"The Essence of Holmes Lives On"
Elementary, She Read
By: Vicki Delany
Genres: Mystery
Posted: July 17, 2017
I was first drawn in to ELEMENTARY, SHE READ by the premise of a bookshop slash gift shop devoted to the Sherlock Holmes world. I kept reading because I became attached to the characters, especially Gemma.
Gemma Doyle is a transplanted Englishwoman living in West London on Cape Cod. Refreshingly candid, Gemma's keen observation of her physical surroundings makes her an asset the local police would be wise to utilize. Couple those skills with her charmingly myopic inability to understand or follow some social cues, and she instantly became one of my favorite sleuths.
ELEMENTARY, SHE READ is cozy in the best possible way. It features an intriguing story line and amateur sleuth with a compelling reason to take part in the investigation and who contributes to finding the solution rather than (as sometimes happens in lesser books) getting in the way of the real detectives. It is set in a lovingly described coastal town with plenty of incidental characters.
Holmes enthusiasts will enjoy Gemma's almost Sherlockian attention to detail as well as the many nods to those who have created pastiches of the world created by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Vicki Delany is the author of several mystery series, including the Constable Molly Smith series, Year-Round Christmas series, Klondike Mystery series, the Sergeant Ray Robertson Rapid Read novellas (all written under the name Vicki Delany) and the Lighthouse cozy mysteries (written under the name Eva Gates.)
Book Summary
Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop--located at 222 Baker Street--specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.
The highly perceptive Gemma is the police’s first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare books expert, the dead woman's suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it's a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight in the sleuthing duo of Gemma and Jayne in Elementary, She Read, the clever and captivating series debut by nationally bestselling author Vicki Delany.
Read an Excerpt
by: Vicki Delany
Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery
Crooked Lane Books
March 1, 2017
On Sale: March 14, 2017
Featuring: Gemma Doyle
320 pages
ISBN: 1683310969
EAN: 9781683310969
Kindle: B01MU8WTPI
Hardcover / e-Book