A Study in Scarlet Women (The Lady Sherlock Series)
"I cannot recommend this series enough."—#1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the Victorian detective story upside-down by reimagining Sherlock Holmes as a woman in the first novel of a riveting 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 THE YEAR • USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the Victorian detective story upside-down by reimagining Sherlock Holmes as a woman in the first novel of a riveting 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.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
Compelling Character Study in a Female Voice | Review of ‘A Study in Scarlet Women’ (Lady Sherlock #1) | Originally posted on Cyn's Workshop
A Study in Scarlet Women is a fun read, and a good read is what it should be. This review is going to be the little different because it is not going to be analyzing only the story in the written word but also the audiobook format. Some novels do not work as well as audiobooks, and this is one of them, unfortunately. As a story it is very cohesive there’s no denying that it has a solid beginning, middle, and end. Moreover, it follows the formula for a Sherlock Holmes stories, developing the mystery as it tells the story while it also capitalizes on those classic tropes that define Holmes. Thomas knows how to channel Holmes and captivate readers by doing so.
However, the way the story moves is quite different from standard Holmes stories. Because Charlotte is living in Victorian England standards, women back then were just supposed to be wives and mothers, maybe even a governess. However, for Charlotte being who she is, it is predictable that she would find an escape route, a loophole that would strip her of her maidenhood and remove her from social standing, letting her be free to live her life the way she wants. However, with her options, limited Charlotte befriends a widow and former actress and starts her investigative service under the pretense that she is Sherlock Holmes sister. So unlike typical Holmes stories that have him visiting the scenes of the crime, Charlotte does not get to, only in rare instances. Instead, she is working off detailed information gathered from everyone else, her intellect and keen perception in order to solve the crimes. So it works enough to keep the story entertaining, to keep it fresh and nonrepetitive. It is an excellent novel; the only issue is the audiobook version of the story.
The audiobook is not as clear as the novel when it comes to POV switches. It is a little confusing and unclear when the narrative switches, almost as if the story is jumping around. Often it is unclear who is talking and where the scene is taking place. The audiobook does not flow as well as the written word which makes it a little deterring.
Despite that this is an excellent novel to read but not to listen to. The story works very well it does flow very well, and it builds up Charlotte as is a compelling female character. It is nice to see if email rendition done on Sherlock Holmes set in the Victorian period versus the modern term. Because it does highlight a lot of feminist equalities does highlight social injustice is in the world through a female narrative from a female perspective. (★★★☆☆ | B)
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Google+ | LinkedIn
A Study in Scarlet Women is a fun read, and a good read is what it should be. This review is going to be the little different because it is not going to be analyzing only the story in the written word but also the audiobook format. Some novels do not work as well as audiobooks, and this is one of them, unfortunately. As a story it is very cohesive there’s no denying that it has a solid beginning, middle, and end. Moreover, it follows the formula for a Sherlock Holmes stories, developing the mystery as it tells the story while it also capitalizes on those classic tropes that define Holmes. Thomas knows how to channel Holmes and captivate readers by doing so.
However, the way the story moves is quite different from standard Holmes stories. Because Charlotte is living in Victorian England standards, women back then were just supposed to be wives and mothers, maybe even a governess. However, for Charlotte being who she is, it is predictable that she would find an escape route, a loophole that would strip her of her maidenhood and remove her from social standing, letting her be free to live her life the way she wants. However, with her options, limited Charlotte befriends a widow and former actress and starts her investigative service under the pretense that she is Sherlock Holmes sister. So unlike typical Holmes stories that have him visiting the scenes of the crime, Charlotte does not get to, only in rare instances. Instead, she is working off detailed information gathered from everyone else, her intellect and keen perception in order to solve the crimes. So it works enough to keep the story entertaining, to keep it fresh and nonrepetitive. It is an excellent novel; the only issue is the audiobook version of the story.
