I have always loved Sherlock Holmes, from the original books that I would read as a child, to the many different movies, television series and even video games. When I saw this book, the first in a series about a female version of Sherlock, I just had to read it!

The story is set in Victorian England and our main character, Charlotte Holmes, has decided to remove herself from society by getting caught in bed with a married man who is notorious for having affairs. She has other dreams, dreams that do not involve being forced to marry and become a housewife. When her father and sister are suspected of murder, Charlotte sets out on her own and puts her skills to work to solve the mystery and free her family from suspicion. Because she is female, she is unable to work on cases directly so she creates Sherlock Holmes, and through him she is able to help solve mysteries.

The story is told in various POVs and hops back and forth between them. I didn't care as much for the inspector's POV, he was a bit bland in comparison to Charlotte. Lord Ingram, Charlotte's possible love interest and her sister Olivia, were both interesting characters. I also enjoyed Mrs. Watson's character, the lovable, older lady who helps Charlotte put her extraordinary skills to work.

I wouldn't recommend jumping into this book with the hopes of seeing an exact replica of Sherlock, only in female form. Charlotte just isn't there quite yet. Charlotte is less a female version of Sherlock and more along the lines of a not too distant relative. Maybe a niece or a granddaughter. She has deductive skills and reasoning similar to Sherlock, but personality-wise, she is her own character. She makes small mistakes that the original Sherlock would not make. At one point she is robbed by a child. Such an obvious ploy would never have escaped Sherlock's notice, however, I owe mistakes like that to Charlotte's youth and inexperience.

This is only the first book in the series and I feel that there is plenty of character development to come. Charlotte has a lot of potential and I would love to see more challenges, higher stakes and watch as she hones her skills to become the great, Sherlock Holmes. I look forward to the next book in the series.


Many thanks to Berkley and the First to Read program for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.