I’m a sucker for a good old fashioned “who done it” mystery, and the latest Lady Sherlock book did not disappoint. It’s written in the same style as a classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie, which just makes the language feel so much richer than some modern day books. I also enjoy how they’ve taken Sherlock Holmes and reimagined “him” as a woman.
You’ll have to start with the first book in the series, A Study in Scarlet Women, to get the full background, but the basic premise is Charlotte Holmes is a beautiful young woman with an even more brilliant mind. To prevent her parents from marrying her off against her will, she decides to purposefully get caught in a compromising position (to put it lightly) so she will be ineligible for marriage. Now she must find a way to make money so she can live on her own, hence the creation of the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. Along with her sister Olivia, her benefactor Mrs. Watson, and her long-time friend Lord Ingram, she successfully creates and maintains the persona of Sherlock. But now in the third book, Lord Ingram is under scrutiny for his wife’s murder, and only Charlotte’s quick mind can try to extricate him from blame.
This novel, much like the last, cannot be predicted. There are too many pieces all floating together and they don’t match up until the last 50 pages. All the seemingly minor loose ends have a purpose, even though the reader may not be able to see how they all fit together as the story progresses. That’s what I love about a good mystery. I’m great at predicting motives and murderers, so it takes a lot to stump me, and when it’s done is such a way that keeps you interested the entire book, well, that’s even better.
If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, then you’ll be just as enthralled with this third installment.
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