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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
“Worrying about outcomes over which I have no control is punishing myself before the universe has decided whether I ought to be punished.”
I really have been into reading historical mysteries where our lead detective is a woman, so that alone was an aspect I enjoyed about this book. I also thought this was cool since it’s a Sherlock Holmes retelling where Holmes is a woman using a pseudonym of “Sherlock Holmes” to earn money and use her talents.
Overall, this book was just okay for me. Personally I have enjoyed the Veronica Speedwell and The Athena Club series the most and are the ones I’d recommend. With that being said I have feeling this is a series I will continue to pick up and read, it’ll just be as my reading mood sees fit or when the books are available from my library.
A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas is a strong launch for the Lady Sherlock series.
Desperate to escape society life with her independence and an education, Charlotte Holmes strikes a deal with her father that would see him paying for her education to become a headmistress at a school if she genuinely gave love + the idea of marriage a chance and decided it wasn't for her. When Charlotte's father reneges on his end of the bargain, Charlotte devises a plan to get the independence and education she longs for through blackmail. Unfortunately, the plan goes to ruins when the wrong people in the Holmes' society circle discover Charlotte in a compromising position and share the news with her parents, thus leading to Charlotte's social pariah status.
With no place left for her in society, Charlotte runs away to make it on her own. It's during this time that three prominent members of society die similar deaths and what's worse is that Charlotte's older sister Livia and her father Henry are accused of having a hand in two of the deaths. Desperate to clear her family members from suspicion, Charlotte assumes the name of Sherlock Holmes and uses her incredible mind to begin an investigation into the deaths with Scotland Yard.
Having Charlotte use the pseudonym of Sherlock Holmes to shift suspicion from her family is brilliant and I love that she turns it into a profitable business with the help of Mrs. Watson. And what an amazing idea to have Mrs. Watson be similarly shunned from society. Their relationship is one I'm really looking forward to seeing develop over the series.
Another relationship I can't wait to see more of is that of Charlotte and Lord Ingram. They have such a delicious 'will they/won't they' relationship and I love any scene that throws them together. From the ending of this book it seems as if the ill-fated potential lovers will be working closely together for the next case and I can't wait to dive in.
I highly recommend A Study in Scarlet Women for anyone who is fascinated by the character Sherlock Holmes and/or enjoys the works of Agatha Christie.
Desperate to escape society life with her independence and an education, Charlotte Holmes strikes a deal with her father that would see him paying for her education to become a headmistress at a school if she genuinely gave love + the idea of marriage a chance and decided it wasn't for her. When Charlotte's father reneges on his end of the bargain, Charlotte devises a plan to get the independence and education she longs for through blackmail. Unfortunately, the plan goes to ruins when the wrong people in the Holmes' society circle discover Charlotte in a compromising position and share the news with her parents, thus leading to Charlotte's social pariah status.
With no place left for her in society, Charlotte runs away to make it on her own. It's during this time that three prominent members of society die similar deaths and what's worse is that Charlotte's older sister Livia and her father Henry are accused of having a hand in two of the deaths. Desperate to clear her family members from suspicion, Charlotte assumes the name of Sherlock Holmes and uses her incredible mind to begin an investigation into the deaths with Scotland Yard.
Having Charlotte use the pseudonym of Sherlock Holmes to shift suspicion from her family is brilliant and I love that she turns it into a profitable business with the help of Mrs. Watson. And what an amazing idea to have Mrs. Watson be similarly shunned from society. Their relationship is one I'm really looking forward to seeing develop over the series.
Another relationship I can't wait to see more of is that of Charlotte and Lord Ingram. They have such a delicious 'will they/won't they' relationship and I love any scene that throws them together. From the ending of this book it seems as if the ill-fated potential lovers will be working closely together for the next case and I can't wait to dive in.
I highly recommend A Study in Scarlet Women for anyone who is fascinated by the character Sherlock Holmes and/or enjoys the works of Agatha Christie.
Interesting characters and plot. Lots of confusing elements that seem to take away from the main mystery.
A little slow getting started, but a lot of fun once it got going!
I don't even know how to begin this review. Can I just say "I LOVED IT, GO READ IT ASAP"
I generally enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories, but I'm not a fanatic about them. HOWEVER, this story was something else entirely. Charlotte is probably my most FAVORITE sherlock every created. She is fierce. Independent. Complicated. Incredibly Smart. She is everything.
The love story isn't what you'd expect from this romance writer. It is a slow burn that will leave you needing more. Don't expect flames in this book, but expect a smoldering fire that will burn a hole in your heart.
This mystery is so intricate and smart, exactly the way I like my mysteries to be. Sherry Thomas takes you on an adventure and you just need to hang on and enjoy the ride.
I generally enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories, but I'm not a fanatic about them. HOWEVER, this story was something else entirely. Charlotte is probably my most FAVORITE sherlock every created. She is fierce. Independent. Complicated. Incredibly Smart. She is everything.
The love story isn't what you'd expect from this romance writer. It is a slow burn that will leave you needing more. Don't expect flames in this book, but expect a smoldering fire that will burn a hole in your heart.
