A Study in Charlotte: Brittany Cavallaro
Rating: *****
I received a goodreads giveaway copy of this book a few years ago but that does not in anyway change my opinions of this book.
A Study in Charlotte is a wonderful beginning to a new series. It does a great job of introducing the characters and giving you reasons to like them. I found myself instantly drawn to Jamie as a character and loved the concept that a future generation of Holmes and Watson's would end up meeting up and potentially solving crime together.
Jamie and Charlotte end up meeting up at an American boarding school where they aren't exactly on great terms to start with. Jamie seems to be interested in Charlotte and developing and friendship (and potentially something more) with her but Charlotte seems to be more of a loner and would rather keep herself that way. However when events happen at their school that implicates Charlotte as a possible murder suspect the duo ends up coming together to help clear her name. Along the way Jamie is dragged down and things are not easy in his life. Between his room being torn apart, trying to solve the murder, and figuring out Charlotte Holmes, his hands are pretty full. Throw in a well placed bomb that could've killed them and an old rivalry and the suspense is definitely there for this murder mystery book.
Brittany Cavallaro does a wonderful job of exploring these characters and their lives as they would be as teenagers and how upbringing can really play a big role in the way you see the world. Charlotte Holmes as a character struggles with some of the same things that our beloved Sherlock Holmes once did, including a drug addiction. And then you have Jamie Watson who is there and wants so much from Charlotte and discovers that his feelings might possibly be something more than a friendship. But is he the only Watson that has ever been entangled with a Holmes so closely? And will the two ever overcome the many obstacles in their way to becoming something more?
The character development overall in this book is really wonderful. We watch as both characters sort of become more "themselves" with each other and become a sort of version that is most certainly wonderful for storytelling and mystery solving. It can also be sort of refreshing to see the female character being the one "more in the know" than the male character and Holmes definitely saves Watson a time or two. However it's not a one way street between these two and Watson can be seen saving Holmes even though she doesn't believe that she needs it.
I felt like the characters were overall true to how they would be as the future generations of Holmes and Watson while also having their own characteristics. Brittany Cavallaro does a great job of taking a series so loved by many and creating something new and fresh to be enjoyed once more. She has reinvigorated in me a love of mysteries that I had been missing for so long and I'm so very excited to see where this story will go and how these characters will develop.
For all those who love a good mystery and/or Sherlock Holmes this is definitely a great series to pick up and give a read. You never know what will be waiting for you behind that book cover until you do.
What did you think of this version of Watson and Holmes? Was the killer in the end a complete surprise for you or did you guess it before the big reveal? And do you ultimately like the idea of a romance happening between the two, or do you hope they just stay friends?
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