Review ~ A Study in Scarlet Women ~ Sherry Thomas

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.

A Study in Scarlet Women landed on my radar and TBR thanks to Caffeinated Reviewer’s review. I don’t read mysteries much so I decided to include this for COYER’s Outside the Box Read-a-Thon. I’m every so grateful for the RAT since I’m now a huge fan of Lady Sherlock!

I will admit that A Study in Scarlet Women got off to a slow start for me. However, it was very necessary to set up the back story and the foundation for the series and this mystery. And after the foundation was laid, the story took off.

Lady Charlotte Holmes is a quirky young woman with a talent for what she refers to as discernment. She’s certainly unconventional for the times and has no desire to marry. When an attempt to have her desires come to fruition ends in scandal, she has to come up with a Plan B. And fast. Luckily she’s placed in the path of people who help her in creating a way to use her talent.

I enjoyed all the characters in the story, from Charlotte’s sister to Lord Ingram to Mrs. Watson. I loved all the gender switches and it was all done so well. I don’t want to say much about the mysteries being solved except that the way Holmes went about solving them was brilliant and kept me a captive listener. I adored the way in which SThomas set up all the characters from the original Sherlock Holmes – even if most of what I know comes from watching Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch play the character. Even the title is a play on the original book from the original series. I’m very keen to get better acquainted with all the players and to see the business of mystery solving develop further.

The narrator, Kate Reading, did a fine job with setting the scene, pacing, and defining voices for a multi-character cast. A Study in Scarlet Women was exciting, kept me guessing, and even had me laughing at times.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• COYER 2022
• Unearthing a Bookish Bounty 2022

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