This mystery is so intricate and smart, exactly the way I like my mysteries to be. Sherry Thomas takes you on an adventure and you just need to hang on and enjoy the ride.
This was good? I enjoyed it? But sometimes there were character introductions and plot twists that happened so quickly I got whiplash. Jumping around a lot and a bit to many characters to keep straight. The audio book was very nice, however, she used the same voice for a lot of characters which made it all the more difficult. The pacing was a bit off as well. Characters they spent a lot of time building up suddenly no where to be found. I might pick up any sequel, however, just because I did appreciate Charlotte.
There seem to be an abundance of mysteries setting Sherlock homes to have actually been a woman. There's at least one other one where her name is Charlotte. But this series is a little bit different. It's told in alternating third person viewpoints between Charlotte Holmes, her sister Olivia (Livia), and Inspector Treadles.
Charlotte believes herself to be smarter than everyone else in her family, including the father who holds the money. So when she decides to lose her virginity to a now married, ex-suitor, it's very calculated. What she didn't count on was being discovered by the man's wife. And his mother. Or that his mother would die the next day. Or that her sister would be blamed having gone to the woman's house the night before to confront her. She decides to set off on her own and quickly discovers that it is not going to be as easy as she assumed. The world does not have time for intelligent women. Well, except for one man, her childhood friend Lord Ingram.
Lord was the one to introduce Inspector Treadles to "Sherlock Holmes," the man who has helped him solve a case or two. So when Holmes points out the connection between the newly deceased mother, another Lady, and a gentleman from the country, Treadles listens.
Luckily, there is one other person who seems to appreciate Charlotte's talents, a former dancer named Mrs. Jebediah. At least, that is the alias she uses. She's really more well-known as Mrs. John Watson.
I really enjoyed the way this story was put together. Mrs. Watson, like the fictional male before her, brings talents to Charlotte that she doesn't otherwise have. Unlike Sherlock (at least usually), Charlotte at least seems to understand her value. Also with their relationship, there was a possibility of a Big Misunderstanding but it was nicely avoided. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
Charlotte believes herself to be smarter than everyone else in her family, including the father who holds the money. So when she decides to lose her virginity to a now married, ex-suitor, it's very calculated. What she didn't count on was being discovered by the man's wife. And his mother. Or that his mother would die the next day. Or that her sister would be blamed having gone to the woman's house the night before to confront her. She decides to set off on her own and quickly discovers that it is not going to be as easy as she assumed. The world does not have time for intelligent women. Well, except for one man, her childhood friend Lord Ingram.
Lord was the one to introduce Inspector Treadles to "Sherlock Holmes," the man who has helped him solve a case or two. So when Holmes points out the connection between the newly deceased mother, another Lady, and a gentleman from the country, Treadles listens.
Luckily, there is one other person who seems to appreciate Charlotte's talents, a former dancer named Mrs. Jebediah. At least, that is the alias she uses. She's really more well-known as Mrs. John Watson.
I really enjoyed the way this story was put together. Mrs. Watson, like the fictional male before her, brings talents to Charlotte that she doesn't otherwise have. Unlike Sherlock (at least usually), Charlotte at least seems to understand her value. Also with their relationship, there was a possibility of a Big Misunderstanding but it was nicely avoided. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
Sherry Thomas's Lady Sherlock is totally my jam. I loved Charlotte and all the women in this story and the ways in which they try to undermine/subvert the patriarchy while helping each other (I am so here for more stories like this right now). I also really liked the ways this story questions the restrictions placed on gender and sexuality (in the context of Victorian England in the story, but let's be real, this is still depressingly applicable today, especially relevant to all the media attention on sexual assault right now, or the ways in which gender-nonconforming people are still treated).
My quibbles were small: the main mystery took a long time to resolve and kept getting interrupted by side-plots, which made it hard to keep track of everything (especially keeping all the suspects straight). This isn't entirely Charlotte's story, and it took about 60 pages to get to the first section of Charlotte POV — the other POV characters are interesting and relevant (), but I still wanted more Charlotte. It was slightly disappointing that . Also, .
I am super-excited for more adventures with Charlotte and Mrs. Watson and Livia!
My quibbles were small: the main mystery took a long time to resolve and kept getting interrupted by side-plots, which made it hard to keep track of everything (especially keeping all the suspects straight). This isn't entirely Charlotte's story, and it took about 60 pages to get to the first section of Charlotte POV — the other POV characters are interesting and relevant (
Spoiler
and it's pretty great to see Inspector Treadles be shattered by the idea that maybe women, including his beloved wife, aren't really happy within a patriarchal system?Spoiler
Charlotte had to be rescued at her lowest points, though I suppose it mostly makes sense given all the restrictions on women at the time, and even the most brilliant minds are allowed to stumble when they first break out of a system of repressionSpoiler
I'm not really sure how I feel about the romance? I shall await further developmentsI am super-excited for more adventures with Charlotte and Mrs. Watson and Livia!
This was a mildly entertaining mystery, and I liked the premise, but I don't know that I'll read the next one.