellous plot twists and turns. She has an ability to include contemporary challenges in a period appropriate plot. The parallels with 2024 are all too clear.

Great storytelling

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I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, except for the Italian howlers. For gawd's sake degli is pronounced 'del yee', not 'degglee'!

An absorbing story.

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This one felt self-indulgent, until I realised the bits I thought were most over the top were also bits that appealed to all my own interests (a world in which Cole Porter, Fascists and lesbian utopians coalesce? And why not?!). It bore the marks of research - the long stretches on the city of Venice - in a much more heavy-handed way than some of her other books, and it felt slapdash throughout, but it's still fun if you're already a fan of hers, or just enjoy works that reference other things you like.

Self- and fan-indulgent

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