Just in time for Sherlock Holmes’s 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street.Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention–but will Gemma’s father take the fall for a felonious forger’s fatality? The 6th of … fatality?
The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes’s birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room. It’s a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma’s father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than thirty years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents.
Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man’s career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It’s up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the “lowest and vilest alleys” of London to save her father from prison.
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Here we are at the fifth book in the series and I it’s my new favorite. Gemma and the gang – Ryan, Donald, Grant, Jayne plus Gemma’s sister and parents – all in London. Gemma and friends have traveled from Cape Cod to London to attend a Sherlock Holmes convention.While there Gemma will have some time between convention commitments to spend with her parents. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot as it turns out. An uncle Gemma never knew existed turns up like a bad penny and the is murdered. The prime suspect is his brother-in-law, Gemma’s father, a retired Scotland Yard Superintendent. Things get very sticky and Gemma dives into investigating her uncles shady past.
With art as a theme, Sherlock Holmes and London for the setting, I was totally hooked from page one.
It all felt very familiar and the puzzle was pitch perfect. There were a few red herrings and several threads to follow, one 30 years old. The characters were well drawn and I finished the last page with a smile of satisfaction. It works as a stand alone but, if you enjoy this entry as much as I did and you haven’t read all of the previous four in the series, line them up and catch up. I’m already saving a spot on my TBR list for number six.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
amateur-sleuth, London, England, family-dynamics, friendship, cosy-mystery, murder-investigation, verbal-humor
The Massachusetts book specialty book shop owner returns to London, England with her boyfriend and a few interested friends to speak at a Sherlockian conference and visit with the rest of her family. Boyfriend is a police detective back in the States and dad is a retired detective from the Met, while mom is is a barrister and older sister is an assistant to someone in the government. The first big surprise is meeting a man her father obviously detests and finding out that he is actually her mother’s brother. The second is that he is a crook with a history of art fraud, and the third is his murder and her father’s arrest by an old vindictive former colleague. Let the sleuthing begin! It’s a great whodunit complete with twists, red herrings, witticisms, Sherlockiana, and a Standard Schnauzer. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!