A Study In Scarlet Women

August 22, 2016
Charlotte Holmes, the independent-minded, upper-class heroine of this promising series launch set in 1886 England from Thomas (My Beautiful Enemy), has no wish to be married off like her older sisters and relegated to second-class status for the rest of her life. Charlotte’s choice to lose her virginity to a married man leads to her banishment from her family’s country house. She settles in London, where she uses her gift for “discernment” to provide helpful guidance to the police under the alias Sherlock Holmes. She writes to the coroner overseeing the inquest for aristocrat Harrington Sackville to suggest that Sackville’s apparent overdose of chloral is connected to the deaths of two of his relatives who expired shortly before he did, each of apparently natural causes. That communiqué brings Scotland Yard into the case and affords Charlotte an opportunity to exercise her skills on a complex mystery. Those looking for a very different Sherlockian lead will be rewarded. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency.

What if the word's most famous (and eccentric) Victorian detective were a young gentlewoman in the midst of a scandal?Gender bending is just the first sign that unusual happenings are afoot in this origin story for a revamped Sherlock Holmes series by bestselling author Thomas (The Perilous Sea, 2015, etc.). The novel begins in 1886 England with the foreshadowing of a suspicious death, but the incident is only one of many seemingly unrelated events that form a pattern over the succeeding chapters. Weaving them together is amateur sleuth Charlotte Holmes, who is also an inadvertent participant in them due to a social catastrophe she precipitated for personal reasons. The novel is peopled with characters who warm the reader with a glow of recognition--Watson, Lestrade, Mycroft, and Moriarty all appear in some form--but Thomas also imbues them with personalized histories and characteristics. Holmes herself is cast in the mold of the recent television incarnations of Conan Doyle's savant as well as Deanna Raybourn's detectives, Lady Julia Grey and Veronica Speedwell--with an added devotion to food that lends her an unexpected charm. There is also a tantalizing, slow-burn love story between Holmes and a longtime friend befitting Thomas' skills as a romance novelist. The mystery itself is conducted long distance and through a trick necessitated by the gender-flipping; while competently handled, its intricacy is less gripping than the gradual reveal of a new Holmes-ian world and its inhabitants. The ground has been laid well for future incidents in the professional and intimate life of Charlotte Holmes. For fans of etiquette-flouting heroines who desire truth while being true to their desires--gastronomic, romantic, and cerebral. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 15, 2016

Miss Charlotte Holmes has never fit quite right into the aristocratic class. Even as a small child, her steady, observant gaze and her accurate deduction of hidden truths caused others to feel somewhat unnerved. Wishing to pursue independent employment rather than marriage for her financial security, Charlotte made the arrangements she felt necessary to ensure her future, but her plans went awry and she was removed from polite society. With a few key allies and a remarkable mind, Charlotte is about to reinvent herself as master sleuth Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Taking an established, beloved character with so many recognizable personality quirks and successfully reimagining not just Sherlock's gender but his origin story, the connections to key secondary characters, and how this detective will be able to conduct investigations required bravery and clear vision on the part of two-time Rita Award-winning Thomas (My Beautiful Enemy); it is a literary gamble that pays off in spades. VERDICT Clever historical details and a top-shelf mystery add to the winning appeal of this first volume in the "Lady Sherlock" series. A must-read for fans of historical mysteries and a solid suggestion for classic British mystery lovers.--Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
When Charlotte's father fails to honor his promise to provide the funds needed for her education, Charlotte takes drastic measures. Caught in a compromising position with a married man, she avoids being banished to her family's country estate by running away. As she settles into her independent life in London, she finds a new benefactress and a way to support herself by opening a private consultation business as Sherlock Holmes. When her beloved sister Livia is suspected of being involved in a scandalous murder, Charlotte brings all of her powers of observation into play in order to find the real killer. Hold onto your deerstalkers, Sherlockians. RITA Awardwinning romance writer Thomas has come up with a completely new, brilliantly conceived take on the iconic detective. She not only offers some clever changes to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's cherished cast of characters, she also delivers a plot worthy of the master at his best. An auspicious start to a new series that is bound to find favor with fans of Laurie King's Mary Russell series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)