ARC Review: There's a Murder Afoot by Vicki Delany

There's A Murder Afoot
Author: Vicki Delany
Series: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery (Book 5)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 7, 2020)

Description: Just in time for Sherlock Holmes's 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street.

Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention--but will Gemma's father take the fall for a felonious forger's fatality?

The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes's birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. It's a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma's father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than thirty years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents.

Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man's career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It's up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the "lowest and vilest alleys" of London to save her father from prison.

My Thoughts: Gemma and her friends have traveled to London to attend a Sherlock Holmes convention. Ryan and Jayne are more excited to see London and spend time with Gemma but Donald doesn't want to miss one Sherlock Holmes related thing.

Things are going well until Gemma meets an uncle she didn't know she had who is soon found dead with her father standing over him. The police inspector assigned to the case has a long-standing grudge against her retired police inspector father and so Gemma knows that it will be up to her and her mysterious sister Pippa to find the real murderer and save her father.

I enjoyed the setting and the the characters. I liked that Ryan and Gemma's relationship seems to be prospering after some earlier setbacks. I liked getting to know Gemma's family and meeting her sister Pippa who works in some mysterious job for the British government.

This was an entertaining episode in a very engaging mystery series.

Favorite Quote:

A male security guard stood at the entrance to the banqueting area. His arms were crossed over his chest and he no doubt thought he looked very formidable. It would have helped with his image if he'd been old enough to shave. "No one moves until the police get here," he announced.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.