Book 33 - And Not Once Did Anyone Wear That Hat

Title: A Study in Charlotte Author: Brittany Cavallaro Genre: contemporary sherlockian romp

This book is a modernization of the Watson-Holmes dynamic, with James "Jamie" Watson working with Charlotte Holmes to solve a mystery - the mystery of their being framed for murrrder. Dun dun duuuun...

Before I get into the part of the review where I bitch about the book and eschew a bunch of spoilers, I want to say this:

I tore through this book in a weekend. Despite all my misgivings (which will be ranted about - ahem, elaborated upon below), the pace was good and the plot was pretty engaging. Raw interest in what the author would do with the classic tale kept me going through to the end, in the same way that mass media continues to pump out retellings of fairy tales. My critique, in a way, is a compliment - I just wanted MORE from the author.

Watch Out! Spoilers Ahead...

So Watson is a boy and Holmes is a girl. Watson is a "writer", with horned-rim glasses, unruly hair, and apparently a bookish sort of handsomeness to him - but he also plays rugby, so you just know he's fit AF. Charlotte is a slim blade of a girl with elegant beauty, unmatched intelligence, and the eccentric trappings of madness we all associate with Sherlock - cue violin and drugs. They're descendants of the famous duo, thrown together at a boarding school to solve a murder before they take the fall.

So what's the first most predictable storyline you can think of? Deduce from the following facts:

1. They're teenagers

2. They're at a boarding school, and they're the only 2 British kids there

3. This is YA fiction ...

Howabout this:

He was a boy, she was a girl...can I make it aaaanymore ooobvious...

Snoooooore.

What if one, or both, of them were gay? Trans? Had a visible disability? Was someone of goddamn colour? There are just so many more interesting tweaks the author could have made to the story that would have enriched it to the beyond, while still hearkening back to the Great Detective. With such stock characters (the likeable every-man protector translating the actions of the oh-so-smart eccentric) I had to depend on the plot to keep me interested.

Rating: 💊 💊 💊 /5