Series: Lady Sherlock #6
Published by Berkley on November 2, 2021
Genres: Historical, Mystery
Pages: 336
Goodreads
FINAL DECISION: I loved this book because it brings a lot of loose threads in the series together. My favorite part is how the relationship between Holmes and Ingram is shown throughout the book. My favorite part of the series is the romance, which is well represented here.
THE STORY: Charlotte Holmes’s new client is none other than Moriarty, who wants Charlotte to find out what has happened to his daughter. Charlotte cannot refuse, but she wonders why Moriarty has come to her and whether she is being set up. Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to investigate Moriarty’s daughter’s disappearance. Charlotte’s sister and Lord Ingram investigate the clue left by the man Livia loves (who is controlled by Moriarty).
OPINION: This book ended up being completely enjoyable because the relationship between Charlotte and Lord Ingram has *finally* progressed. I freely admit that while I enjoy a good mystery, I keep coming back to these books because of the relationship between Charlotte and Ingram. Readers of the series know that there have been some will they/won’t they in the previous books, but now we have moved on to see if this relationship can actually work.
At the same time, the threat from Moriarty has become more acute. There is a lot going on in this book as various threads of the investigation are going on. Admittedly, it was hard to keep track of all these different issues, but that is part of the complexity of the story. The book demands attention which I enjoy because I want to be involved in the mystery. Thankfully, the book does explain what happened. And the story continues beyond this book, as is true with the entire series.
The mystery here has a lot of twists and turns, and the story keeps the reader guessing. I thought that once things were revealed, I appreciated the journey more. I read this kind of book again to catch what I missed the first time.
WORTH MENTIONING: This is a densely packed story that really relies on the books that precede it. Not that the story directly continues from those books but rather this is a progression on the overarching storyline in the series. As a result, this book sometimes assumes knowledge about people and events from prior books. I did not mind it at all, but some readers might want to brush up on the prior books before diving into this one.
CONNECTED BOOKS: MISS MORIARTY, I PRESUME? is the sixth book in the Lady Sherlock series. Typically, because these books have self-contained mysteries, I say that the books can be read out of order, but are better read in order. This book is different. This book really should be read as part of the series because it is critical to the overarching story of the series.
STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.