A Study in Scarlet Women Review

A Study in Scarlet Women ( Lady Sherlock #1) by Sherry Thomas
Published on: 10/18/16
Pages: 323

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. 

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her.

But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

Midnight Thoughts

I was warned ahead of time that this book had a slow start, so I bought the audiobook. While it definitely helped get me over the hump, there are a lot of characters, which made it hard to keep track of.  I came thisclose to just getting a physical copy to refer to when I was confused. 

I read this book for Fountain Flirt book club- the romance book club that meets at my bookstore- no, I don't actually run this one, and it was rather nice not to have to lead the conversation! This was my second meeting, last month's Kiss Quotient was my first.  The discussion definitely added to my appreciation of the story, because I'm not a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and I missed some of the connections to the books.

We were warned going in that it was romance-adjacent, which was a good thing, because the romance is pretty subtle and fairly Victorian in nature.  But, there was just enough spark to hook me (I'm pretty easy prey) and make me invested in the relationship between Charlotte and Lord Ingram. 

The plot (or is that plots?) was good, the circumstances of Charlotte trying to make her way in life after becoming a "fallen women" was a great insight into Victorian times and social rules, and Watson was delightful.  The pace of the book definitely picks up once Holmes meets her Watson, and I adored her.  I also enjoyed Livia, Charlotte's sister, although having the first bit of the story told through her POV was a little confusing since it takes awhile before the reader gets Charlotte's own voice. 

The mystery isn't one the average reader is going to be able to solve, simply because we don't always know what Holmes knows or deduces (which I guess is usual for a Sherlock Holmes story, where Holmes suddenly reveals hidden information), but I did like all the twists and connections, even if not reading it in print made me forget who was who at times. 

All in all, it was a good read and I think I might be hooked on Holmes!  If I don't read the original books, I at least will check out the BBC series.

Next month's Fountain Flirt read is: Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

Midnight Rating

***If I did half ratings anymore, this would definitely be 3.5***