Elementary, She Read (Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Series #1)

by Vicki Delany, Kelly Clare (Narrated by)

Overview

Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop—located at 222 Baker Street-specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Holmes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body. The highly perceptive Gemma is the police's first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare-books expert, the dead woman's suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it's a race to uncover the truth before the detectives loc k them up for good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781520078465
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	06/20/2017
Series:	Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	739,668
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 5.04(h) x 1.13(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Vicki Delany is one of Canada's most varied and prolific crime writers, having authored more than twenty novels/novellas in several of mystery's subgenres. Born in Manitoba and raised in Ontario, she is the current president of the Crime Writers of Canada, a member of Capital Crime Writers, and a member of Sisters in Crime. For more information, visit her on Facebook, on Twitter @vickidelany, at www.vickidelany.com, or at her blog, One Woman Crime Wave.

Kelly Clare is a professional actress who trained at both LAMDA and Arts Educational School. Her work in television and film includes roles in the British independent film Honeymooner, in the American thriller Criminal, and on the British television drama Spooks. She has also written, directed, and appeared in her own film, Meliorism. As a voice-over artist, she has narrated various audiobooks as well as educational DVDs.

Editorial Reviews

01/09/2017
This charming series launch from Delaney (Unreasonable Doubt) will please Sherlock Holmes and cozy fans. British expat Gemma Doyle runs the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, a business started by her great-uncle Arthur (who claims to be a distant cousin of Conan Doyle), in the Cape Cod town of West London. Gemma finds herself in the middle of a real-life whodunit after a woman abandons what appears to be an original 1887 Beeton’s Christmas Annual in the store. A copy of this rare magazine, in which the first Holmes story, the novel A Study in Scarlet, appeared, is worth a fortune. Along with her close friend Jayne Wilson, Gemma traces the woman to her hotel room, only to find her strangled corpse. This grim discovery doesn’t stop Gemma from investigating further. She identifies the dead woman as Mary Ellen Longton, who turns out to have been the nurse to a recently deceased millionaire recluse, who named her in his will. Romantic entanglements and another murder victim thicken the plot, which builds to a fairly clued reveal. Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Elementary, She Read:
"This charming series launch will please Sherlock Holmes and cozy fans."
—Publishers Weekly

“A series debut that puts ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Watson’ in a whole new, fun light...this should be a humorous, captivating series that readers will absolutely love for years to come.”
—Suspense Magazine

"A great read for mystery fans and a must read for Sherlockians."
—Night Owl Reviews, Top Pick

“[Gemma Doyle] instantly became one of my favorite sleuths...Elementary, She Read is cozy in the best possible way...Holmes enthusiasts will enjoy Gemma’s almost Sherlockian attention to detail as well as the many nods to those who have created pastiches of the world created by Arthur Conan Doyle.”
—Fresh Fiction

“An entertaining, light-hearted, and genuinely mystifying adventure...excellent summer reading.”
—Popular Culture Association

“The protagonist, Gemma Doyle, a witty English woman...will delight all but the dourest readers.”
—Smoky Mountain News

"Vicki Delany’s Elementary, She Read is an absolute delight. A perplexing mystery with a refreshingly intelligent and witty amateur sleuth, I enjoyed every well-crafted word of this Sherlock Holmes infused tale. A must read for lovers of all things Sherlock Holmes."
-Jenn McKinlay, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of Better Late Than Never

"Vicki Delany is one of my favorite mystery authors and with Elementary, She Read, she has outdone herself. This first book in her intriguing new series features Gemma Doyle, a wonderfully appealing protagonist who runs the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, where delightfully quirky characters and fascinating old books flourish. I loved everything about this story! The Cape Cod setting was enchanting and the intricate mystery kept me turning pages late into the night. Easily one of the best new mystery series on the market."
-Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author of the Fixer-Upper mysteries and the Bibliophile mysteries

“Elementary, She Read is a delight, fast, fun, and full of Sherlockian lore. Cheers for a charming, intelligent heroine as observant as The Great Detective himself.”
—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Walking on My Grave

“Thoroughly delightful. I defy anyone to read this book and not fall in love with the uber-observant Gemma Doyle. She may or may not be related to Sherlock Holmes’ creator, but she’s certainly kin to his most famous detective. The best new cozy series of the year.”
—Laura DiSilverio, bestselling author of the Readaholics Book Club mysteries and the award-winning The Reckoning Stones

Praise for Vicki Delany:
"A fun Yuletide-themed cozy with an appealing amateur sleuth."
—Library Journal on Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

"Delightful...a humorous tinsel-covered tale that made me laugh out loud even while keeping me guessing."
—New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay on Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

"A charming new series...a book lover’s dream."
—New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis on Booked for Trouble (as Eva Gates)

From the Publisher

2017-01-23
The owner of a Massachusetts bookstore investigates the murder of a private-duty nurse.When British-born Gemma Doyle opened the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, her goal was to pay homage to the Great Detective, not to become a sleuth herself. But when a customer stashes an 1887 edition of Beeton's Christmas Annual in the shop's shelves and proceeds to get herself killed, Gemma needs to act. First of all, she learns that Mary Ellen Longton was at the bedside of famed Holmes collector Kurt Kent Jr. when he died, so it's a good bet the copy of Beeton's is worth big bucks. Second, Detective Louise Estrada, who's partnered with Gemma's old flame Ryan Ashburton, seems to like the Brit very much for the murder. Not that there aren't a slew of other suspects: Kurt's son, Colin, who's hopping mad that his late dad may have given the valuable journal to his nurse; Mary Ellen's hard-up son, Roy, who'd like a slice of his mom's action; or Kurt's daughter-in-law, Elaine, who bears a strong resemblance to a customer who visited the emporium the day before Mary Ellen's death. Still, as Estrada zeroes in, even her best friend, Jayne Wilson, co-owner of Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room next door to the emporium, advises Gemma to put on her deerstalker and crack the case in a hurry. The heroine isn't quite likable enough to support such a lengthy debut with such an extended cast of undistinguished characters. The result is more likely to appeal to small-town-sleuth fans than true Holmes aficionados.

Kirkus Reviews

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