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.
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tw/cw: drug use & addiction, mentions of date rape (off screen & happens before the events of this story)
A Study in Charlotte Book Review (Reviewed on: 1.12.18)
I have read and reviewed this before (review is linked above) but because I remembered so little about the mystery itself I decided I would re-read it before continuing with the series. Because I remembered so little I thought reviewing it again was a better idea than to just continue to the second book! So this is my redo of my review of A Study in Charlotte, the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series! My opinions in both are pretty similar besides the fact that I've rated it higher now than I did originally.
"She was altogether colorless and severe, and still she managed to be beautiful. Not the way girls are generally beautiful, but more like the way a knife catches the light, makes you want to take it in your hands."
The characters are my favorite part of this story. I absolutely love the friendship that forms between Charlotte and Jamie. It's definitely one of my favorite literary friendships I've ever read. I'm pretty sure it's going to evolve into a relationship as the series goes on, we've had a few subtle hints in this book alone, but I am okay with that. My first read, I really disliked that there was a chance that they were going to be a couple in future books, but now I am on board with the idea. I am not sure what it was about this re-read that made me love the idea of them as a couple but whatever it was it has me ready to see their relationship grow. They're so soft and sweet with each other, even if Charlotte tries not to be because she tries to be more detached, you can tell she has grown to love Jamie. Their friendship is just so cute.
I thought the mystery was so good! It kept me on my toes and interested throughout the entire story. I was stressed and heavily invested in the well being of our heroes. Like I said above, I didn't remember anything about the mystery so that was the part that was most fuzzy to me when re-reading, so trying to figure out the mystery with Charlotte and Jamie was fun. It felt a lot like solving mysteries with Sherlock and John which made it almost a nostalgic read because it's not like we are getting new Sherlock Holmes stories, so in a way it feels a bit like new modern Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Obviously, Cavallaro's writing style and tone is more modern and different than Arthur Conan Doyle's but I think the new stories had the same rush and excitement as the originals.
"We weren't Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was ok with that, I thought. We had things they didn't, too. Like electricity, and refrigerators. And Mario Kart."
Even with Jamie and Charlotte's tone's and voices you can see the parallels between them and Sherlock & John while also being their own unique characters. It never felt like Cavallaro had her characters imitate the originals but they still carried similarities to their ancestors. It's a perfect respectful nod to the originals while also being this new modern take on the genre. I have no problem believing that Charlotte is Sherlock's great-great-great-granddaughter and Jamie is John's great-great-great-grandson and that made everything a bit more believable.
I really liked the writing style. I found myself take longer than normal to read this book, which normally means I am having an issue with the writing but I did genuinely enjoy the writing style. I never felt bored while reading the story and although I may have wanted to skim because I was so caught up in the mystery, I didn't mind that something about either the writing or the story was forcing me to slow down while reading. I think the way Jamie and Charlotte's friendship was written was perfect. They have so many little moments where it feels like they've known each other forever. Charlotte allows herself to be vulnerable with Jamie and it absolutely breaks my heart. There are so many soft moments between them and because at this moment they're just friends it made it even sweeter. I liked the way the mystery was written and how everything unfolded, and I really loved the fantastic humor. Because Charlotte is almost seen as untouchable and cold at their school not many people have seen her vulnerable or maybe a little silly. But anytime Charlotte has to play a part or put on a disguise (doting girlfriend, emotional teenager, sorority girl, etc) because it's so different from the way she normally presents herself Jamie's reactions are always pretty amusing. They also have great witty dialogue between them that I loved so much.
"Number fifteen: if you wait for full disclosure from a Holmes, it might be years before you learn a damn thing."
Some things I hope we see in the future books: I'd like to see more of the Holmeses and more background of Milo and Charlotte. They obviously care for each other, despite the sibling rivalry/bickering and because soft vulnerable Charlotte is a favorite of mine I'd like more of that with her brother too. I'd also like to meet Jamie's sister and mom and get to know his dad's family a bit more. I think it made complete sense why Jamie had so many problems with his dad, but like Jamie said it's hard not to be charmed by him and everyone (other than Jamie) seems to love him. And of course, I am excited for more mysteries.
One thing I want to mention, which could be considered a spoiler (though I won't go into too much detail) is about the topic of date rape in this book, which I think was handled well. If you don't want to know who/why/etc just continue on! Spoilers start here! I think the way Brittany Cavallaro handled Charlotte's date rape was really well done. I do hate that it was orchestrated by the villain of the story, but I think the way Charlotte was affected by it was really hard to read about. It obviously forced her to use drugs more, she had issues sleeping and eating, and she couldn't hide that it affected her when it was brought up. She also admits she has issues with intimacy after the trauma and it broke my heart. I hope that as the story progresses we see her dealing with what happened to her and hopefully healing from it. Spoilers end here.
"The two of us, we're the best kind of disaster. Apples and oranges. Well, more like apples and machetes."
Overall, I highly recommend this book! If you're a fan of mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes books/movies/show and are dying to get more of those kinds of stories I think this is a perfect fit. I plan on picking up the second book, The Last of August, next so I can actually continue the series. Especially now that the fourth and final book has been published so I don't have to wait around! These books are just a lot of fun, they're easy to get hooked into and read quickly and the characters are amazing. I cannot recommend A Study in Charlotte higher.
Thanks for reading!
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