The first book in a witty, suspenseful new series about a brilliant new crime-solving duo: the teen descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. This clever page-turner will appeal to fans of Maureen Johnson and Ally Carter.Jamie Watson has always been intrigued by Charlotte Holmes; after all, their great-great-great-grandfathers are one of the most infamous pairs in history. But the Holmes … history. But the Holmes family has always been odd, and Charlotte is no exception. She’s inherited Sherlock’s volatility and some of his vices—and when Jamie and Charlotte end up at the same Connecticut boarding school, Charlotte makes it clear she’s not looking for friends.
But when a student they both have a history with dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.
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I’ve always been a HUGE Sherlock Holmes fan. Like most people, I loved his detective smarts & thirst for knowledge (#ravenclaw), but I also loved that he was such a weirdo outsider: an eccentric with bizarre hobbies, many vices, and zero social skills.
In this YA adaptation, the descendants of Holmes & Watson (Charlotte & Jamie) meet/solve crimes as teens. Thumbs up for the premise, but something felt off about Charlotte.
Instead of considering what it’d be like to be part of the Holmes family and how that might’ve changed since the 1800s, Charlotte is almost an exact Sherlock replica. And his qualities in a teen girl seem strangely…cool?
The odd hobbies read as hipsterish, the drugs give her a certain bad-girl status. Plus the author has added bonus desirable traits: she’s pretty, runs awesome forbidden poker games after dark, and is friends with the richest, most popular girl in school.
And all this leads to a kind of…Manic Pixie Dream Sherlock. Which I am not on board with.
If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan you’ll want to check out A Study in Charlotte, one of the most well written and original spin-offs of Sherlock Holmes I’ve read. A Study in Charlotte follows modern day teens Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes, descendants of the original Watson and Holmes, as they first meet at a Connecticut boarding school and become embroiled in the mystery behind a series of murders at their school. While the story follows two teens, don’t let that dissuade you if you love a great mystery. A Study in Charlotte is clever as hell and charming in the way it pays homage to the original Sherlock novels by Doyle. Watson and Holmes are richly drawn characters with a great repartee and the mystery aspects of the novel are rock solid.
Verdict: Perfect for teen and adult mystery lovers alike!
This book is really a masterpiece! Holmes and Watson are back at solving the mysteries and they are better than ever! With this book, you will be on the edge of your seat. I found myself trying to put together the clues right along with Holmes and Watson as this mystery unfolded. The unpredictable ending left me astonished and begging for more. It also had its action-packed and romantic scenes all the while, being witty and undeniably wonderful. I could not put this book down!
Do you love mysteries?
Do you love Sherlock?
Do you love new twists on Sherlock?
READ THIS ONE. It is so well written and you fall easily in love with the two characters. Basically, the kids in the book are the grandchildren of Sherlock Holmes and James Watson.
This was an absolutely delightful modern day Sherlock Holmes adaptation. The writing style irked me at first, a little too much, a little too fast, a little in need for more punctuation and for the narrator to take a breath. But it grew on me. My favorite part was undoubtedly the banter between Holmes & Watson, once they got going I couldn’t stop chuckling and would reread the barbs again and again. The depth of their friendship may have grown a little too deeply, too quickly, but I loved them all the same. And those moments where their worry for each other broke through their day to day facade were priceless. At the end of the day the tone and style were everything I would want from Holmes and I’m intrigued to see where this friendship goes. CW: past rape (not on page but multiple mentions)
I absolutely loved this! I’m in some ways a big Sherlock Holmes fan (I loved the Cumberbatch version, and in general I love the characters of Holmes and Watson as portrayed in film, though I find the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories painfully dry). Rather than yet another retelling, though, this one had a very unique YA twist: in this world, Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty all married and had children many generations earlier, and now each have robust family trees who are quite familiar with the original stories (which, in this world, were actually written by Watson). Jamie Watson grew up hearing about Charlotte Holmes, the descendant nearest his own age, and spent much of his life fantasizing about what it would be like for the two of them to recreate the adventures of their forefathers together. By what seems to be happenstance at the time, he finds himself at an American boarding school with her. But she devastates his expectations when she appears to loathe him at first sight. There is only one person whom she loathes more than Jamie, though: a boy who attacks her honor, provoking Jamie to defend her. Then, he turns up dead–and the two of them are the prime suspects. So of course, they have to work together to solve the case.
I absolutely loved the dynamic between Holmes and Watson (as they call one another): it’s exactly what the original duo would have been, with sexual tension involved. Charlotte is just as compelling a character as Sherlock, and it’s only because we see her through Jamie’s eyes that all her sharp edges somehow become endearing. We love her because he loves her, though he never says it in so many words. It’s all the better because he doesn’t. The story takes another twist when the Moriartys enter in, as of course they must. There’s lots of intrigue, action and adventure, mystery, and a twisted coming-of-age romance that also happens to involve oxycontin addiction (on Holmes’s part). I probably would have taken issue with the way this is portrayed, except that it’s true to the original: Sherlock was supposed to have a drug problem too, which is quite believable given the extremes of his (and Charlotte’s) characters.
