Review of "A Study in Scarlet Women: First in the Lady Sherlock Series" by Sherry Thomas

In this story, set in late-1800s London, 'Sherlock Holmes' is the alias of a woman called Charlotte Holmes, who - because of society's strictures - has to do her sleuthing in the guise of a man. In this first book in the 'Lady Sherlock' series, we find out how Charlotte came to this pass.



*****

Victorian England was a restrictive place for upper class British women, who were expected to marry, have children, run a household, and spend their free time calling on other ladies and doing good works. Women who didn't wed became spinsters and - since 'getting a job' was beneath them - usually remained under the thumb of their father or brother, who could be resentful and unkind.




Women who strayed from this path were ostracized by society, especially if there was a whiff of immorality about their behavior.

Charlotte Holmes, the daughter of a wealthy family, chafes at these expectations and makes a deal with her father: If she doesn't marry by the age of 25, he will finance her education. This would allow Charlotte to fulfill her ambitions and become the headmistress of a girl's school. A bonus to this plan, in Charlotte's eyes, would be that she could take care of her two sisters, neither of whom is likely to marry since one is mentally handicapped and the other is very picky about men.

Charlotte's father renegs on his promise and Charlotte retaliates in a fashion that not only gets her excommunicated from society, it embarrasses the Holmes family and blackens their name. Charlotte's furious parents plan to banish her to their country cottage forever, so she runs away, gets a cheap room, and tries to find a job. This is easier said than done, and Charlotte is on her last legs and hungry when she meets a well-to-do former actress named Mrs. Watson who's very impressed by Charlotte's astounding deductive skills.



Before long - with financial backing from Mrs. Watson - 'Sherlock Holmes' is set up as a consulting detective on Baker Street. The fiction is that Sherlock is sick in bed, but can hear what the client tells 'his sister Charlotte' in the next room. Charlotte then 'confers with Sherlock' and conveys the sleuth's observations to the client. Mrs. Watson is supposedly Sherlock's nurse.



As all this is going on, three members of British society - two women and a man - die from accidental chloral hydrate overdoses. Charlotte deems these deaths suspicious, and using the name Sherlock Holmes, writes a letter to the coroner suggesting the aristocrats were murdered.

Now things get more complicated.

The detective assigned to investigate the chloral hydrate overdoses, Inspector Treadles, has previously consulted with Sherlock Holmes via letters. Now, Treadles goes to Baker Street to get Holme's advice in person. These interactions are facilitated by Treadles' friend Lord Ingram, who's known Charlotte for years and is aware of her 'secret identity.'

The portion of the book where Treadles pursues his inquiries is a police procedural, where people are questioned, evidence is collected, deductions are made, and so on. Most of the witnesses lie to Treadles for various reasons, but the Inspector whittles away at the mystery (with Sherlock Holmes' help) and discovers the truth.



The story has a clever premise, but - as a big Sherlock Holmes fan - I'd rather the author didn't twist his persona for her books. My feeling is: "Make up your own detective." That said, the mystery is well-crafted and I enjoyed the book.

For romance fans, there's an attraction between Charlotte and Lord Ingram but they're 'just friends' because he's a married man. Who knows what the future holds, however. 😕

I'd recommend the novel to fans of historical mysteries.

Rating 3 stars