In this 9th book in the 'Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries', bookstore manager/amateur sleuth Gemma Doyle investigates murder at a séance. The book works fine as a standalone.
*****
British native Gemma Doyle now lives in the town of West London in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There she co-owns and manages 'The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium' for her Uncle Arthur, a nonagenarian who likes to travel and indulge in his hobbies.
Gemma and her friend Jayne.....
.....co-own 'Mrs. Hudson's Tearoom', which adjoins the bookstore, and both establishments do a lively business - especially during tourist season.
Gemma prides herself on having Sherlockian powers of observation, and often embroils herself in murder investigations. This sometimes helps Gemma's boyfriend, Police Detective Ryan Ashburton, who occasionally benefits from Gemma's insights.
The story opens during the summer tourist season, and a psychic fair is about to commence in West London.
Gemma's friend Donald Morris, a former Sherlock Holmes scholar, plans to attend the fair, and he'd like Gemma to go as well.
Donald is an avid fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who - in addition to writing the Sherlock Holmes stories - penned books about spiritualism, psychics, and paranormal phenomena.
For her part, Gemma thinks all fortune tellers and mediums are frauds, and she refuses to accompany Donald to the psychic fair. So Donald goes with Gemma's bookstore assistant Ashleigh, and Ashleigh's mother Bunny Leigh. The threesome enjoy the fair and arrange to attend a séance the next day. With much prodding, Gemma is convinced to go to the séance as well.
*****
The séance takes place in the library of socialite Rebecca Stanton's luxurious home, and thirteen people attend:
👻 Madame Lavalier - the medium, who claims she can contact people beyond the veil.
👻 Mary Moffat - Madame Lavalier's assistant.
👻 Rebecca Stanton - the hostess, who thinks of the séance as harmless entertainment.
👻 Daniel Stanton and his wife Eleanor - Daniel is Rebecca Stanton's stepson; he's angry that his deceased father left him nothing because Daniel always needs money.
👻 Miranda - Rebecca Stanton's niece, who's a student at Harvard; Rebecca is working at 'Mrs. Hudson's Tearoom' for the summer.
👻 Max and Larissa Greenwood - a rich couple who recently lost their son.
👻 Ashleigh - Gemma's vibrant bookstore assistant; Ashleigh is at the séance at the behest of her mother Bunny Leigh.
👻 Bunny Leigh - Ashleigh's mother, who only recently came into her daughter's life; Bunny would like to revive her old fame as a pop star.
👻 Donald Morris - an avid Sherlock Holmes fan who hopes to speak to the spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
👻 Jayne Wilson - Gemma's friend, who came along to accompany her chum.
👻 Gemma - Gemma goes to the séance but is asked to leave the library before the activity begins, because her skepticism will stymie the spirits.
****
The lights go off, the participants join hands, and the séance begins - though Gemma has to sit outside and listen at the door. After a time there's a commotion in the library, and when the lights turn on, Madame Lavalier is dead. The psychic has been stabbed in the back of the neck with a long sharp hat pin.
The police come to investigate, but (of course) Gemma can't stifle her detective instincts and launches her own inquiries.
In addition to investigating, Gemma goes about her life, as do the other attendees.
Gemma runs her bookshop, walks her dogs, kibitzes with the bookshop cat Moriarty, and has dates with Ryan.
Daniel Stanton tries to convince his step-mother to fund his online menswear business.
Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood dine at the local yacht club.
Jayne prepares pastries and finger sandwiches for her tea shop, and plans her upcoming wedding to restaurateur Andy Whitehall; and so on.
There's another death before the mystery is solved, but Gemma figures it all out in the end.
This is an enjoyable addition to the Gemma Doyle series.
Thanks to Netgalley, Vicki Delany, and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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