A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock, #1)

by Sherry Thomas

USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the story of the renowned Sherlock Holmes upside down in the first novel in this Victorian mystery series....
 
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.

An NPR Best Book of 2016

• ISBN10: 042528140X
• ISBN13: 9780425281406
• Publish Date: 18 October 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425281406

Reviews

[ladygrey]

So, this was not what I expected. Probably because I had only read Thomas’ young adult books before. I expected not only a female Lady Sherlock but a YA one also. This is not YA. 

It’s subtle, so you understand the darker parts of the story without them having to be said. Which fits with the writing which is authentically formal and therefore somewhat detached. It evokes the time period well but keeps the reader emotionally distant. At first I lamented this distance, but in the end I was grateful for it.

Mostly for how the mystery resolved itself and what was involved. But also because everyone was married to the wrong person.  It’s just sad and means there’s nothing to look forward to and no sense of hope or a possibility of happily ever after. Just a good enough. And if you read ahead a bit into Belgravia, it’s clear that she couldn’t be Sherlock Holmes if she were happily married, or if Lord Ingram Ashburton were single. And their estrangement leads to some fabulous subtext. But it’s still a bit sad and thoroughly disappointing.

I thought it clever how Thomas fits in the established characters in the Sherlock Holmes canon. It’s subtle enough to allow them to be new and fresh but still recognizable. In the end, I would have preferred if this were YA, if not in the age of the characters at least in the content. If they were YA, I’d definitely read more of the series. I did go and read the synopsis of future books so learned that Lady Ingram dies, freeing up Lord Ingram. But I’m sure Holmes still won’t marry him and give up being Sherlock. But unencumbered by a wife he’s more willing to have Holmes as a mistress. It all just feels tainted. It wasn’t terrible but it was a bit disappointing. 

[llamareads]

Content warnings: eating disorder, fat phobia, homophobia, verbal abuse, child abuse (including sexual), suicide, threats to forcibly out a gay minor character

Despite not caring that much about the original material, I have a thing for Sherlock retellings. While I knew that this starred a female Sherlock, I hadn't realized that Watson and Moriarty were also women!

This suffers from serious first book syndrome (so! many! characters! with backstories!), but it really picks up in the second half. I found the exploration of the limits placed on women by society fascinating and frustrating, but I loved watching Charlotte and Mrs. Watson alternately bulldoze through them or carefully skirt around them. One of the constraints was that most of the investigation and in-person detective work was done from the POV of a police detective. While I liked Treadles, I was always eager to get back to Charlotte's POV.

When we finally get to the actual mystery - after a lot of exposition on Charlotte's childhood - I thought it was pretty decent. There were lots of nice twists and turns, with enough foreshadowing to expect the final big twist. But, like the rest of the book, it moves quite slowly, and there were parts in the middle where I just wanted something, anything, to happen, other than endless interviews.

One other quibble - instead of drugs, Charlotte has an unhealthy relationship with food. This part of the story was very uncomfortable for me to read, so it's hard for me to view this objectively, but I think it was a necessary character flaw for her.

Overall, I enjoyed the overall feel of the book, and I've already got the next out from the library.

[thebookdisciple]

Very enjoyable twist on Sherlock Holmes. I love the gender bending of many characters. I did find parts of the story VERY slow. I think this was due to the nature of setting the story, but it did make it a bit of a trial at times. The audio is wonderful. I'm excited to see where the series goes next!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Reasons to listen to A Study in Scarlet Women

• Kate Reading narrates and beautifully captures the sassy, clever character of Lady Sherlock and the other characters we meet along the way. Her pacing, accents and tones were impeccable making listening a pleasure.



• If you, like me are a fan of Sherlock Holmes be it novels, movies or television shows you will find Sherry Thomas' approach to this iconic character to be refreshing and delightful!



• Charlotte Holmes, with her propensity towards sweets, forthright attitude and clever mind is frustrated by the rules high society places on her. When her father breaks a promise she goes about procuring her freedom the only way she knows how. These events lead to Charlotte becoming Sherlock and you won't want to miss it.



• From the very first pages, I couldn't help but root for Charlotte. I truly appreciated that we were afforded the opportunity to see aspects of her childhood. Thomas did a splendid job of fleshing her out. Charlotte much like the iconic man himself is social awkward, brilliant and extremely logical in all things but society expectations.



• Hints of romance have me curious. It's complicated but I am all in.



• I loved the murder-mystery case. Both Charlotte's father and sister are believed to be suspects. Pretending to be the sister of the ailing Sherlock Holmes, she works to solve the case. I became completely caught up and loved all the clever red herrings, twists and reveals.



• Of course we have to have a Watson, and friends coming to Charlotte's aid. Avid fans of the original character and series will love meeting beloved characters as imagined by this author.



• Charlotte and her friends are irresistible. This is one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories I have read aside from the originals. I cannot wait to dive into the next audio.

This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Amanda]

I've read Sherry Thomas historical romances before, and while A Study in Scarlet Women is definitely not anything like hers I've read before, it's a fantastically well-written mystery. Add in twist of Sherlock Holmes as a woman (well, sorta), and, well, let's just say I started this Saturday morning and read straight through until I finished. I love the twist on Sherlock Holes that Sherry Thomas has created, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book.

