Author: Sherry Thomas
Series: The Lady Sherlock Series (Book 5)
Publication: Berkley (October 6, 2020)
Description: Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, investigates a puzzling new murder case that implicates Scotland Yard inspector Robert Treadles in the USA Today bestselling series set in Victorian England.
Inspector Treadles, Charlotte Holmes’s friend and collaborator, has been found locked in a room with two dead men, both of whom worked with his wife at the great manufacturing enterprise she has recently inherited.
Rumors fly. Had Inspector Treadles killed the men because they had opposed his wife’s initiatives at every turn? Had he killed in a fit of jealous rage, because he suspected Mrs. Treadles of harboring deeper feelings for one of the men? To make matters worse, he refuses to speak on his own behalf, despite the overwhelming evidence against him.
Charlotte finds herself in a case strewn with lies and secrets. But which lies are to cover up small sins, and which secrets would flay open a past better left forgotten? Not to mention, how can she concentrate on these murders, when Lord Ingram, her oldest friend and sometime lover, at last dangles before her the one thing she has always wanted?
My Thoughts: This is the fifth book in the Lady Sherlock mystery series. Miss Charlotte Holmes is visited by Mrs. Robert Treadles to beg for Sherlock's help since her husband Inspector Treadles has be arrested for murder.
Inspector Treadles was found blood-stained and holding a gun over the bodies of his two supposed victims. His supposed victims were Mr. John Longstead and Mr. Ambrose Sullivan both had connections to the company Mrs. Treadles inherited from her father.
Inspector Treadles had been a colleague of Sherlock Holmes and was one of very few who know Charlotte's secret identity. Naturally, Charlotte, her friend Lord Ingram Ashburton, and colleagues Mrs. Watson and her niece Penelope Redymayne are eager to assist in clearing the Inspector's name.
It doesn't help their case that Mrs. Treadles is lying to them primarily out of embarrassment. She is reluctant to tell them about the many difficulties she has been having with Mr. Sullivan in her quest to gain control of the company she has inherited. She hadn't shared her troubles with her husband either since he wasn't at all happy that she was going to be working outside the home managing her new company.
At first, the implication is that the Inspector killed the two men out of some sort of jealousy but that motive is quickly supplanted by chicanery at the business Mrs. Treadles has inherited.
I like the changing relationship between Ash and Charlotte now that Ash has stopped letting society's expectations rule him - or, at least, reduced their impact on him. Charlotte is her brilliant and eccentric self although she, too, has some questions about her new relationship with Ash. I especially enjoy Charlotte's outrageous outfits and love affair with cake.
The story is steeped in Victorian morals and the Christmas time setting adds interest too. The mystery was well-plotted and Charlotte's investigations intriguing. There were many interesting characters in the story too.
Favorite Quote:
Favorite Quote:
Her redingote was red on the top and brown on the bottom, open to reveal a seven-tiered white lace skirt underneath, each tier bearing appliques of green spruce and golden candles. Moreover, the brown part of the redingote had been made to resemble a pinecone, rendering the entire outfit a literal representation of a Christmas tree.I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
This series sounds so good! Gorgeous book cover too.
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