After feigning her own death in Cornwall to escape from Moriarty’s perilous attention, Charlotte Holmes goes into hiding. But then she receives a tempting offer: Find a dossier the crown is desperately seeking, and she might be able to go back to a normal life.
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Her search leads her aboard the RMS Provence. But on the night Charlotte makes her move to retrieve the dossier, in the midst of a terrifying storm in the Bay of Biscay, a brutal murder takes place on the ship.
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Instead of solving the crime, as she is accustomed to doing, Charlotte must take care not to be embroiled in this investigation, lest it become known to those who harbor ill intentions that Sherlock Holmes is abroad and still very much alive.
Release Date:Â Mar 14, 2023
Series:Â Lady SherlockÂ
Book:Â 7
Heat Level: Warm
Publisher:Â Penguin Group
Imprint:Â BerkleyÂ
Price: $11.99
Another entry into the tale of Charlotte Holmes leaves me anxious for the next book.
First off, could you read this as a standalone? Yes, but why would you when the whole series is a cornucopia of mystery Victorian goodness. I highly recommend starting from the beginning if possible. Does this book start out a bit slow? Not really, not compared to previous Holmes books.
Of course, where we last left Charlotte, she had narrowly avoided death. Her closest companions were forced to stay away from her to help keep Moriarty off her scent. Now Charlotte’s seeking a way to get rid of Moriarty for good and save the people she cares about in return. In order to do so, she’s roped into a reconnaissance mission aboard a sea-faring vessel headed for the Mediterranean. When a murder happens aboard the ship, threatening her mission and the people she cares for, Charlotte has no choice but to solve the murder without getting her identity unmasked in the process.
Talk about complexity after complexity. Thomas wowed me in this book, from the logistics of mapping out an entire story on a ship and knowing where everyone is at any given time to the mystery itself with several wrinkles. Often when I watch/read thrillers or mysteries, I always find myself solving the murder before we get to the end. What’s refreshing about the Lady Sherlock series is that even when you think you know what’s happening, there are always several pieces that, when revealed, surprise me. This book was no exception.
Add in familiar characters like Charlotte’s sister, her friend Mrs. Watson, and even her closest confidant Lord Ingram and it becomes a story you just sink into with gusto. It was hard to focus on work or other duties when encountering this book (Note: That’s typical with me and Sherry Thomas’s stories).
Overall, it’s a mystery worth reading, and I, for one, can’t wait for the next book. Though I really want to know when Lady Sherlock is coming to the big screen.
~ Landra
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