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elinec's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia, Suicide, and Incest
linesiunderline's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s a pretty ambitious undertaking for an author to reinterpret a character as iconic and beloved as Sherlock Holmes. It’s a testament to Sherry Thomas’s skill that the absolute best part of this very successful book is its main character.
Charlotte is incredibly memorable. She is bold. She’s enough like Holmes that you enjoy the parallels but she has plenty of her own surprising and pleasing quirks (her love of flouncy fashions and cake, to name just two). She knows what she wants and she goes for it. I can’t wait to follow her through the rest of the series. (Also loved Mrs Watson - she is fabulous and I couldn’t be more delighted to have both of these characters reimagined so successfully as women). I’d say that spending time with the characters was the most satisfying aspect of the book.
It had a bit of a slower start, though I understand that the author had to get a lot of set up accomplished with Charlotte’s situation. That took time. Also, the mystery did not really hook me completely. At times I was not as invested as I hope to be when I read a mystery (and I was a tad confused now and then).
But the tone, the dynamic between the central characters, the ways that Thomas shifted the original story to make it her own while paying homage to Conan Doyle’s work, it all worked very successfully and I found myself more wrapped up in it as I read and eager to get my hands on the next book by the time I reached the end.
Very much looking forward to all of the rest in the series!
Charlotte is incredibly memorable. She is bold. She’s enough like Holmes that you enjoy the parallels but she has plenty of her own surprising and pleasing quirks (her love of flouncy fashions and cake, to name just two). She knows what she wants and she goes for it. I can’t wait to follow her through the rest of the series. (Also loved Mrs Watson - she is fabulous and I couldn’t be more delighted to have both of these characters reimagined so successfully as women). I’d say that spending time with the characters was the most satisfying aspect of the book.
It had a bit of a slower start, though I understand that the author had to get a lot of set up accomplished with Charlotte’s situation. That took time. Also, the mystery did not really hook me completely. At times I was not as invested as I hope to be when I read a mystery (and I was a tad confused now and then).
But the tone, the dynamic between the central characters, the ways that Thomas shifted the original story to make it her own while paying homage to Conan Doyle’s work, it all worked very successfully and I found myself more wrapped up in it as I read and eager to get my hands on the next book by the time I reached the end.
Very much looking forward to all of the rest in the series!
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Sexual assault
bretagnereads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, and Suicide
meerkatdash's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Tightly written mystery. The differences from and commentary on the Doyle novels was entertaining. My favorite twist was who supports Charlotte as Dr. Watson supports Sherlock Holmes.
Moderate: Death
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Violence, Trafficking, and Child abuse
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