Reading: A Study in Charlotte
- readerskitchen
- Apr 19, 2016
- 2 min read
“What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is what can you make people believe you have done.” - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlett
Title: A Study in Charlotte
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Epic Reads
Published: 2016
Rating: 3 Stars (liked it)
This book is a fun modern, YA twist on Sherlock Holmes. You may have guessed that simply from the title, a switch on the Sherlock Holmes novel "A Study in Scarlett."
The story takes place in modern-day Connecticut with distant descendants of real-life Sherlock Holmes and John Watson: Charlotte Holmes and James Watson. With a lot of the quirks (drug addiction and rudeness) of the original characters, you get to see what a female Sherlock Holmes would do if she and James are suspected of a murder on their boarding school campus. Are they being framed?
I enjoyed seeing how these little changes play out in a modern world. It was clear from the book that Cavallaro truly loves the original Sherlock Holmes stories. The book was paced well and the mystery was truly an adventure.
My issue, I suppose, was with the narration of Charlotte. An edgy, troubled teenage girl, is being narrated by an infatuated teenage boy. It's exactly what it sounds like. I didn't dislike it, but oftentimes when James described Charlotte I got a little irritated. It might not be that different from how Watson described Holmes in the originals, but as soon as there's a gender switch, you start to see these weird idealized, i-can-read-her-mind type situations that just irk me.
That being said, it's a fun book and an easy-read that keeps you guessing on the mystery. It's definitely left open for some future Holmes/Watson adventures in the future.
3 Stars (liked it)
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