Book Review: Lady Sherlock Books 1 and 2

Lady Sherlock Series

A Study in Scarlett Women
A Conspiracy in Belgravia
by: Sherry Thomas

Publication Date: October 18, 2016                             Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Finished on: September 16, 2017                                Finished on: October 13, 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books                                            Publisher: Berkley Books

Background:
I listened to the audiobook version of A Study In Scarlett Women (Overdrive App) prior to reading this book.  I received a free paperback copy of A Conspiracy in Belgravia from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed below are my own.

Synopsis:
The Lady Sherlock Series is a retelling of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries with one huge twist - Sherlock Holmes is actually a woman named Charlotte Holmes.  In book 1 (A Study in Scarlet Women), the reader (or listener in my case) learns all of Charlotte's background and also gets an added mystery thrown in.  In book 2 (A Conspiracy in Belgravia), there is more character development as well as another mystery.  While not every series needs to be read in order, I highly recommend that these be read in order.  There are a lot of characters that will be difficult to keep track of without first reading A Study in Scarlet Women.  Plus, both are excellent reads and worth your time!

My review:
First, let me start with A Study in Scarlet Women.  As I mentioned previously, I listened to this book on Overdrive (library app for audiobooks).  When I listen to audiobooks, its typically while completing other tasks (folding laundry, commuting to work, running, doing the dishes, etc).  For me, its an excellent way to get more reading in when I'm really busy or performing monotonous tasks.  Because of this, I found the beginning of A Study in Scarlet Women to be a bit confusing.  There were a bunch of characters and names thrown around that I couldn't keep straight for quite a while.  This admittedly caused me a bit of confusion, but I think I ended up with everyone straight by the end.

Beyond introducing us to the main characters, A Study in Scarlet Women sets up Charlotte into the role as Sherlock.  This is a very clever backstory and I really enjoyed this female detective plot.  Sherlock and Watson are amazing.  I wish they were real people!  There is also a mystery to be solved and Sherlock is ready and willing to solve it.  I have never read an entire Sherlock Holmes (the real ones) mystery, so I'm not sure how these compares to those, but I'm much more likely to pick them up now.

I read A Conspiracy in Belgravia via a book that I received from Berkley publishing.  I received this on release day, but decided to wait to read it until I traveled to England earlier this month.  It made for a very special read to be cuddled up in the English countryside while reading this warm detective novel.  Many of the same characters are back with loads of development.  There are simply so many characters that I LOVE in these novels.  Plus, they give off a warm and cozy vibe.

I won't go into much more detail about the books so as not to give too much away, but I highly recommend these for anyone who loves Louise Penny, who dabbles in historical fiction, or who simply wants a cozy Fall read.

Overall, I rate A Study in Scarlet Women 4 stars and A Conspiracy in Belgravia 4.5 stars.  These aren't my usual read (historical fiction, a little romance, and a bit of detective work), but maybe they should be.  I loved these both and am definitely committed to reading the whole series.  Sherry Thomas - I'll be watching out for anything you release.  My only request - don't wait another year for the next Lady Sherlock!

Are you interested in reading the Lady Sherlock series?  Good news!  I've partnered with the publisher to give one lucky reading a copy of each book.  To enter, check out my Instagram page!