Countdown!
Eight weeks until Garment of Shadows!
That’s right, the countdown has begun, the newsletter is going out, the contests are continuing, and people are champing at bits. Are you one of them? Well, stop please, it’s hard on your teeth. Instead, why don’t you post a comment here? If you do that, you might be one of the lucky few able to read the story early, because by commenting here, over the next ten days, you’ll be magically entered into that day’s Mutterings drawing for a Garment of Shadows ARC.
In the meantime, it’s only fair to give you something on which to comment. So to get you started, here’s Mary Russell, looking out the window of a tiny room where she’s awoken in a state of confusion:
I lifted a hand to shade my eyes, and squinted at the view: a dirty, cobbled lane far too narrow for any motorcar. One could have passed an object between opposing windows—had there been windows. I saw only one, higher even than mine, tiny and tightly shuttered. I could see two entranceways off this diminutive alley: One had been painted with brightly coloured arabesques, long ago, and comprised a small door inside a larger one, as if the carpenter had learned his craft on castles and cathedrals. The door across from it was a single rectangle, black wood heavily studded with rusting iron circles the size of my thumb-nail. Around them, grubby whitewash, a fringe of grass on the rooflines, chunks of plaster flaking from walls that bulged and slumped. In one place, wooden braces thirty feet from the ground kept two buildings from collapsing into each other.
Now, go add a comment, to get your chance at winning today’s ARC.
To read more Garment of Shadows, go here.
To order a copy—hardback, audio, e-book, or signed—go here.
I so look forward to living through Mary’s adventures. Can’t wait for this one to begin!
Laurie, your creativity and sense of humor are truly a source of joy.
aah, I’m so excited! Definitely one of those chomping at the bit, and all these excerpts and giveaways aren’t helping… 🙂
I am so ridiculously excited for this novel. Although, i’m a little confused, as I thought previously, russell and holmes have made fun of the inaccuracies of amnesiabased plotlines…
You caught it!
Oh the cruel inhumanity – taunting us with that which we desire above all else – a new Laurie R. King masterpiece!
Can’t wait for another Russell “memoir.”
I checked out your book excerpts this morning, and now I’m looking forward to reading Garment of Shadows even more. When will it be released in Canada?
That excerpt is delicious. Can’t wait to read it! Erin asked me to help lead discussion for the Fremont Jones book since I suggested it– I have to read through it again since it has been many years since I had the pleasure. Wish me luck!
Duly noted. I’ll not chomp on bits then, for the sake of my teeth. 🙂 but- Can’t wait!
I can’t wait! I’m super pumped about a new installment!! Beekeeping for Beginners was amazing by the way! I love seeing that bit of affection Holmes shows once in a blue moon, perfectly in character and oh Soooo adorable!!!
Then you’ll like this one…
Oooohhh.. so looking forward to this new adventure!
I’m also looking forward to some more Mary Russell! Eight more weeks will be a breeze, I’m already first on the hold list for one of my public library’s copies.
Lovely excerpt. September is sooo long away.
Thank you for wetting my appetite.
Fabulous….I can’t wait! Morocco, land of shadow!
I can’t wait! I pre-order the hardcover and as soon as I’m done with it, I donate it to our local library so others can enjoy the adventure!
Excited for the new book!
I can’t wait for another installment, especially after recently returning from the otherwordly Alhambra in Granada!
I’m so excited! This is my favorite book series and I love how it keeps growing!
OK, I’ll stop champing, since you ask so nicely. Just bought Beekeeper’s Apprentice to give to a friend for her birthday – how I envy her getting to read the whole series for the first time! Thanks for your wonderful writing.
Judy W. Says: Can’t wait to read the book. Laurie, keep them coming!!!!!!!
On my way to the bookshelf to get Pirate King to reread … just back from Stratford, Ontario where we saw a steam-punk-ish costumed version of Pirates of Penzance. Wonderfully done … but now I have to reread Pirate King with a new interpretation in my head. Hmmm. Will we have a countdown clock for Garment of Shadows?
Alas, I am to be left in wondering where in the world this alley leads and if it will help me orient myself.
