GARMENT OF SHADOWS, by Laurie R. King

12?/series. A Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes novel, this one set in Fez, the conservative Islamic heart of Morocco, when the French were just beginning to consolidate their grip on the chaotic, lawless kingdom. Russell awakes to find herself in a strange room. She remembers nothing, but knows she must flee. In short order, she’s out of the room, over the rooftops, and plunged headlong into a plot to overthrow French authority. But who is behind it all, and what are their motives? Author King does a bang-up job of depicting the atmosphere (although Fez, particularly the medina, probably has changed less than many places), the times, the major players including Moroccan warlord and nationalist Abd al-Krim and his opposite, France’s amazingly human (for a colonial occupier) MarĂ©chal Lyautey. Another 5 for King’s series. Although any of these novels will stand alone nicely, I think they're best read in series, beginning with The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

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