Elementary, She Read: 11/27/18

Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany is the first of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series. I come to the series by way of the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, written under the name Eva Gates.

Delany primarily writes mysteries for her native Canada but this series like the lighthouse one is set in the United States. This one is set on Cape Cod and the main character, Gemma Doyle, is a Londoner (UK, not ON). Her mixture of British and American English is a nice little in joke for how Canadian English borrows from both (but is uniquely its own language).

Gemma runs the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop. It's at 222 Baker Street and it shares a spot with Mrs. Hudson's tea shop. Basically it's a similar set up as the Booktown Mysteries minus the sisterly connection between the two shop owners.

Everything begins to go awry when after a tour bus departs, Gemma discovers what appears to be a rare magazine issue of the Strand. When she goes to return it, she finds the would be owner murdered!

As this is the start of a new series a lot of the set up and execution is by the cozy numbers. It gives Delany time to set up the character dynamics. Gemma is well meaning, incredibly honest and sometimes snarky. Jayne is enthusiastic and a little too quick to goad Gemma into doing things. Gemma, like Sherlock, is analytical. Gemma, though, isn't yet as obvious a Watson as perhaps she will be.

I have books two and three on hand to read soon. The second book is Body on Baker Street.

Four stars

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