*** Please note that various posts will contain affiliate links for Amazon. Purchases from these links will make me a small percentage in store credit. ***

28 February 2017

Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

I took the majority of this most recent weekend "off" from reading. There were basketball games to be watched, a Wing Walk to go on with my son, bookshelves to work on rearranging, and lots of television to be caught up on thanks to my recent renewal of my Acorn.tv account. 
I started Vicki Delany's Elementary, She Read on the bus trip in to work Sunday night and by the time my shift was over I was more than half-way finished. (Had I not had to also actually work I may have finished it!)

When I saw the description on NetGalley I knew that it would be one I would need to request:
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 Homes 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 lock them up for good.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight in the sleuthing duo of Gemma and Jayne in Elementary, She Read, the clever and captivating series debut by nationally bestselling author Vicki Delany.
See, for as long as I can remember I have adored Sherlock Holmes and stories inspired by Doyle and his beloved duo. I even got craftastic enough to make myself Holmes & Watson dolls for the Sherlockian part of my bookshelves!


I have read some rather awful Holmes & Watson-related stories over the years. This is definitely not one of them. Even without the fact that the main character pretty much has my dream job of a bookshop and cafe, there's an abundance of humor and sass and Gemma is very Holmes-esque in how she sees and relates to the world around her. It's a great book to curl up with in your favorite easy chair (or bus seat ... or rolling computer desk chair ...) and lose yourself in for a handful of hours. It was fun to keep flip-flopping over who I was certain was the guilty party and I eagerly await more visits to West London!


"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Elementary, She Read is being released on March 14th. Once I can get my hands on the paperback it will definitely be added to my Sherlock shelf!



16 comments:

Unknown said...

Lol, I like the Intro. Sounds like Gemma has a great sense of humour and lots of sass. Definitely going to have to check this one out.

Happy Reading
Rachel @ Paein-and-Ms4Tune

Eustacia Tan said...

This sounds really interesting! Hopefully NetGalley still accepts requests for it!

My teaser is from Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

Anonymous said...

This one sounds promising from the crop of Sherlock spinoffs. I enjoyed the writing style - thank you for sharing, Karen:).

Anonymous said...

...and this is my Teaser Tuesday! https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/teaser-tuesday-28th-february-2016/

Kathy Martin said...

I enjoyed this one too. Like you, I'm a fan of anything related to Sherlock Holmes. This week my teaser comes from Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop. Happy reading!

Beth F said...

Sounds like a good read! Good job on the dolls.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

How cute are those dolls!! I like the premise of this book as well - enjoy Karen

Kay said...

First of all, your dolls are so amazing! Love them. I also love many books by Vicki Delany and so look forward to reading this one. I love her Molly Smith series, set in British Columbia. And now, she's branched out into other series. Who wouldn't love a bookstore related to Sherlock and a tearoom for Mrs. Hudson. Love it!

Unknown said...

Such a fun post! And I agree, this sounds like a winner. Love your dolls!

My TT from Through Glass

Emma Litttlefield said...

This sounds like fun - though my own recent outing with Holmes (through The Sign of Four) left me a bit disappointed thanks to having seen them too much on TV

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

I have been eyeing this one, even though I haven't read any of the Holmes & Watson-related books...but this one appeals to me, for some reason. And I love the dolls!

Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

Catherine @ Book Club Librarian said...

Love the sound of this series. The first book is on order at my library--and I'm on the hold list for when it arrives. Thanks for sharing it.

Alice Audrey said...

Great teaser. My teaser is from The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

Unknown said...

Sounds like a fun read and I love your dolls. Enjoy!

Margot said...

I'm an old Sherlock lover tool I lie what this one is offering. I'm off to see if my library has it. Thanks.

Stormi said...

OMG, I love your Holmes and Watson dolls! Can't wait to try this one.

Post a Comment