The paragraph captured me instantly and my mind transported me into the room where I sit wondering what Mary will do. If the small snippet can do this to me, I can only imagine what the rest of the novel will do. I generally listen to Mary Russell works on audiobook. I can hardly wait to get to this latest adventure as September seems a long way off. Please tell me that the audio version will be released along with the print. Are you listening Mr. Publisher?
Hope so!
I am once again reminded why curiosity killed the cat – lack of patience drove it over the edge. I’ve read the excerpts and am eager for the book release! Imagine waking up in such a strange, exotic place.
Eight weeks is a long time — can’t wait for the new installment!
I just did a blog post on my library’s website about the renaissance of Sherlock Holmes in book, film and television. Of course I included the Mary Russell books in the **must read** list. So looking forward to Garment!
New Book! *happy dance* I shall be counting down the days to September.
Hardback, to go in my collection? Kindle, to feed my new habit? I can’t help myself – I’m going to have it both ways!
I can’t WAIT for this to come out in audiobook format! But, I’d be more than happy to receive the ARC to read!
Personally, I cannot wait! Many years ago I saw a photographs of people in a bazaar in this area of the world, and of doors and windows just like the ones described here i the excerpt. I went on to do a whole series of paintings and drawings based on those photos. The writing in these books allows me to escape and see areas of our world which I have never seen in real life. The stories truly carry on the feeling of the original books by Conan Doyle.
Can’t wait for your newest book. I love them all. I would LOVE to win an ARC copy of Garment of Shadows. Best of luck with it – and ALL you do. Thanks for the chance to win.
Looking forward to the book and the garden party! I am picturing Mrs. Hudson mastering the arts of the tagine and the pickled lemons.
To echo Betsy, hardbound for collection, Kindle edition for habit, and dare I say audiobook to keep up in the garden, the kitchen & the road?
Would love to win ARC. Can’t wait regardless! 🙂
How Long after that paragraph until Mary’s brain begins to clear? how long until she can set her mind to the mystery? The anticipation is enormous!!!
i hope I have a chance, as I live overseas!
in case I win, I have a friend in the US who alsqo loves this series!
Very excited for the new book!
Super excited we have a mere 8 weeks until Garment of Shadows!
I am so excited! I’ve read the excerpts and cannot wait! I usually regard September as a boring month, but this year I couldn’t look forward to it more!
Looking forward to next installment of the Russell/Holmes saga. And the ARC would be a wonderful bonus!
I am sorry to say that I have fallen behind on the adventures of Holmes and Russell. Must.Catch.Up.
Garment of Shadows sounds lovely – exotic locations make me happy.
Finally getting caught up with the Pirate King – I’d been overseas in Japan, actually left just as you were coming over, drat! – so I’m thrilled to see how close we are to another release! I’m currently on my yearly reread, right in the middle of MREG, so I may just be finished with the current series by pub date! Love the excerpt. 🙂
I look forward to the upcoming installment. Russell and Holmes are wonderful!
I recently returned to the U.S. after a concert tour to Germany and Austria with my choir. In between our performances, we had some free time to explore grand city squares, small alleyways weaving in and out of spaces between buildings, and the books and crannies both within and around the great cathedrals in which we performed. This particular photograph immediately connected to my recent experiences. The words that described the setting (through Russell’s viewpoint), however, triggered in me associations with Asia, rather than Europe… I suppose I’ll have to wait for the new book to come out to find out one way or the other!
Looking forward to Garment of Shadows (of course!)
Oh joy — an amnesia story! I can’t remember when I last read one.
also…Stratford’s Pirates is Steampunk?? Yikes, I may have to see it again.
Wow, this one sounds exciting! Not that they aren’t always, but I’m definitely looking forward to where this goes.
Can’t wait for Garment of Shadows – the teaser has really left me wondering how Russell is going to get back to Holmes or how Holmes is going to find her… And then the blurb in the newsletter has left me wondering even more – Homes dodging bullets?? Even though the UK edition is out over a month (!) later than the US edition I will be preordering my US edition from an excellent independent UK bookshop – even if I do win an ARC!
It’s time go back and reread all the Russell books, hopefully finishing right before the new book comes out!
