⭐⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Yes. Mrs. Watson’s past gets exposed, along with her sister’s, in this sinister mystery.

It’s been three years since Charlotte Holmes struck a decisive blow against Moriarty’s operations in Britain, three years of relative calm and benign developments. In a buoyant mood, everyone gathers at Lord Ingram’s seaside cottage in North Devon for what promises to be a perfect summer holiday. Until Mrs. Watson receives an invitation from Mrs. Carstairs, her long-estranged sister, to attend a house party nearby. Mrs. Carstairs has married spectacularly well. She is the mistress of a great manor, a doyen of all domestic arts, and still an unforgettable beauty. Now she clamors for a reconciliation with her sister. Mrs. Watson does not trust Mrs. Carstairs’s motives. Yet she cannot help but feel tremors of the old admiration for this once-beloved sister. Then Mrs. Carstairs disappears without a trace. The next day a woman is discovered floating on the waves, her build and coloring matching those of Mrs. Carstairs. But her husband insists that the corpse fished out of the Bristol Channel cannot be his wife. So where is the real Mrs. Carstairs? Would she have purposely dragged Mrs. Watson into a murder investigation? Or was it Sherlock Holmes’s involvement that she needed from the very beginning?

MY THOUGHTS

The beginning was very slow. I loved discovering Mrs. Watson’s history and how the current events were impacting her. At the same time, I didn’t particularly care for her sister or what had happened to her. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted the mystery solved, but Justina just seemed so self-absorbed, only interested in what served her best.

Then Charlotte started her investigation in earnest, with her matter-of-fact approach to everything, increasing the tension and suspense. All kinds of interesting connections popped up between the characters, who all appeared unrelated at first. This investigation turned out to be much more convoluted and dastardly than the sedate beginning implied.

Much of the story was from Mrs. Watson’s viewpoint, with her conflicting emotions about her sister most prominent. I loved how everything came full circle for her at the end.

I can highly recommend this series if you like historical fiction with murder and a very slow burn romance. It is best to read these books in order, since the characters all change over time and you don’t want to miss that.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Published: September 29, 2026
Sensuality Rating: Subtle
Series: Book 9 of Lady Sherlock