I thought that the Charlotte Holmes series was only so supposed to be a trilogy. In fact, it was in my year-end review of Series I said good bye too last year. So talk about a surprise to find out that there was a fourth book. It’s always a little unnerving when an author decides to extend their series beyond the original plans because sometimes the story just isn’t there to support it. I felt that A Case for Jamie ended things pretty well. Lucien Moriarty was caught and Jamie and Charlotte were able to have a reconciliation. They didn’t know where their relationship was going to go but they knew that they were going to have some kind of relationship. I thought it was good way to end it. This book really wasn’t necessary but also not unwanted or unwarranted. Charlotte and Jamie are in Oxford for summer courses and while they are there they pick up a case. The year before, the drama department had a series of unfortunate accidents that ended with a student disappearing. The stakes are not as high this time, since the mystery has nothing to do with them but it still works. Charlotte is healing from the all the trauma of the past couple of years and from her family. Living with her Uncle Leander has really been good for her. It also, as well as this case, has given her time to figure out what she wants to do with her life and who she is. It also gives her time to truly work out her feelings for Jaime. I missed Jamie’s narration but it was fascinating to be on Charlotte’s head a little more. Getting a first hand account of not just how she deduces but also how she is processing her own trauma. I think we expect people to get over the trauma quickly and move on but it’s not the simple. We don’t change over night and that is what this novel illustrates. It’s a little bittersweet but also very healthy. I’m glad we had this final chapter. It may not have been as exciting as the previous books, it did give us the true closure we needed.
Let’s be honest. Sherlock Holmes is a dick. I haven’t read any of the books but every character based on the novels, whether it’s Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr. or Hugh Laurie they are all Grade A assholes. Charlotte Holmes is no different. And you know what, it’s kind of wonderful. Now don’t get me wrong. Charlotte may be a genius but she’s not a role model either. Too often, female characters in book, movie and TV shows have to be likable and often one dimensional. This includes when they are the main character. Male protagonists don’t have this problem. They can be a dick and still be the hero. Charlotte is cold and calculated. She doesn’t adhere to social norms and doesn’t try to fit in. She is also a recovering drug addict teenage girl that is less then a year removed from being sexually assaulted. In other words, she complicated and complex as her great great great great literary grandfather and that’s just fine. Like Sherlock Holmes, Charlotte is humanized by her Watson. Jamie keeps her from completely losing her humanity but he’s also her weakness as she is his. Jamie frequently asks why he continues to stay friends and be in love with Charlotte when she often ignores him, insults him and is constantly puts himself in danger but every time he has a chance to leave he can’t. Instead, he puts himself in the line of fire to try to protect each other. In their own way Jamie and Charlotte try to protect each other only to hurt each other even more. It’s complicated and complex. They are a powder keg ready to blow. Charlotte still dealing with the trauma of her rape and Jamie is respectful of that but he can’t deny his own feelings and wants. There is this thread of tension because you know they both want more from each other but unable to give it. There is always frustration and relief but also realism in it. One does not just get over something like that and one does not turn off ones feelings each other. Both Charlotte and Jamie are allowed to show all their faults. They are allowed to be unlikable. They complicated and complex and it’s wonderful.
A Study in Charlotte was a very fun read. It’s new take on the Sherlock Holmes stories. This time it’s the descendants of Holmes and John Watson. In this world, the famed detective and his assistant were real. Watson chronicled Holmes’ cases and well fictionalized them. The Holmes family continue to solve crimes and being eccentric, while the Watsons continue to be normal. Here we catch up with the latest generation of Holmes’ and Watson’s when Jaime Watson starts at a new boarding school. Jaime meets Charlotte Holmes, the girl who is full of mystery as anything else. (For some reason I thought Jaime was a girl and I was a little disappointed to find out that he isn’t but I got over it.) There are little sprinklings of the originally stories throughout the novels and the nastiest parts of the stories like Holmes’ drug use. Charlotte is just as impossible as the original Holmes or Benedict Cumberbatch’s. Shortly after Holmes and Watson meet a fellow student is murder in a way that is reminiscent of Holmes’ stories. Of course, they are the prime suspects. They have to work together to clear their names. They story goes through many twists and turns that will keep you guessing all through the story. You don’t have to be a fan of Sherlock Holmes to love this book. You just have to enjoy a good mystery with interesting characters and you’ll be set.
2 Women, So Many Books 