Your description and the photo following made me smile! I was quoted in our local newspaperas “I love to get people hooked on Laurie R. King.” There are always severaldifferent copies in my section of the antiques and collectibles store. But, the first one of each is for me! And then one for Angela and then one forfor…
I am grateful for the world of Russell and Holmes because each of its chapters has been exciting, and because its universe is internally consistent. Thank you!
I just read the excerpt online as well as reread the description above and I knew when reading it that you must have seen that wall when you visited. I must admit the photograph was very close to my mental picture, but I think I expected it to look not quite so good.
I have cherished every Russell & Holmes book and thank my freind for getting me a copy of the Bee Keepers Apprentice all those years ago! Although my copy of Pirate King autographed by you may now be my favorite. Thank you so much for the vivid descriptions and the perfect personification of the time period that allows me to get lost in it.
I’m looking forward to getting lost with Russell – she’s become a cherished friend living in an alternate reality. Even my vocabulary has improved (or grown more arcane and British, depeding on one’s point of view) since I met her.
I always look forward to your new book AND I’ve always dreamed of traveling to
Morocco – what a perfect combination!
I’ve had the pleasure of reading the ARC of GARM and it is outstanding – I think people are going to love it. In spirit it reminded me of OJER, one of my favorite books in the series.
What a fabulous photo! Just read the two excerpts(thanks) and now am intrigued about the “small thing” Mary had in her hand before she left camp … And I can smell the coffee, too!
I have shared Mary Russell with my mother finally (85) and she said: “I like those books. I always feel like I’m smarter after I have read them.” So for my poor dear mother’s sake (and mine), please send me an ARC so I can be Most Favored Daughter.
Jane
A new Russell/Holmes book is for me one of those events in my life meant to be savoured. First I will gaze admiringly at the cover, run my hands over it’s smoothness, appreciate the clean crisp pages and the new book smell – all while running through my mind exactly where and when I will sit down and finally open it’s pages and begin to read.
I have devoured this entire series in the last month, and I cannot wait for the next one!!
So very excited to see more from this stupendous series!
Can’t wait for Garment of Shadows, my mother, my daughter, & I all love to read this series!
I’m re-reading Pirate King right now. It’s a lovely book for the summer, especially during the east coast heat wave!
Just read the online excerpt – poor Russell! What has she gotten herself into this time?
I have pre-ordered the hard copy of Garment of Shadows but am really anxious to get the audio version. Will that be available at the same time?
So far I have every Martinelli and Russel Holmes book in both print and audio. At the moment I am enjoying Folly on CD all over again. I had forgotten how beautiful is the language, beautifully read by Frank Muller.
I love the places that Russell & Holmes take us too. Thank you for opening up a world and showing us the beauty and mystery of many places most of us can’t or aren’t able to travel too.
I keep waiting for an adventure in which Russell and Holmes encounter an honest, clever and creative journalist, so that I can introduce my journalism students to him or her, as well as Russell and Holmes. Alas, I’m afraid reading Garment of Shadows may have to wait until Christmas Break, since publication will be at the busy start of the semester. AS for honest, clever, creative journalists — even during a time period when such might be rare, Russell and Homes (if anyone) could find one.
I rambled onto the Random House site and found Three Whole Chapters. It was REALLY hard to quit there! I can see why people are losing sleep over this one! best to all//Meredith
I look forward to each new book! We are moving next Monday and this past weekend, I packed my Laurie R. King books (shelved with my ancient collected Sherlock Holmes stories, of course).
So looking forward to Garment of Shadows — i have been reading the Conan Doyle stories again after a very long time and it only makes me more anxious to have more of Russell and Holmes!
I can’t wait for the book to come out. The game is almost afoot.
Russell is such a treat and Holmes is always a good read; can’t wait for another thumping good read. Thanks for crafting them.
I’ve lured my sweetheart into this series. Wouldn’t out be lovely if he bought the newest for me?
But I’d rather have the ARC!
I adore the Mary Russell series and I adore Moroccan architecture, glassware, textiles etc (would love to go shopping in the souks), so I predict a 100% chance of me loving this book 🙂
My friend repeatedly told me I should read the Russell series. I’m glad I finally listened. I’m looking forward to Garment of Shadows!
I enjoyed the excerpt and am looking forward to reading the whole book!!
I’m avoiding reading the excerpts–I need my Russel in one fell swoop!