The game is afoot as Charlotte Holmes returns in USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas’s Victorian-set Lady Sherlock series. Being shunned by Society gives Charlotte Holmes the time and freedom to put her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, she’s had great success helping with all manner of inquiries, … all manner of inquiries, but she’s not prepared for the new client who arrives at her Upper Baker Street office.
Lady Ingram, wife of Charlotte’s dear friend and benefactor, wants Sherlock Holmes to find her first love, who failed to show up at their annual rendezvous. Matters of loyalty and discretion aside, the case becomes even more personal for Charlotte as the missing man is none other than Myron Finch, her illegitimate half brother.
In the meanwhile, Charlotte wrestles with a surprising proposal of marriage, a mysterious stranger woos her sister Livia, and an unidentified body surfaces where least expected. Charlotte’s investigative prowess is challenged as never before: Can she find her brother in time—or will he, too, end up as a nameless corpse somewhere in the belly of London?
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This is an outstanding, excellently written, well plotted, well-paced mystery populated with equally outstanding characters. This author has taken Sherlock Holmes and turned him inside out and made him her own. I want to tell you everything – because everything is so good – but I also don’t want to spoil the mystery for you. My advice – skip this review, go out and buy it right now and read it immediately – you won’t be sorry. One thing I will suggest though – read the first book first because it explains exactly who Charlotte Holmes is – her history, her family and her beginnings as Sherlock.
This book begins the day after the first book, A Study In Scarlet Women, ends. In that book, Charlotte, along with Lord Ingram Ashburton and Inspector Treadles solved a triple murder. Inspector Treadles of the Criminal Investigation Division of Scotland yard is having a very, very hard time dealing with the fact that Sherlock Holmes, a male, is actually Charlotte Holmes, a female. Turns out Treadles may not be as accepting as he thought himself to be. He’s also learned that his wife has aspirations in addition to just being his wife. He’s begun to separate himself from his wife and has no desire to consult with Sherlock any longer. He’s also being cool toward his esteemed friend Lord Ingram. I have a feeling that Inspector Treadles has a grand epiphany coming up in a future book.
Mrs. John Watson and Charlotte have devised a way for Charlotte to act as Sherlock Holmes, consult with clients and actually make a living from it. It works out wonderfully well and they are off to a really good start with a profitable business. Mrs. Watson has a unique set of household employees and we meet them in this book. We also meet Mrs. Watson’s niece, Penelope Redmayne, and you will love that young lady. I hope she becomes a regular, recurring character.
Charlotte is astonished when she receives an envelope addressed to Sherlock Holmes – and it has been typed on Lord Ingram’s typewriter. Charlotte knows it can’t be from Lord Ingram because he has no reason to request an appointment – he could just come to see her. So, Charlotte deduces that it has to be from Lady Ingram. Uh-Oh. Should Charlotte refuse to see her? Well, to Charlotte’s logical mind, she thinks she should see her and help if she can.
These stories are all fast-paced, exciting and they have a lot going on – so – settle in, put your seatbelt on and prepare for the ride! We learned in the last book that Lord and Lady Ingram share nothing except the same address. In this book, we learn so very much more – and we learn what a perfidious woman Lady Ingram is.
Lady Ingram has a case for Sherlock and it is a doozie. When she was younger, she was desperately in love with a young man her family deemed unsuitable. She was then forced to marry the wealthy lord who had proposed to her. Her parents knew that he loved her so they couldn’t understand what her problem was. She and her young man made a pact that they would never, ever have contact again after she married, but once a year, at an appointed time, they would each walk past the Albert Memorial, just so they could each assure that the other was well. This year, he didn’t show up and she’s frantic with worry for him. Did he lose interest after all these years? Is he hurt or sick? Has he died? She just has to know. The name of this long ago love? Myron Finch. That is also the name of Charlotte’s illegitimate half-brother. – the plot thickens.
Charlotte and Mrs. Watson set about their investigation of the lost love and at the same time, Charlotte is dealing with the second proposal of marriage from Lord Bancroft. He had proposed before and she’d turned him down. This time though, she’ll give it some thought. She’s afraid that she won’t have enough to do to keep her mind occupied if she marries. Bancroft has a solution for that – he starts giving her some very, very difficult ciphers to solve – and some of those lead to even bigger mysteries – such as an address where a murder has just occurred and she encounters a very aloof Inspector Treadles. Is the victim the missing Myron Finch? Then – who is the Moriarty that even Bancroft seems to be wary of? Is either of them – or both – related to the murder victim? Well – you’ll just have to read the book to see.
The end – the wrap-up – of this very creative and exciting book will not only surprise you – it will shock you. I usually have the whole thing figured out very early on, but I sure didn’t see that one coming. Well done Ms. Thomas!
There is a budding romance for Livia and I’m excited to see where that goes. What happens so far is really sweet. There isn’t any ‘advancement’ of the romance between Lord Ingram and Charlotte because – well – he’s married and Lord Ingram is much too honorable to do anything outside the bounds of his vows. We do learn more about him and the relationship that he and Charlotte have. He even encourages her about Bancroft’s proposal – not happily, but he does encourage her.
