A Three Book Problem

October 15, 2021
A modern murder at a country-house party poses a pretty problem for a detective steeped in the ways of the great detective. Wealthy Sherlock-ian David Masterson wants Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson, who run Cape Cod's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium and the adjacent Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, to plan and cater a traditional English house party at Suffolk Gardens House, which he's rented for a week while it's up for sale. Along with his guests, Masterson is housing his resentful niece and nephew, who've been pressed into service as maid and butler, and Gemma's boyfriend, police detective Ryan Ashburton, who's taken time off to work in the kitchen. Gemma immediately notices that the expensive and expansive house has been poorly maintained and that a number of the guests seem strangely uninterested in Sherlock Holmes. When Masterson is killed with a poisoned dart right before Gemma's eyes, she uses her noted Sherlock-ian skills to help the police investigate. Apart from devoted Holmes fan Jennifer Griffith, who seems to have been in love with Masterson, everyone acts unmoved by his death except for their interest in who might inherit his fortune. His wife, who wasn't among the guests, has an alibi, but his niece and nephew had expectations. So did Jennifer, who tells Gemma that David was divorcing his wife to marry her and had changed his will in her favor. Masterson was harboring a lot of secrets, and Gemma must winkle them all out to solve the crime. Maybe not the best of Delany's books, but plenty of Sherlock-ian lore and local color make for an enjoyable read.

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November 8, 2021
Delany’s enjoyable seventh Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery (after 2021’s A Curious Incident) finds Gemma Doyle, the owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium on Cape Cod, helping a wealthy devotee of the canon host a Sherlockian weekend at a house rented for the occasion. Aided by her best friend, Jayne Wilson, the manager of Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room, Gemma arranges for people to pose as Victorian servants and provides catering and Sherlockian paraphernalia. Gemma soon picks up on undercurrents of tension among the guests, overhearing snatches of conversations that she gives further scrutiny to after one attendee is murdered. The homicide method, a poisoned dart, is straight out of Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four. Gemma’s discovery that the victim was the author of a new theory about the canon’s master blackmailer, Charles Augustus Milverton, proves crucial to the subsequent police inquiry. While the plot line has been done better before, Delany does a decent job of capturing the feel and discourse of a gathering of Sherlockians. This is her best series entry to date. Agent: Kimberly Lionetti, Bookends Literary.

Starred review from December 1, 2021

Tourist season is over in West London, Cape Cod, so Gemma Doyle, owner of Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, along with her best friend, Jayne Wilson, owner of Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, have time to work a Sherlockian country house weekend. Gemma's boyfriend, Ryan, even takes the weekend to be sous chef instead of a police detective. Gemma provides props and games, while Jayne caters the event for David Masterson. Gemma understands the prominent and rich Sherlockian rented Suffolk Gardens House to host a group of like-minded friends, so she's puzzled by the guests. Some don't seem to care about Holmes. Some don't seem to like Masterson at all. When a poisoned dart kills the host, there's a large group of suspects. Fortunately, the observant Gemma is on the scene. It's a perfect opportunity for an amateur sleuth with Holmes's observational skills. VERDICT Fans of country house mysteries, readers of the series, and those who enjoy Holmes pastiches will appreciate this entertaining follow-up to A Curious Incident.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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January 1, 2022
Gemma Doyle, owner with her great-uncle of Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, is hired, along with Jayne Wilson, her partner in the adjacent business, Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, to cater an event centering on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. It soon becomes apparent to Gemma that many of the guests don't seem to like one another and hardly qualify as Holmes fans. Then, with the event in progress, the host, David Masterson, is murdered by a dart laced with poison, and Gemma investigates against the wishes of her boyfriend, Detective Ryan Ashburton. Gemma soon learns that Masterson was not the genial host he appeared to be, bullying his relatives into the roles of butler and maid at the party and making promises he had no intention of keeping. More sinister still, it appears he was a blackmailer, further expanding the suspect list. Details about the catering business and, of course, about the life and times of Sherlock Holmes are woven throughout this cozy mystery, which will be gobbled up by cozy-friendly fans of The Great Detective and his creator.

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