A Study In Charlotte
Publisher: HarperCollins, Katherine Tegen Books
Published: March 1, 2016
Pages: 336
SUMMARY
A Study in Charlotte is a re-telling of the classic Sherlock Holmes and James Watson stories. In this series, the detective duo consists of Holmes's great-great-great niece named Charlotte Holmes and Watson's great-great-great nephew named Jamie. The two are running their own lives in completely different circles ( Holmes is co-hosting annual poker nights, Watson's working on his writing skills) when the unexpected murder of a fellow classmate throws the two together and into an epic mystery full of twists, turns, and of course mystery.
REVIEW
Mystery is definitely my preferred reading genre, and I am a huge fan of the original Watson and Holmes stories. So when I learned that a clever, modern twist was being done on it, I was super psyched. My overall review of this book is four and a half stars out of five. I highly enjoyed this novel. I thought the plot was incredibly well thought up, and Holmes deduction skills were right on point. I absolutely loved the overall mystery of the book; it really had everything a perfect murder should: a brilliant detective, her trusty partner, clever suspects, and a fast pace that makes the reader want to keep on turning the page. However, I had two issues with this book. The first is that I felt no real connection to the characters. Sure I loved the characters, but I didn't feel any real connection to them. But it is the first book to a trilogy, so I am confident that the connection will grow with every new book. The other issue I had was that Holmes was a drug addict and a smoker. However, she wasn't completely taken in with the habit, and I was very pleased when I learned that she was shaking the habit near the end of the book. Although I can understand why Cavallaro might have added that to Holmes's lifestyle; I'm guessing its because in the original book Holmes was a smoker, but on a fourteen year girl, it just didn't work out that well. However, Holmes's addictions didn't have an overall effect on the plot, and as previously mentioned, she is shaking her addictions. Other than those issues, I found the book highly enjoyable, and for all of you Holmes-Watson fans, you will not be disappointed with this feisty new imagining of Holmes and Watson.
