Summary
New school Holmes and Watson.
Several generations removed from their famous relatives, teens Charlotte Holmes and James Watson meet at a Connecticut boarding school. At first it’s a simple meeting of their generation’s version of the famous families. But soon they are questioned in a murder and then an assault. The cases resemble classic Holmes cases, and Charlotte and James are framed exquisitely well. The teens will have to use all their best observation and deductive reasoning skills to keep out of jail – and to stay alive.
Review
As a mystery fan but not necessarily a Holmes fan, I wasn’t sure I’d like this one, but I wanted to give it a try. I was pulled in right away by this idea of kids with famous ancestors trying to decide how much they wanted to live up to the family history. Was she going to be the brilliant addict, seeing things no one else noticed? Would he be the writer, telling engrossing stories? Where they destined to be friends? Or were things more complicated than falling into old roles?
I thought the author did a great job of merging pieces of the classic characters and stories with her contemporary protagonists. I kept reading in part to see how things would play out between Charlotte and James.
The other reason I kept reading was the mystery. It was complicated and layered. I was left guessing all the way through. And the author left enough points open at the end to leave me wondering what might happen next.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Book two releases next week – The Last of August.