[Hillary]

I have to admit when this showed up in my mailbox and I read the synopsis for it I had my doubts. I mean Sherlock Holmes as a woman. Hmmph. I am not too crazy about Victorian era lit either.Most of it is too damn snobby for me. I decided to take a chance on this book, and I am so glad that I did. For one I loved Charlotte Holmes. I guess I can relate better to people who have been kicked out of polite society than I can with people that carry that large yolk around their neck. Charlotte was a bit of an odd duck in the beginning, but she grows over the course of the book. I enjoyed seeing how she developed over the course of the story. I could relate to her penchant for food as I am the same way. Now I want me some plum cake!

I was never one that was any good at solving mysteries so of course, it came as a twist to me. I read from other mystery lovers that it was boring. If you are like me and you can't see something right in front of your face, then the mystery aspect of this has a giant twist. I thought it was brilliant.

The main character in this book is Charlotte, so we see her grow a LOT in this book. I was sad that the other characters remained the same. They did not have the same growth arc as Charlotte did. However, this is the first book in a series, so I am hoping in following books we get more of the other characters. I really would have liked to get to know them better. There is a budding romance that is illicit in the book, and I am hoping that in the next book that they get together.

One of the things that I had trouble with is keeping everyone straight. Like who is related to who, who slept with who, etc. I wish that there was a diagram explain how everyone is related. I had to go back and re-read some parts to make sure I had my people straight, but that is the only quibble I had with this book. This book has sexual abuse in it so if that triggers you then you might not want to read this book. It is not graphic or anything, but I know some people are extremely sensitive.This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

[lizarodz]

Quite the Novel Idea http://quitethenovelidea.com http://quitethenovelidea.com/liza-reviews-study-scarlet-women-sherry-thomas/If you've read this blog before, you probably know that I'm a BIG fan of Sherry Thomas' Elemental series.  I simply adore it.  What you might now know is that I'm a big mystery fan too.  I've read all the Sherlock Holmes stories and a great many of Agatha Christie's too.  You cannot imagine how excited I was to get to read A Study in Scarlet Women.  It did not disappoint at all!

"But Papa, why should I talk when I've nothing important to say?"

Miss Charlotte Holmes is the youngest of four sisters and she's odd.  Charlotte reminds me of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang theory.  She's SO smart that she doesn't grasp the subtlety and importance of certain social norms.  She learns to dress, control her appetite, say the right things at the right time, but some things still hold no meaning or importance to her. She's an avid reader, she loves to eat, she's very aware that her brain works differently that most people, she's also aware that the world is a nasty place for women and she wants to do more with her life than marry and have children.  She makes up the name "Sherlock" to help the police with certain cases while pretending to be a man.  HOWEVER, at the beginning of the story she makes a really stupid decision.  I know it made sense to her, but probably to no one else. How could someone so smart don't foresee what was highly possible to happen?

"And what is your particular talent?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it. Or even if it is a talent, rather than a nuisance... Discernment, I suppose" Charlotte took a deep breath. "I can tell more about you, for instance, than you would want me to know."

You might be asking yourself if there is any romance.  The answer is: maybe? I'm not sure?  I don't want to give anything away, but there is a hint of what could be and might have been, but I have no idea how Thomas will pull this one off.  I've only ever read the Elemental series by her and I adore it.  One of the main reasons is the romance, so the lack of it in this book felt like something was missing.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it immensely, the mystery itself was enough to keep me hanging to every word.

The plot is divided between the mystery that Sherlock is helping Inspector Treadles with and Charlotte finding her place in life outside of her parents house. The mystery is very intricate.  I could not tell who'd done it for nothing.  There is constant action and detective work and disguises, and Baker Street, and Watson... It's like visiting with an all friend :)

Other characters worth mentioning are Mrs. Watson, Inspector Treadles, Lord Ingram, and Livia. Mrs. Watson is a widow and she takes Charlotte under her protection and becomes her partner in crime (so to speak), encouraging Charlotte to use her talents to help others - for a fee, of course.  Inspector Treadles works for Scotland Yard and is a young and smart inspector that has big ambitions.  He has requested Sherlock's help through Lord Ingram for certain puzzling or unsolved cases.  Lord Ingram is Charlotte's childhood friend and I feel like he really understands her so well. He made a catastrophic mistake on choosing a wife, but is willing to live with the consequences of his decision.  He does care a lot for Charlotte.  Livia is Charlotte's sister and loves her dearly.  However, Livia is very unsure of herself and has very low self esteem and is not willing to stand up to her parents. I really liked all the characters, but some added more to the story than others.  I loathed Charlotte's parents.

"What do you fear the most, Miss Holmes?"

"I..." Charlotte exhaled. She know what she feared, but she wasn't accustomed to voicing it aloud." "I fear always being beholden to someone else.  I want to be independent - and I want to earn that independence.  But I can no longer believe that fortunate state of affairs will ever come to pass, not with all the mistakes I've made."

The story is told in a third POV, so we can participate in all the story and the mystery as it's discovered. The ending was definite in respect to the mystery.  Sherlock's life as a detective is just starting and she gets a new client right at the ending. I'm just now sure about the romance or lack thereof, then again Sherlock Holmes is not necessarily romance.

Overall, A Study in Scarlet Women is a great start to the series and a clear path to understanding how Charlotte's mind works.  I'm very curious to read the next book and see where the story takes us next. This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea