A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro Series: Charlotte Holmes #1
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on March 1, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Suspense, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Synopsis:The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.
From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.
A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy.
Something about this book made it one of my most anticipated reads of 2016. Maybe it was the cover, the anticipation of a Sherlock Holmes retelling with some romance between a female Holmes and a male Watson. I’m not sure what exactly drew me to it, but I’m so glad it did.
I LOVED A Study in Charlotte. It clipped along for me at an intensely fast paced, and I didn’t want to put it down. This isn’t so much a retelling; the main characters, Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson are actually descendants of the famed Sherlock and John. Their families therefore have loads of history, and when Charlotte and Jamie meet, you just know they’re going to get along brilliantly. Well, they’ll at least put up with each other, much in the shame way John and Sherlock do.
This is a mystery of course, and while I don’t read much mystery, I just might have to start reading more, because this plot line was very enjoyable and interesting to read. The mystery itself moved a bit slower than I’m used to Holmes working, but then again, Charlotte and Jamie are what, 16 years old? Charlotte and Jamie are both suspects in the murder of a fellow classmate, and both are determined to find the real killer before the police try to pin it on Charlotte and Jamie themselves.
I loved the character development; Charlotte wasn’t a lifeless robot, even though she’s peculiar and fairly anti-social and brilliant on a whole different level than everyone else. Jamie struggles with anger issues, and it really seems as though Charlotte is the only one who understands him, or even really wants to. Their relationship was lovely, moving slowly from acquaintances to friends to something more. At some point, it became sort of understood that they were now “Holmes and Watson”, even though Jamie felt like he didn’t understand Charlotte at all. But some of the character development scenes were my favorite, with Charlotte revealing things about herself to Jamie and vice-versa that made them both vulnerable and far more sympathetic than I think Sherlock Holmes is usually portrayed. Charlotte and Jamie have some really fun witty banter as well, which is always a plus in my book.
I absolutely cannot wait to get more of these two heroes, and see them continue to solve crimes. It was fun to see other characters similar to their ancestors: Milo Holmes (Mycroft), August Moriarty (Professor James Moriarty), among others. I don’t know how fans of the original Sherlock series will enjoy this retelling, as I’ve never read the originals, but it’s a very fun YA Mystery with a dash of romance and lots of lovely friendship development. A really excellent read.
A Study in Charlotte is filling the category “Contemporary” in my TBR Challenge. To see more info on my 2016 Reading Challenges, go HERE.
Content: Heavy infrequent language, rape mentioned, disturbing images, violence, kissing. Recommended for 16+.
I have been intrigued by the summary for this for awhile and I’m happy that you enjoyed it! I’m not really into mysteries either, but YA ones are usually pretty good.
Yes, I loved it!! Hope you enjoy it if you get around to it! 🙂
Jessica recently posted…Disney Rambles: Birthday at Disney World!
I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes in all incarnations. I first loved the old Basil Rathbone movies on Saturday afternoons when I was very young. I then read all of the Conan Doyle stories when I was twelve. I re-read them again now and then. I love all the fiction written around this character and all of the film/television portrayals. I think I would give Charlotte a try, but the graphic nature is not to my taste.
~Icky. 🙂
Ichabod Temperance recently posted…March, 2016 – New Release! A Journey of Temperance
Ah yes, very nice; I need to read the originals at some point. Also, A Study in Charlotte really isn’t that graphic. I mean, they do talk about a character being raped, but you don’t see it or get a graphic account. The book is much more focused on the mystery and Holmes and Watson’s relationship
Jessica recently posted…May 2016 Clean Sweep ARC Challenge
Okay, thanks!
Ichabod Temperance recently posted…March, 2016 – New Release! A Journey of Temperance
I was all excited until I got to the age of the protagonists. YA and NA are two of the things I don’t read, as a rule. Ah well, these things happen.
Ah yes, then I would not recommend this book lol, it’s definitely YA. Sorry about that :/
Jessica recently posted…Disney Rambles: Birthday at Disney World!
I enjoyed your review. I love how you keep track of your TBR challenges. So organized!
Thanks so much! I’m not really crazy organized in real life, but when it comes to blogging/scheduling for the blog/keeping up with challenges, I’m a bit Type A lol
Jessica recently posted…{Book Review + TBR Discussion} A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
Cooool. I love mysteries and so am very interested in this. I read all of Sherlock Holmes 2 years back as we were constantly rewatching the BBC ones. I’ll have to find this one too. Great review!
I love the sound of this one and your mention of character development makes me really excited. It’s so important to me to see a character grow. Great review!
Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense recently posted…Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke