A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas Narrator: Kate Reading
Series: Lady Sherlock #1
Published by Blackstone Audio on October 18, 2016
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
Length: 11 hours
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible Purchase
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:
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
I”ve started to enjoy more historical mysteries, so this sounds good to me. Great review, Brandee
If historical mysteries are this good, I better get around to reading/listening more. 😉 I definitely recommend this one, Wendy. Thanks for stopping by.
Great review, Brandee! This has been on my TBR since it came out 🙈
LOL Mine too, Stephanie. It’s definitely worth the listen! 🙂
This sounds like one I might like. By the way, when will you be putting up the link page for the Q2 for the New Release Challenge?
Thanks, Davida. I do think you’d like it.
I’ll check with Linda about the link page. 🙂
Yea! This is a wonderful series and I’m glad you enjoyed the first book. I also listen to the audios and they are well done. I recall this one was a bit tough at the beginning, but by the end I was hooked. And the stories just get better and better.
I’m so happy I gave it a listen, Jen! I plan to continue the series later this month. 🙂 And I’m so excited!
Twitter: Northwomn
I LOVE this series so much. They’ve ended up in my top 10 lists for a few years now. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Anne – Books of My Heart
Thanks, Anne! I’m so happy I finally got around to giving it a listen! I plan to continue the series for the Mystery RAT. 😉
Fun to read your thoughts on it, Brandee! 🙂
Thanks, Sophia!