Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781683317906; 9781683850276; 9781974922963
Crooked Lane Books
320 Pages
$17.70; $15.99; $29.99; $12.99 Amazon
November 13, 2018 (July 9, 2019 TP)
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Walking her dog Violet late one night, Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop, acts quickly when she smells smoke outside Scarlet House, the West London Museum. Damager to the historic house is extensive, and Baker Street's shop owners organize an afternoon auction tea to raise funds to rebuild.
Excitement fills the air (along with the aromas of Jayne Wilson's delightful scones) in Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, but before the gavel can fall, museum board chair Kathy Lamb is found dead in the back room with a long rope of decorative knotted tea cups wrapped tightly around her neck.
The suspect list is long, and the case far from elementary. Does Kathy's killing have any relations to a mysterious death of seven years ago? Gemma has no intention of getting involved in the investigation, but when fellow shopkeeper Maureen finds herself the prime suspect she begs Gemma for her help. Detective Ryan Ashburton knows Gemma's methods and isn't happy when she gets entangled in another mystery. But with so many suspects and so few clues, her deductive prowess will prove invaluable.
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Gemma Doyle owns the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop in Cap Cod, and is half-owner in the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, along with Jayne Wilson. While walking her dog Violet one evening, she sees a fire at the historical society, Scarlet House. After the fire is extinguished it's determined it was accidental. Now the society members need to raise money to restore the building.
Gemma is once-again roped into helping Jayne, and they meet with Leslie, Jayne's mother, and Kathy Lamb, the chair of the society. While they are talking, Maureen McGregor enters. She owns a shop across from Gemma and is disliked by everyone in town. Once they decide to hold an auction, Kathy tells them that Maureen is the only person who didn't donate anything. Gemma, in her way, convinces Maureen to donate something.
But the day of the auction, Maureen brings in a hideous painting and has a verbal altercation with Kathy. Later, when Kathy can't be found, Gemma looks for her and discovers her dead in the storage room of Mrs. Hudson's. Most people think Maureen killed her, and Maureen grudgingly pesters Gemma for help in proving her innocent. But Gemma doesn't really think Maureen killed anyone, and decides to go along with it - upsetting her boyfriend, Detective Ryan Ashburton. There's a killer on the loose, and if one person is dead, it's easy enough to figure out there might be another...
I've read every book in this series and I think this one is my favorite. Probably because Gemma isn't as annoying in this book, talking down to everyone around her. She actually listens to her employee Ashleigh, and doesn't hound Jayne constantly to help her. She also spends more time with her Cocker Spaniel, Violet, and that's the biggest plus. So the woman is coming around a bit.
I also like the fact that perhaps Detective Estrada is beginning to let up a little on her dislike of Gemma. I know people don't mind a 'nemesis' in books, but I find them tiring. The constant sniping at people gets old, so this was a nice change. I do wish, though, that Gemma could make friends with Moriarity, especially since he proved his worth in this book. I have several cats, and the only people they've ever disliked have turned out to be worth disliking. I trust them implicitly when it comes to their 'radar' on people.
I also liked the fact that while there were plenty of suspects, it took awhile before you come to the conclusion of who the murderer is. Many times you can figure it out almost immediately, but this book took longer, and that's always interesting. The mystery itself was done nicely, and while there were clues, it took some time to decipher them. Because of this, I will read the next in the series. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Scandal-Scarlet-Sherlock-Bookshop-Mystery/dp/164385027X/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3190355008
More on Vicki Delany's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/vicki-delany/
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