A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language, off page sex


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.

I didn't really care for the way this started, Charlotte's personality was odd (odder than normal for Sherlock), and her being caught in the compromising situation she was caught in, was off-putting to me, and she just comes off as too modern for the time period. On top of that there was jumping back and forth in time that confused things a little, but after I got into it I ended up enjoying it. Eventually her oddness, and also the reason she did what she did, began to make more sense, even if there were some things I couldn't get behind.

Usually I shy away from re-imaginings of classics, because normally I just don't like messing with a good thing. Sherlock Holmes, for some reason has been an exception, and I did find this an interesting take on Sherlock Holmes and Watson. I especially liked the way they met here, and although I'm not super crazy about everything that happened in this book, I am interested enough to see what happens next.