Justice Hall story takes place quite directly after The Moor when Holmes and Russell find a bloodied guest at their doorstep begging for help. It actually makes a lot of sense to why O Jerusalem came before this book despite that the story takes place directly after The Moor. You just have to rad this book and the previous to find out why...

Russell and Holmes have to help Marsh Hughenfort discover the truth about the death of his nephew Gabriel Hughenfort who died in the Great War of 1918. But, there is someone out there that doesn’t want the truth to be reveal and will do anything to stop Holmes and Russell finding out the truth…

This is also, like O Jerusalem, a book that took some rereads for me to really warm up to it. I was actually a bit surprised to find I have only given it 4-stars on Goodreads (so I changed it to 5-stars) since I actually like it quite a lot nowadays. I like the connection this book have to O Jerusalem and the case is very interesting and tragic. It’s a very good book. ( )

Justice Hall is possibly - maybe - my favourite Mary Russell book to date. It didn't start that way, but by the end I was sad to leave the Hall and its inhabitants. I was ambivalent about Mahmoud and Ali in O Jerusalem so their re-appearance didn't thrill me at the beginning of Justice but by the end I was quite attached and found them endearing. I also loved Iris; I'd love to see her pop-up again in future books. As always, I could have used more Sherlock.

As I write this, I find myself downgrading my review from 4.5 to 4 stars, because as I look back on it, the mystery itself, the whodunit plot, felt awkward. By the end, it sort of felt like the author just randomly chose the villain to keep the solution from being obvious from the beginning. The wrap up at the end also left a lot of loose threads: were there any consequences, good or bad, for the Darlings? They seemed to have just disappeared, and I'd have liked to have known more about how the changes affected them.

But overall, it was a fantastic story of the murder-at-the-English-country-estate type. The WWI letters were heartbreaking and difficult to listen to; the author certainly had to have done some extraordinary research to achieve this level of verisimilitude.

I'm looking forward to staring the next one on audio (although I'm taking a break for a Halloween season audio). ( )

I love this series but I just didn't care for this one at all. ( )

This was a struggle as I've never been interested in English aristocratic hereditary lines. Very little action in this first half but picked up in the second but realised the images conjured stay with me for a long time afterwards. I'm still thinking of the images from O Jerusalem who proceeded this book. ( )

Holmes and Russell have just returned home after their adventures on Dartmoor and are hoping for some quiet time when a knock at the door brings an old friend with a huge problem. Holmes and Russell met Ali Hazr in Palestine four years earlier. Now they are seeing him in his other identity as Alistair Hughenfort.

Ali has come to beg for their help in rescuing his brother Mahmoud from a future that he doesn't want. As the second son of the Duke of Beauville, he wasn't expected to ever inherit the dukedom and the tremendous responsibility and the weight of family tradition. However, his brother's heir nineteen-year-old Gabriel died during World War I and his brother died soon after.

Ali wants Sherlock and Mary to c.onvince Marsh Hughehfort to abdicate in favor of another heir so that they can resume their lives in Palestine as Mycroft's agents. Marsh is not happy with his new responsibilities. In fact, Mary likens him to a man who is just waiting to die. But his long family history won't let him abandon those who depend on him. He does have questions though. Was his nephew executed for some sort of military crime? And if he was, who engineered his death? And, did his brother Lionel really marry and have a child who could be a new heir?

As Mary and Sherlock investigate Gabriel's death, they discover all sorts of questionable things from missing records to unexplained transfers. As they dig deeper it becomes clear that someone engineered young Gabriel's death. And, after a hunting accident that could have killed Marsh, it is clear that the manipulator isn't finished with his crimes.

This story ranges from Justice Hall to London to Paris and to a small town outside of Toronto as Mary and Sherlock investigate this complex conspiracy. The setting and time period are so well drawn that they feel real. The aristocratic lifestyle of Justice Hall is already showing some cracks as the results of World War I and the loss of so many young men are making for great changes in the culture.

The descriptions were so detailed both for Justice Hall and for Ali's home. The characters were complex. Although we don't ever meet Gabriel we get to know him through the memories of those who did know him and through his diaries and letters. There are many secrets and startling revelations in this story which adds to the excitement and to the mystery. It was a compelling story both as a mystery and as a window into a time long gone. ( )