There's A Murder Afoot: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

There’s a Murder Afoot by Vicki Delany may be the fifth installment in A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery, but it can be read on its own. The author includes the necessary background a new reader needs. This is my favorite book in the series. I found it to be well-written and it moved along at a steady clip. I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of London, the conference and especially the beautiful costumes worn by some of the attendees including Donald. Donald was in seventh heaven with all the Sherlock Holmes people he could talk to and the various places for him to visit including the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Gemma is enjoying spending time with her parent’s and being back in London. She just did not count on getting involved in a murder investigation (she really should have anticipated this turn of events). I like the humor injected into the story. The lengths they went to keep her friends occupied while she is out investigating and then there were Arthur’s antics at the bookstore. Gemma should have known things would not go smoothly with Arthur. The mystery was thought out with several suspects and good clues. I found it interesting and enjoyed following the investigation. The police in Scotland Yard did not appreciate Gemma’s interference any more than those back home in West London, Massachusetts. But Gemma had Pippa on her side. Pippa’s may say she is a clerk, but her job is complex, mysterious and suits her intellect (would have suited Gemma as well). I like how the mystery played out and the resolution. I like Gemma’s attention to detail and how it plays into the solving of the mystery. While I was not surprised by the guilty party (or who was murdered), I was entertained which is the purpose of this delightful tale. I look forward to the next A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery. My one wish is for West London to get a different detective who appreciates Gemma’s insights. There’s a Murder Afoot is a diverting cozy mystery with a black sheep sibling, a discriminatory detective, surplus of Sherlock, a vexing uncle, a sister’s secretive situation, and a parent’s puzzling predicament.

This is such a good series, and it just keeps getting better! I enjoy the three-dimensional characters who continue to grow through their experiences, the wit, the setting – this time in England for a special event – and the mysteries, very challenging. This one is full of surprises. Gemma Doyle, a London, England transplant to West London, Massachusetts, is part owner of Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium and Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room. Uncle Arthur Doyle, an active octogenarian, opened the store several years ago. Since Gemma has managed it so well, he is a silent partner so he can enjoy his world travels and sailing. Gemma’s best friend Jayne is part-owner of the Tea Room, its manager, and excellent baker. Gemma, Jayne, Gemma’s boyfriend Ryan, and their friends Grant and Donald are in London for the Sherlock Holmes in the Modern World conference. Donald, an avid Sherlockian, had proposed Gemma as a speaker without her permission and she was chosen. Grant, a rare book dealer, hopes to find some rare tomes for his customers. Ryan, a West London police detective, is happy to have time away from home with Gemma, even if it means meeting her parents and sister. The group met Anne, an attorney, and Henry Doyle, a retired detective, and their older daughter, Pippa. Just before they leave for the hotel restaurant, a man at another table calls out to Henry. He hustles the family and friends along, and Gemma sees him talking to the man. There is no love lost between the two men. Henry asks his daughter to not tell her mum. Later he shares that he is the black sheep of her mother’s family and hadn’t been seen since he stole a valuable painting from her grandparents that was to provide their retirement income. Gemma runs into her long-missing Uncle Randy several times. He is selling his excellent pen-and-ink drawings at the Sherlock conference the next day. She hears a young woman accuse Randolph Denhaugh of stealing her ideas for the sketches. Gemma is given a message for Randolph from a big guy who looks and sounds like a hit man, that “his people” want what is theirs. Randolph tries to join the family after Gemma gives her talk, and Henry threatens him to stay away from Anne. The following night, after the banquet, Randolph is found dead, strangled, in a meeting room. Found with his hands on the rope is Henry. No matter that he has been hit over the head and remembers nothing – the detective on the case, a bitter former rival of Henry, looks only at Henry and later arrests him. Without her usual contacts, Gemma is at a loss for how to help her father. Pippa has heard she has solved murders on Cape Cod, so will share whatever she finds out from contacts at her “government job”. Gemma has suspects from the strange people she saw around him at the conference, including the fiancée who dumped him. With the help of her friends, Gemma goes through London trying to track the real bad guy, or gal, with her impressive instincts. I didn’t know whodunit until Gemma revealed it really was; my guesses were wrong! I was happy to meet and learn about Gemma’s parents and Pippa and hope that one day soon Gemma and Ryan can get away for a real vacation! I highly recommend this to those who love well-written cozy mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, this series and author, and a London setting. From a thankful heart: I received a copy of this from the publisher and NetGalley, and this is my honest review.