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Oct 07, 2016wyenotgo rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This 4th book in the series continues the somewhat odd relationship between the young would-be theologian Mary Russell and Holmes the aging detective. It's a spin-off on the original "Hound of the Baskervilles" story but it captures little of the atmosphere of that story, set on and near the harsh landscape of Dartmoor. King also introduces a real person into this story, the eccentric Reverend Sabin Baring-Gould. While that perhaps adds authenticity, Gould remains essentially just a part of the landscape, contributing nothing of substance to the tale. Missing also is most of the clever, deductive reasoning that characterized Conan Doyle's version of Holmes. For me, Mary Russell was most interesting in the first book and is becoming less so now.