The audiobook is not as clear as the novel when it comes to POV switches. It is a little confusing and unclear when the narrative switches, almost as if the story is jumping around. Often it is unclear who is talking and where the scene is taking place. The audiobook does not flow as well as the written word which makes it a little deterring.
Despite that this is an excellent novel to read but not to listen to. The story works very well it does flow very well, and it builds up Charlotte as is a compelling female character. It is nice to see if email rendition done on Sherlock Holmes set in the Victorian period versus the modern term. Because it does highlight a lot of feminist equalities does highlight social injustice is in the world through a female narrative from a female perspective. (★★★☆☆ | B)
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Google+ | LinkedIn
In spite of a slow start, this is a fun book!
I really liked Charlotte. Her character was smart and she knew how to use her head despite the restrictions placed upon her by society.
I couldn't help but imagine Mrs Bennett whenever Charlotte's mother was in the scene...I actually compared the whole Holmes family to the Bennett family.
I haven't read any Sherlock Holmes novels, so I can't compare this to that. But, I really liked how Charlotte became Sherlock and what she did with that identity.
And I really, really liked the writing. It was very immersive. I did however, have trouble keeping names straight, especially the ones relating to the mystery and who did what. And whenever Charlotte was eating, I couldn't help but get a little hungry :D
I must also praise the narrator, Kate Reading. I was already a huge fan of her and her work with The Wheel of Time series, but she did stellar work here too. I loved her accents, character voices, and her method of reading. She gave the story so much life!!
I really liked Charlotte. Her character was smart and she knew how to use her head despite the restrictions placed upon her by society.
I couldn't help but imagine Mrs Bennett whenever Charlotte's mother was in the scene...I actually compared the whole Holmes family to the Bennett family.
I haven't read any Sherlock Holmes novels, so I can't compare this to that. But, I really liked how Charlotte became Sherlock and what she did with that identity.
And I really, really liked the writing. It was very immersive. I did however, have trouble keeping names straight, especially the ones relating to the mystery and who did what. And whenever Charlotte was eating, I couldn't help but get a little hungry :D
I must also praise the narrator, Kate Reading. I was already a huge fan of her and her work with The Wheel of Time series, but she did stellar work here too. I loved her accents, character voices, and her method of reading. She gave the story so much life!!
I am being a bit generous with my rating for how much I personally enjoyed the book, but that's based on the writing quality and how I can see how other people would like it if they aren't bothered by the things that bothered me. I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately I just kept having issue after issue with it.
Our character introduction is Charlotte getting caught sleeping with a married man. Infidelity really bothers me, so I knew it was gonna be an uphill battle to try to like her. We then spend a big chunk of the first part of the book in a bunch of other character's perspectives (mostly Charlotte's sister, so I was a little confused as to who the main character actually was for a bit) before we even get to hers and learn her poor rationale for her choices. So smart yet so dumb? An argument could be made that maybe the author is going for her being smart with facts and riddles, but bad at interpreting emotions and human behavior. She seems to be strongly coded as autistic as well. There's a bunch of casual fat-phobia sprinkled around because one of Charlotte's other main character traits is that she really likes food, but of course it would be bad if she got too plump.
Our character introduction is Charlotte getting caught sleeping with a married man. Infidelity really bothers me, so I knew it was gonna be an uphill battle to try to like her. We then spend a big chunk of the first part of the book in a bunch of other character's perspectives (mostly Charlotte's sister, so I was a little confused as to who the main character actually was for a bit) before we even get to hers and learn her poor rationale for her choices. So smart yet so dumb? An argument could be made that maybe the author is going for her being smart with facts and riddles, but bad at interpreting emotions and human behavior. She seems to be strongly coded as autistic as well. There's a bunch of casual fat-phobia sprinkled around because one of Charlotte's other main character traits is that she really likes food, but of course it would be bad if she got too plump.
I really cannot recommend this book/series enough. It’s clever and suspenseful and still funny and full of well developed characters and ideas. I simply adore it. READ THIS NOW.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.