A Conspiracy in Belgravia

September 4, 2017
The first in Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series, A Study in Scarlet Women (2016), offered a clever a premise: that Sherlock Holmes is a fabrication created by Miss Charlotte Holmes and her coterie of accomplices, including Mrs. Watson, in order to allow her to practice her skills as a detective in the male-centric world of Victorian England. Potential clients are told they must consult Sherlock through his “sister” because of his ill health. In this entertaining sequel, Lady Ingram, the wife of Charlotte’s friend and benefactor, Lord Ingram, needs help with a delicate matter that she wishes to keep secret from her husband. Lady Ingram’s true love, whom she declined to marry because he wasn’t rich enough, has failed to show up for their annual rendezvous at London’s Albert Memorial. Charlotte takes on the case, but what seems like a straightforward search for a missing person soon spirals into something altogether more complicated and sinister. Could Professor Moriarty be involved? Thomas writes with brio and creates appealing characters. Sherlockians may get a kick out of Charlotte’s sister, Livia, an aspiring writer, who wishes to write a story based on Charlotte’s exploits—a story that sounds a lot like Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary.

The second in the Lady Sherlock series is a delight, especially as performed by the extraordinary Kate Reading. A STUDY IN SCARLET WOMEN introduced Charlotte Holmes, an unusual young woman who created the fictional Sherlock Holmes so she could use her detecting skills in a male-dominated society. Clients who come to Sherlock must go through his sister--because he's gravely ill. In CONSPIRACY, Lady Ingram needs Holmes's help on a delicate matter, a matter she wants kept from her husband. Charlotte, aided by Mrs. Watson, reluctantly agrees to take the case. Reading doesn't miss the story's subtlety. Her voice slides over innuendo into sarcasm, smoothly capturing Thomas's sparkling wit. Charlotte discovers she may have an illegitimate brother, the bodies pile up, oh, and, of course, Moriarty is involved. Brilliant listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine