I found the notion of a Holmes and Watson retelling to be cute, but a little overhyped with all the recent Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This one stands out from the film adaptations by being strictly Young Adult and by also having a female Holmes. The mystery of this book plays off of a couple of different classic Sherlock Holmes stories. I'll admit that I haven't read all of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, as they're not really my cup of tea. But I have watched all the BBC episodes. Here's to looking at you, Benedict Cumberbatch!

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This story did a great job of capturing Watson's personality, even though this particular Watson is a great-grandson of the original. Charlotte Holmes, however, is less strong of a character. Sherlock, in all of his various adaptations, is still likable despite (or perhaps slightly because of) his asshole demeanor. Charlotte isn't. She doesn't have the charm of her predecessor.

My main issue with this book is how it deals with rape. Very early on in the story, so early on that I don't feel it's a spoiler, Charlotte is raped. It's never actually dealt with, and serves as a plot device just to set up Charlotte and Jaime as suspects in the rapist's murder. It felt like the rape was never discussed and never worked through. It was also hinted at that Charlotte, with her drug habit, was slightly at fault for what happened to her, and I take some MAJOR issue with that.

Overall, this was a bit underwhelming for me. Jaime was an entertaining narrator, so I'll pick up the second book and see if Charlotte becomes a bit less two dimensional.