Book Review: A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

A Study in Scarlet Women

by Sherry Thomas (Thomas)

 

I read A Study in Scarlet Women this month by Sherry Thomas. It is the first in the Lady Sherlock Series. Here Charlotte Holmes, who has always had trouble fitting into London upper class society in the 1880s, finds herself an outcast from society and her own family. She ventures out to make it on her own, and quickly discovers it is not easy for a young lady without resources or references to find adequate lodging or employment. By happenstance she lands a job as a lady’s companion to a kind widow. This allows her to assist the authorities under the assumed name “Sherlock Holmes”.

 

Charlotte employs the same skills as the Arthur Conan Doyle version of Sherlock, putting together facts and clues based on simple details and appearances. Unfortunately, she must do this through correspondence. She also creates the rumor that Sherlock is in a sickbed, and acts as a “go-between” for clients and the fictitious Sherlock in another room. Other reoccurring characters are a concerned younger sister, a patient police inspector, and a love interest from her past.

 

This installment, A Study in Scarlet Women, features the deaths of three unconnected persons. Until Charlotte steps in, the deaths may have been deemed natural causes and unrelated. Charlotte must help the police find the killer to clear her family from involvement.

 

I found A Study in Scarlet Women to be a pleasant read, but lacked any page-turning elements or much action. The series rests more on the uniqueness of a female detective mastermind. Perhaps the next five installments A Conspiracy in Belgravia, The Hollow of Fear, The Art of Theft, and Murder on Cold Street — will be more dramatic. The latest in the series — Miss Moriarty, I Presume — sounds a lot more promising and will be released November of this year.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson, or the William Monk series by Anne Perry.]

[ official A Study in Scarlet Women page on the official Sherry Thomas web site ]

 

See the Elementary (Sherlock Holmes) booklist here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Cindy read this one for the J Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion in May 2021. If you're a mystery fan, join us for the next group meeting on July 29th, where we'll be discussing the suspense novel One by One by Ruth Ware. The Just Desserts group has returned to in-person meetings as of June 2021. Join us at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. on the last Thursday of each upcoming month. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts