A Tempest at Sea (The Lady Sherlock Series)
Thomas charms in this seventh outing of her “Lady Sherlock” series.
Charlotte Holmes, better known as her alter ego “Sherlock Holmes,” London’s greatest detective, is supposed to be dead. After a supposedly fatal incident in Cornwall, Charlotte has been in hiding, trying to evade her nemesis, Moriarty. But then she receives an offer she can’t resist: find a missing dossier for the crown in exchange for protection from Moriarty. Her search takes her aboard the RMS Provence, upon which her dear friend and lover, Lord Ingram Ashburton, and her sister, Livia, are sailing. When a fellow passenger is found shot to death in his cabin after a stormy night at sea, Charlotte, assisted by her dear friend and colleague, Mrs. Watson, must spring into action to solve the case without revealing her identity.
A Tempest at Sea is a terrific adventure featuring all the great Holmesian traits: brilliant deduction, inconvenient police inspectors, long-kept secrets, and, of course, disguises. Charlotte is capable and intelligent without being a Mary Sue, and the supporting cast of characters, particularly Lord Ingram, adds color and a biting dose of wit. Fans of classic whodunnits will love the setup: a ship full of passengers, anyone of whom could be a murderer still on the loose; and fans of Arthur Conan Doyle will love the homages to the source material. Allusions to previous books are not fully explained, so newcomers to the series would do well to start with book one, but series fans will be pleased.
