This is the next installment of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mysteries
that King writes. Holmes and Russell are called in by Mycroft, Holmes’
brother, to investigate the whereabouts of a missing English spy in the
highlands of India. The spy just happens to be Kim O’Hara from Kipling’s
novel Kim. Apparently, Holmes made his acquaintance 30 years before, just
after the novel about him ends. Off they go to India, Russell learning Hindi
and the local dialects along the way in preparation to go undercover in an
unstable India.

The book is good but problematic. First, much of the richness of the plot
depends on having a working knowledge of Kim. I hadn’t read it beforehand
and missed many of the references that would have made it more amusing.
Second, King splits up Holmes and Russell about halfway thru the book and I
realized that without the interplay between their personalities, the books
lose something. It went flat at that point.

I’m glad I read the book but would really recommend going back and reading
Kim first. I realized this after I read Kim and
discovered what some of the jokes and story puns were about. This isn’t
the strongest in the series but still amusing and worth reading.