Scan barcode
A review by queenjuly
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Okay, this was way more addicting than I would've thought, I stayed up sooooo late to listen to this, holy shit.
Picking up this book was another case of "oh, it's available in my audiobook app? Huh, I was always mildly interested in it, might as well give it a go". And I'm glad I did, because while these books might not become a new favorite, they were really entertaining and easy to listen to, which is really all an audiobook has to be.
Of course, this was partly due to the excellent narration, the narrators really did a good job with it. Although I was a bit confused why Jamie's narrator didn't do a British accent for him, seemed a bit weird, considering that he spent most of his childhood and early adolescence in England.
The book itself was certainly an interesting Sherlock Holmes retelling. The characters all had their fair share of flaws (Jamie was jealous, possessive and hot-tempered, while Charlotte was mean, cold and just a plain bad friend), but were ultimately still likeable and, above all, interesting. Their friendship developed a bit fast for my taste, but it was ultimately rewarding. There was also the hint of a budding romance between Jamie and Charlotte and I'm really interested to see it play out. Not because I'm a sucker for Sherlock x Watson romances (although I am and this is certainly part of it), but also because it has the potential to be either very cute or extremely iffy, if not toxic.
I also appreciated that the book dealt with heavy and dark themes like rape and drug addiction. Plus, it depicts teenagers swearing, having sex and drinking alcohol, which just made it seem all around more realistic than other YA novels. I do suppose it would be weird to write about murder but shy away from these topics.
Speaking of murder, the central mystery of the book sadly did not have the same electrifying and quirky flair of the original Holmes stories, but it was adequately clever and unravelled quite nicely. And, as mentioned above, it kept me listening all night, so I can confidently call it page-turning.Although it was a tad disappointing that, in the end, it all lead back to the Moriartys and their personal vendetta. I would've much preferred a perpetrator not descendant from a Holmes character.
As far as the Sherlock Holmes influences go, this book series really needs to decide if it's a modern retelling of the Doyle novels or a descendant story. There were so many similarities and callbacks to the original Holmes books, but all the while, the narrative kept insisting on the characters not being like their famous ancestors. I appreciate a good wink at the source material as much as the next reader, but there were just so many glaring parallels that would've fit much better with a retelling than a story that assumes everything in the original books happened and now it's 140 years later.
Cavallaro's writing was fine, but sometimes made it difficult to keep up - there were abrupt changes in the emotions the characters were feeling, and in the tone and atmosphere of various scenes. It all made for a rather jarring experience and took me out of the story several times.
All in all, "A Study in Charlotte" is a solid start to a new series, which definitely hooked me enough to be excited for the next few installments.
Picking up this book was another case of "oh, it's available in my audiobook app? Huh, I was always mildly interested in it, might as well give it a go". And I'm glad I did, because while these books might not become a new favorite, they were really entertaining and easy to listen to, which is really all an audiobook has to be.
Of course, this was partly due to the excellent narration, the narrators really did a good job with it. Although I was a bit confused why Jamie's narrator didn't do a British accent for him, seemed a bit weird, considering that he spent most of his childhood and early adolescence in England.
The book itself was certainly an interesting Sherlock Holmes retelling. The characters all had their fair share of flaws (Jamie was jealous, possessive and hot-tempered, while Charlotte was mean, cold and just a plain bad friend), but were ultimately still likeable and, above all, interesting. Their friendship developed a bit fast for my taste, but it was ultimately rewarding. There was also the hint of a budding romance between Jamie and Charlotte and I'm really interested to see it play out. Not because I'm a sucker for Sherlock x Watson romances (although I am and this is certainly part of it), but also because it has the potential to be either very cute or extremely iffy, if not toxic.
I also appreciated that the book dealt with heavy and dark themes like rape and drug addiction. Plus, it depicts teenagers swearing, having sex and drinking alcohol, which just made it seem all around more realistic than other YA novels. I do suppose it would be weird to write about murder but shy away from these topics.
Speaking of murder, the central mystery of the book sadly did not have the same electrifying and quirky flair of the original Holmes stories, but it was adequately clever and unravelled quite nicely. And, as mentioned above, it kept me listening all night, so I can confidently call it page-turning.
As far as the Sherlock Holmes influences go, this book series really needs to decide if it's a modern retelling of the Doyle novels or a descendant story. There were so many similarities and callbacks to the original Holmes books, but all the while, the narrative kept insisting on the characters not being like their famous ancestors. I appreciate a good wink at the source material as much as the next reader, but there were just so many glaring parallels that would've fit much better with a retelling than a story that assumes everything in the original books happened and now it's 140 years later.
Cavallaro's writing was fine, but sometimes made it difficult to keep up - there were abrupt changes in the emotions the characters were feeling, and in the tone and atmosphere of various scenes. It all made for a rather jarring experience and took me out of the story several times.
All in all, "A Study in Charlotte" is a solid start to a new series, which definitely hooked me enough to be excited for the next few installments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction
Minor: Rape