Rating: Very Good
Source: Publisher
Description: As "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas.
But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure.
Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia's admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake...
Genre: Mystery - Historical
Why I Picked This Book: I've really enjoyed the previous books in this series so I couldn't pass this one up!
My Impression: I love this series and really it just keeps getting better with each new book as the series develops and we get to know the characters just a bit better. Charlotte isn't the most open and easy get to know character so the more time I spend with the her the more I feel like I know her and the more I like her. I really liked that we saw a bit more of Livia then we've seen in previous books. She's unique and weird and completely different from Charlotte and I was so glad to be able to spend more time with her.
I was really impressed with just how different each of the mysteries in this series feel. This isn't one of those books where the main character is continuously tripping over a body (not that I have a problem with those but this is a nice change) but instead Charlotte is drawn into a wide variety of mysteries connected to either her job as Sherlock Holmes or through her friends and acquaintances. While I love this it does tend to make the books in this series start slow. I thoroughly enjoy the setup and getting to revisit the characters but if you like your mysteries to start with a bang then you may get a bit frustrated.
This is a interesting, unique, and well done mystery series with characters unlike any other. I look forward to seeing what happens for Mrs. Watson, Charlotte, and Livia next! Because this series has such strong characters this is a series best read in order.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! I love solving mysteries with Charlotte and the rest of the cast.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy mysteries this is a fantastic series though I do recommend reading them in order so you can get to know the characters and the setup.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Like the sound of this one. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of this series. I bought the audiobooks for the first two books in the series but haven't been able to start them yet. I am so glad you enjoyed this one, Katherine!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a series I could really enjoy. Good to know that they start slow, so I won't give up on them too fast!
ReplyDeleteThis is a series I want to read and to get to know the characters. Maybe 2020 is the year for me to begin it. I laughed at your " this is not a series where she is tripping all the time over bodies".
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