The Hollow of Fear by Sherry ThomasMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has become one of my favorite series. I'm inclined to like Sherlock-style novels, but there's no grading on a curve to assign this five stars. So much is just right here that it's a great pleasure to read.
In this third story in the series, we see Charlotte (who fakes being Sherlock a number of ways, including dressing as a man) trying to save a man she (probably) loves from a murder conviction. Like the traditional Sherlock, she is brilliant and idiosyncratic and apparently on the spectrum, but she's also a feminist and intriguingly sex-positive. Her relationship with Lord Ingram, and her relationships with her family, are all complex and well drawn. In addition, the author makes such good use of her secondary characters (Charlotte's sister Livia; Inspector Treadles and his successful wife; and others) that they become a major element in the novel's success.
None of that would matter if the story wasn't strong, but the plot is tight and the pacing is excellent. I'll admit that I got lost in some of the intricacies of motivations, false leads, and who-knew-what-when details near the end, but I bobbed along with the current until I got back in it okay. I feel like it came out pretty clear in the character discussions at the very end.
Like any mystery, the reader has to keep track of a lot of characters. It wouldn't work otherwise.
I'm enjoying the longer arc of this series as much as the individual mysteries. But it's kinda rude of the author to make me want to keep reading to know what happens with Charlotte and Lord Avery.
;)
Recommended for Sherlock lovers. Probably romance readers, too, tbh.
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