Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series is everything I didn’t know I wanted. I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan since childhood. I’ve read all the stories and watched, if not every small and big screen rendition, a large number of them. So, of course, when I saw A Study in Scarlet Women, the first of the Lady Sherlock series, I just had to read it. True, it was not as good as the original stories, and as far as adaptations go, I don’t think anything would ever surpass BBC’s Sherlock, at least not in my lifetime. However, A Study in Scarlet Women was such a fun, well written and interesting adaptation that it is most definitely one of my favourites.
Charlotte Holmes has always been a little odd. As a child, she rarely spoke unless she had something of importance to say, and she never quite understood the need to behave as other people. Also, her steady, observant gaze and her uncanny ability to deduct hidden truths cause people around her to be unnerved. Instead of more socially acceptable hobbies and activities like needlepoint or horse-riding, Charlotte’s hobby consists of solving mysteries for Scotland Yard through her childhood friend Lord Ingram Ashburton.
Rather than marriage, which is the only path acceptable for a woman in Victorian upper class society, Charlotte longs to pursue independent employment as a headmistress of a girls’ school. To reach this goal, Charlotte sets a plan in motion. However, when that plan backfires in a spectacular way, Charlotte finds herself a pariah and forced to survive by her wits alone in the mean streets of Victorian London.
Not long after Charlotte’s disgrace, three sudden deaths occur and suspicion falls on her sister and her father. It’s not long before Inspector Treadles of Scotland Yard requests the help of Mr. Holmes. Lord Ingram informs Treadles that unfortunately Mr. Holmes has taken seriously ill and can be consulted only via his sister. So begins Charlotte’s life as the master sleuth Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Thomas does an excellent job of taking a much beloved character and reinvents it brilliantly. The mystery unfolds with the perfect amount of twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed in the story, and the characters are complex and fascinating. I recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, mysteries and, of course, Sherlock Holmes.
Ariana Galeano is a community services librarian with the Richmond Public Library
