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anntharai's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
3.5
3.5⭐️A fine premise, a suitably tangled mystery, and likeable enough characters. I like the take on Holmes and Watson, but something was lacking. Not lacking enough to dissuade me from reading it in one sitting, but just short of being truly compelling. I docked a .5⭐️ because of the authors instance on including the almost mandatory bemoaning of wearing corsets as being a vain and universally painful experience 🙄 when the rest of the book rests in decent research the least they could have done is look beyond the ‘corsets are evil’ line touted since it became fashionable to do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Rape, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Suicide
ibeforem's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This series is a re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes where Sherlock is really a young woman named Charlotte Holmes.
Charlotte is the daughter of a well-off family, and as such she is expected to do one thing - marry. But she has no interest in marrying, she'd much rather go to university and become the headmistress of a school and make enough money to support herself with no husband in sight. After her father breaks a promise to send her to school, Charlotte exacts her revenge by making herself unmarriageable in the eyes of society and then running away to London, certain she will be able to find a job and make enough money to send herself to school. But along the way, she is posing as the mysterious Sherlock Holmes, sending letters to the local authorities to try to help solve a series of deaths that threaten to ensnare her sister at home.
I enjoyed this story, though I found the construction clunky at times. I felt we were just thrown into the Sherlock thing, and I felt like it had been happening for a while before we are brought in on the secret. I also thought the revelation at the end was very much out of left field. There is no indication ahead of time that that was where the story was headed, or if there was, I missed it. I did enjoy the slow introduction of people to match up with the names/roles we know from the classic Sherlock canon.
Overall I thought the story laid a promising foundation for the series. I know there was a lot she needed to accomplish in this book, and now that all that backstory is out of the way maybe the next one will move a little more smoothly.
Charlotte is the daughter of a well-off family, and as such she is expected to do one thing - marry. But she has no interest in marrying, she'd much rather go to university and become the headmistress of a school and make enough money to support herself with no husband in sight. After her father breaks a promise to send her to school, Charlotte exacts her revenge by making herself unmarriageable in the eyes of society and then running away to London, certain she will be able to find a job and make enough money to send herself to school. But along the way, she is posing as the mysterious Sherlock Holmes, sending letters to the local authorities to try to help solve a series of deaths that threaten to ensnare her sister at home.
I enjoyed this story, though I found the construction clunky at times. I felt we were just thrown into the Sherlock thing, and I felt like it had been happening for a while before we are brought in on the secret. I also thought the revelation at the end was very much out of left field. There is no indication ahead of time that that was where the story was headed, or if there was, I missed it. I did enjoy the slow introduction of people to match up with the names/roles we know from the classic Sherlock canon.
Overall I thought the story laid a promising foundation for the series. I know there was a lot she needed to accomplish in this book, and now that all that backstory is out of the way maybe the next one will move a little more smoothly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Pedophilia
elinec's review
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
Content Warnings
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Sexual assault
bretagnereads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Violence, Trafficking, and Child abuse
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