A review by walwoodr
A Study in Honor by Claire O'Dell

2.0

I really wanted to like this book, but a lot of it landed a bit sideways for me. I have nothing to complain about in regards to the writing, however the experience of reading the book is disjointed. Watson often makes decisions that seem as though they could not possibly be internally motivated, but are instead made only to drive the plot forward -- a flaw that could be forgiven in a more peripheral character, but doesn't fly in the narrator. While the backstories and factual details of Holmes and Watson are interesting and their world is richly imagined, the characters never gain dimension, and their relationship never becomes as richly textured as I'd have liked.

The world in which the story takes place is an interesting and realistic modern/dystopian setting, but it's really the only thing this book has going for it.

Another reviewer called out the fact that the author appears to be a white woman, and while that wouldn't turn me off completely on its own, in combination with the flat characters seems doubly problematic.