A Study in Scarlet Women

Sherry Thomas  |  Fiction

two-hearts

I’m confused. This book, which I finished primarily so I could write a blog post, simply confused me. I was half-way through before I figured out what was going on.  Was I dense?  Or did the plot really not reveal itself until half-way in?  Charlotte Holmes assumes the name of Sherlock Holmes and searches for the culprits in three murders.  It IS on the back of the book – I guess I should have known earlier that Charlotte was operating a ruse, under the name of Sherlock Holmes, but I didn't seem to connect to this information until nearly halfway in.  And then, with three murders and multiple suspects, I continued to be confused. And when it ended and all was revealed?  Well, suffice it to say, I was still confused.

So, you may ask, why not one heart?  Because I finished it.  I loved Charlotte's character — she is a renegade; she fights the morals of her time; she meets some delightful people along her journey.  Especially Mrs. Watson (I assume that her name was appropriately tongue-in-cheek!)  However, I don’t think I will pick up another Sherry Thomas soon.  I have way too many books on my “must be read” list.

 

 

2 responses on “A Study in Scarlet Women

  1. Donna

    I agreed with your entire post, Andrea. I knew what to expect from page 1 but was still confused until almost 3/4 of the way through. Sherry Thomas is NOT the author I want to read again. Sad. It had promise.

    1. Andrea Sigetich Post author

      I don’t know how to post a comment myself except as a reply! Here is a comment sent to me by Glenn Davis: When I read A Study in Scarlet Women, I realized that to fully appreciate the book, the reader must be a Sherlock Holmes fan. From the title (the title of Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel is A Study in Scarlet) to the little gem at the end about Charlotte’s brother Bancroft (as opposed to Mycroft), the book is full of inside information. As soon as the older woman said her husband had been killed in the Afghan war, I knew her name was going to be Mrs. John Watson.

      That said, I found the book very confusing, and I had to keep flipping back to remember who was who and who had done what. I do not think I will read another of Sherry Thomas’ books, still, this is a must read for Sherlock Holmes fans if only for the very uniqueness of it.

      Glenn Davis