I love historical mysteries, but, for me, they have to have a wonderful love story included. So, I’ll be interested to see if this author delivers that. If she does, it will be interesting to see how she has non-sentimental, touch-averse, logical Charlotte handle it. We are well aware that Charlotte loves Lord Ingram and that he loves her – the interesting part will be how Charlotte handles anything that happens. If it doesn’t work out for them, I’ll probably soon lose interest in the series no matter how interesting the mysteries are.
This is a very busy book. I believe that is probably a hallmark of this author and her writing style and I really like that about the books. You definitely won’t get bored and start skimming pages because if you do, you’ll miss something really important.
I very highly recommend this book because it is excellently done. I do, however, recommend reading the first book in the series before you read this one.
Tightly plotted, fascinating characters, and engrossing world building make this one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. Don’t miss!
An outstanding follow up to the first book in the series. I couldn’t put this down, and never wanted it to end. It’s absolutely riveting. Highly recommend!
Another great book from Sherry Thomas featuring a lady Sherlock Holmes and a host of great supporting characters. This book is interesting, has a great mystery, wonderful character development and a smooth flowing storyline that holds the readers interest until the end. It is well written and entertaining. I loved this book and found it even better than the first one in the series. The emotional detachment of the strong female character is further explored allowing glimpses into an extraordinary mind brought to life by a talented author. I look forward to reading more about this character.
This is the second in the Lady Sherlock series, and while it was a fine read, I think I preferred the first. This one was a bit harder to keep up with the twists/turns/characters. And one thing I found distracting was the abrupt changes in locales and also the multiple cases presented.
I find with this series that I really have to read closely to catch every nuance. I’m still getting used to Charlotte and her eccentricities, but she’s growing on me, and I do plan to continue in this series.
A wonderful twist on Sherlock
Builds on this original take of the Sherlock Holmes trope.
Interesting premise on where Sherlock Holmes came from; it is a little quirky, and reads more easily if the reader has a coding, language and programming background or experience in STEM disciplines.
A Conspiracy in Belgravia brings back Charlotte Holmes as she tries to solve yet another mystery. Charlotte is a great character and is very different from the standard interpretations of Sherlock Holmes. Now, this is not just because she is a woman, it is also because of how detached her character operates in the world. Maybe Sherlock has always been like that, but here, Thomas makes it even more prominent because as a woman she is supposed to act in a certain way, but again, she breaks away from that, refusing to conform to the societal norms of this time.
What also makes Charlotte so great is her appetite. Whether or not she is thin or curvy, the reader does not know because Thomas does not use that to describe her figure, she leaves it up to the reader to decide which is excellent. The lack of description engages the reader and female readers. Moreover, her propensity towards sweets, it is charming. Not only it is lovely, but it also makes her connect to the reader.
Now, characters aside, there is the story. As with any Sherlock Holmes type story, this is first and foremost a mystery. Mysteries tend to be difficult to review because there is always that risk of revealing too much of the story. However, again, there are various mysteries int eh novel, and amazingly, Thomas manages to tie them together quite effortlessly. The pace is quicker than the previous book because there is no need to build history or the world, so the author has the chance to focus on the mysteries and the convoluted storytelling in a way that makes it resonate with the reader without losing them.
However, once again this is a novel that should be read instead of listened to. When reading, the story gets a chance to sink in, the details are not lost in the pace of the storytelling, whereas with the audiobook, the speed is so quickly that once again, it is disorienting. The scene changes blend, and the listener is forced to play catchup to grasp what is happening in the story. The mysteries are just too complex to be listened to unless one is in a room without any distractions. Otherwise, the book is the best way to go to appreciate the complexities of this novel.
It is an intelligent and engaging sequel with a protagonist that is as engaging as she is brilliant.
Reconceptualization of the Sherlock Holmes series, where the detective is a superlatively intelligent woman, who astutely pretends to support her “brother” detective. Eschewing the conventions of Victorian society to use her talents and live a life of freedom, this book, like the others in the series, presents one crime to be solved, layers of social class and norms to be navigated, and great characters to support the story.
Sherry Thomas is a terrific author. Her take on Sherlock Holmes is really creative and riveting. Start with the first book in the series then read them all.
A good love story and a great who done it
I *highly* recommend this Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas.
Love this series!
I love Charlotte and would read every book I can find by Sherry Thomas. She is one of my keepers.
Recommend if you like Victorian mysteries and the trick of having a female Sherlock Holmes. I found the story-telling aspect and organization of this novel somewhat confusing at times, but still couldn’t put it aside.
Sherry Thomas can’t write this series fast enough for me. I’m seriously greedy when it comes to historical mysteries, esp anything written by this author. She’s so very clever. Never a dull moment.
I’m especially impressed with Thomas’ research, assuming that the information she provides is true. Each time Holmes makes an assessment (“reads” a person), her deductions are logically explained with source information included. I have some quibbles with the romantic situation, which will become tedious if it continues through an entire series; but this author specializes in creative twists. Anything might happen.
Outstanding book. Not necessary to read the first title in this series (A Study in Scarlet Women), but I like to begin a new series with the first title, if possible. Characters are consistent and the writing is intelligent and captures interest. If you have problems with inconsistent proofreading (I haven’t stumbled over an error or mixed character in either book) and love mysteries and alternate history, then this gem is for you. Highest praise. Best news: the next book is due out October 2!
Love this series—different take on Sherlock Holmes and well written! Can’t wait for the next one!