Pirate King: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

This is the eleventh volume in the author’s “Mary Russell” series. It is an attempt at humor and adventure where neither Mary nor Sherlock need to save the world, nor even the British Empire. Mary is maneuvered by Sherlock, Lestrade and Mycroft into applying for a secretary/assistant position with a British film producer who is planning on making a movie about pirates. This producer is seen by His Majesty’s Government as Great Britain’s answer to the industry dominance of the American film studios, so his effort must be successful. The fact that certain nefarious transactions seem to dog the footsteps of this producer’s so-far-successful efforts is really of no consequence to his investors (Royal, noble and otherwise), but they do want an official presence to watch out for their interests. Mary, with her Oxford degree and her multiple Language skills, is a godsend to the producer, whose current assistant has gone missing, as he is planning on filming at locations in the Mediterranean. Eventually she and the ‘cast and crew’ head off to Portugal to begin their travels. There they find an ideal pirate ship and acquire a crew of pseudo-pirates to man it. From there it is ‘off to Morocco’ to begin filming their epic. Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly, so Mary is faced with problems ranging from Languages and seasickness to oversexed cast and crew. She keeps her knowledge of Arabic to herself and so hears more than people intend. The pirates they hired begin to seem more and more real as the ideal pirate ship looks less and less ideal. The complexities grow even faster than the budget and more and more secrets pop out of the woodwork.As a comedy, the effort falls a bit flat. Many of the situations are amusing, but they do not sing of silliness or resound with offstage laughter. It all seems a bit strained and no one seems happy, ever. Everyone seems to be taking things very seriously and yet no one seems really interested in the people around them. It just reads like a tiresome task that Mary must perform. Nothing is fun, not even the ending, with Mary asked to star in a new picture based on Byron’s “Corsair” titled “Pirate Queen.”As an adventure, this book is interesting. It has lots of thrills and realistic menaces. Much of the Nineteenth Century lurks in out-of-the-way corners of the world, even after The War to end all Wars. The slave trade, both white and otherwise, remains active and Piracy is still profitable if performed discretely. However, the pirates can learn as well as anyone else and the opportunities in this modern world can be dazzling if a bit of imagination is applied. Unfortunately, the author has not really applied herself to creating her trademark intriguing characters. She has produced a variety of personages, but most are not quite filled out or believable. This book is just not up to her usual standard.Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, November, 2012