pastiche – Cannonball Read 17

“We women have been taught since birth that virtue is our greatest asset. I have nothing against virtues—I’d like to think that there are many virtues I practice assiduously. But power does not yield to virtue. Power yields only to power.”

Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock, #5) by Sherry Thomas

November 16, 2023 by narfna Leave a Comment

I liked this one, but the mystery plot got convoluted at the end and I had to re-read several bits multiple times, and stop and think about things before it all came together for me. That confusion aside, this also didn’t have as high of emotional stakes for the characters I cared most about. The biggest stakes are for Inspector and Mrs. Treadles, since Inspector Treadles has been accused of two murders. Reasonably, as it turns out, as he was found in a locked room […]

“You are telling me that before you can be sure of your affections, you must be sure of yourself.”

The Art of Theft (Lady Sherlock, #4) by Sherry Thomas

July 25, 2023 by narfna Leave a Comment

This isn’t my favorite series of all time or anything, but it is so consistent, and I really think that’s a trait we don’t talk about enough in books and authors. There is nothing worse than loving a book to pieces, and then it becomes a series and each book goes down the hill of quality and fun a little further until you just wish it would just die, and your love maybe curdles into hate. That has not happened here! Sherry Thomas knows what […]

“News always reached Miss Marple, one way or another.”

Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various

December 29, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I would read more of these Agatha Christie short story collections featuring notable authors, for sure. Even the ones where Americans tried and failed to capture that British Marple feeling were entertaining in their failure. But most of these stories were pretty successful! One nailed it completely. Highlights for me were the stories from Ruth Ware (I know!), Naomi Alderman, Elly Griffiths, Kate Mosse, and Leigh Bardugo. This may be the easy way out, but I’ve just copied and pasted my Goodreads status update mini-reviews […]

“I was the kid with the shackle clamped around his wrist:” King’s Latest Doorstopper

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

November 6, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I’ve read almost all of the King oeuvre so was excited to see this at 30% off at Target. He’s known as a master storyteller for a reason, and I sped through this in a few days. Over the last few years he’s been mainly playing around with crime novels and thrillers, so this pastiche/homage to classic fairy tales and America’s foundational genre writers like Burroughs, Lovecraft, and Baum was an interesting change of pace. He’s only really written one other fantasy-type novel (Eyes of […]

“And then Sherlock Holmes had turned out to be a woman with loose morals and no remorse.”

A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock, #2) by Sherry Thomas

September 2, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

I spent my July 4th holiday off work reading about a fictional British character based on another fictional British character. I read this whole thing in a day, but even if I hadn’t had the day off work, I would have zoomed through it. I just love this series, its whole vibe. I’ve said this before, but I’m so impressed with how Sherry Thomas has managed to create her own sort of chemistry with these characters and these stories, when reimaginings can often feel pretty […]

“Miss Holmes smiled. She had dimples. Of course she did—the Good Lord went to ridiculous lengths to make sure that one of the finest minds in existence was housed in a body least likely to be suspected of it.”

A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock, #1) by Sherry Thomas

January 7, 2022 by narfna 11 Comments

Oh, this was so close to being my first five star read of the year. If I hadn’t been a little confused by the ending (lots of similar sounding names, and an intricate mystery denouement) it definitely would have been. This is the first book in Sherry Thomas’s Victorian historical mystery series, Lady Sherlock, where Sherlock is a lady. Her name is actually Charlotte, a disgraced young noble lady who is genius level intelligent, and is trying to find a way to make a living […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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