It’s rare that an e-book captures my attention enough to even finish it, let alone race through it as I did this one. It’s also rare that I’ll overlook the occasional f-bomb these days–I actually almost stopped reading early on because I thought the cussing would become intolerable. But it’s maybe one word every chapter or so, which I found I could more or less overlook. There are a few graphic sexual allusions too, but nothing that actually occurs on the pages of the story.
My rating: *****
Language: present; barely tolerable IMO
Sexual content: alluded to but not actually in the story
Violence: present but not over the top
Political content: none that I recall
This is the first in a trilogy with the descendants of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous pair. Jamie Watson is dreading leaving England to attend a Connecticut prep school, but his trepidation is amplified by the fact that the brilliant but unpredictable Charlotte Holmes will also be there. His plan is to simply steer clear of her, but when a student ends up dead in a manner depicted in a Sherlock Holmes story, and Charlotte and Jamie are suspects, they come together to solve the crime.
I did not like the language
A highly imaginative reworking of the Holmes and Watson story that entertains on every level.
So, so much fun! A Study in Charlotte adds a new dimension to Holmes and Watson while maintaining the signature personality traits of the originals. This is an introduction to the new mystery-busting duo, so there’s some necessary backstory. But author Cavallaro doesn’t allow it to slow down the story. She keeps things moving with plenty of twists and turns.
The case is compelling. And just when you think it’s over, it’s not. For Sherlock fans, there are sufficient references to the classic Sherlock Holmes cases. It’s very satisfying all the way around.
There’s a nice little surprise at the end, too — at least, I found it to be, enough that it stretched a satisfied smile into a huge grin.
I listened to the Audible version. The narrators are great.
Highly recommended.
This book just ricocheted to the top of my favorites list. I haven’t read a book I loved this much in a long time. I am someone who deeply loves classic who-done-it mysteries in a really nostalgic way, born from years playing Nancy Drew games, idolizing Sherlock Holmes in his many iterations, and reading amateur detective novels as a kid, and this book took all those things and put them into one lovely, remarkable story. I admit, this cover made me expect something much less nuanced, perhaps a book better suited for early YA readers – fun and light and probably a bit silly – but this book is incredibly multi-dimensional, often gritty and tense, but also smart and romantic and just beautiful in so many ways. I don’t know if there are many characters out there I find as endearing as Charlotte Holmes and James Watson. I have already ordered a hard copy to keep on my shelf. If you adored Truly Devious as much as I did, pick this up immediately and prepare to find a certain favorite.
This novel is a modern twist on the Holmes/Watson classic “A Study in Scarlet” with teenagers portraying the brilliant, yet damaged heroes. It is definitely a good read.
Loved this book and devoured the next couple Of books in the series just waiting for my local library to get the latest installment! The characters are great, the stories with their twists and turns – plots and sub plots keep making you turn the pages; just one more chapter! The nuances are reflected in these teenage reincarnations of the original Watson and Holmes characters. Highly recommended for both YA & adult readers alike!
The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is quite probably one of the most famous and well-known series in literary history. It has been retold, refurbished, and sold countless times. A Study in Charlotte is an interesting take on the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Charlotte Holmes is a descendant of Sherlock Holmes, and Jamie Watson is a descendant of John Watson. Together they solve a mystery just like their older counterparts did. I recommend this refreshing take on Sherlock Holmes to any fans of mystery and intrigue.
The story was great; I loved the premise. However, the characters were supposed to be in high school, but the situations made me feel like they were older, like in college. I understood why they needed to be HS, but they were more mature. Not that teenagers can’t be mature beyond their years, but that many teens in one place?
A great adaptation of a classic novel
I love Sherlock Holmes stories and movies. This book is a cute version for a Sherlock and Holmes story. I enjoyed the narrators Julia Whelan and Graham Halstead they did a wonderful job of bringing this story to life. I did feel the book was geared to a teenage audience but I still enjoyed the story and the originality of the book.
I debated hard about 3, 3.5 or 4 stars. I really did. IT MATTERS…at least to this book worm it does.
3.5 Stars.
As much as I love retelling, reimaginings, do overs, loosely based on, etc etc whatever whatever..I realized I had never read anything based on Sherlock save the originals. I don’t know how this happened. So I was perhaps somewhat guarded as I read this. I don’t know why.
With that being said I didn’t hate it at all. I wasn’t sure how Sherlock and Watson-y the author was going to get with great great great grandchildren of the OG sleuthing duo….so maybe that’s why I didn’t want to get attached. You know..in case i hated the shit out of this book. I appreciated the crimes in this first book. A nice nod to the originals.
I rarely don’t finish a book. But this one left me bored so I deleted it before finishing .
Before picking up this book I was feeling so slumpy. I had picked up 6 books this month and read a little out of each of them and put them all down. None of them were bad I just was not feeling any of them. So what is the best way to break a slump for me? Pick up a Jane Austen or a Sherlock Holmes story.
So for anyone who is not aware in this version of the world Holmes and Watson were real people and they somehow worked with Doyle to publish the stories. So they are all real people. I really liked the character Charlotte even though she is made easy to dislike. She is Sherlock Holmes as a teenage girl.
I found Jamie’s dad to be very frustrating in this story. I mean come on your son is accused of murder and your all excited that he is in the middle of a murder mystery. Just bad parent representation but I get it.
There is just something about a Sherlock Holmes story that makes me feel comfortable and that is exactly what I needed. I hope to pick up the next one before summer.