Scan barcode
Reviews
Mrs Holmes: Murder, Kidnap and the True Story of an Extraordinary Lady Detective by Brad Ricca
leasummer's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up due to the narration. The narrator saved it for me. He was good and engaging. The life of Grace Humiston sounds so interesting, she did a lot of really important work, she did it in an era when few women were doing this type of work. She solved crimes and defended people others wouldn’t. So the book should have been a lot better, she deserved that, her story deserved that. It was all over the place, it needed an good editing to cut out all the research dumped into it that didn’t add to the story. There was no explanation as to why she would go from being on top of the world to seen as making up stories. The title is also ridiculous when she stated she didn’t solve crimes like Holmes, and no one called her that, it was asked once.
celichoc's review against another edition
3.0
My read for #womenshistorymonth 2020. Ricca tells the story of Grace Humiston, one of America’s first female lawyers and the first female detective in New York City. The book covers Humiston’s career from beginning to end. She took night classes at NYU law school, started her own law practice for the needy, and solved a notorious missing person case before her detective career’s disappointing end (read the book for more on that). The book read similar to Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, but without the chapters expounding on the bureaucracy of architecture. It still got a little dry in places, but it was easy to push through those to the sections on Humiston’s investigations. In all, the book paints a heartbreaking picture of the magnitudes it took for a female professional to gain the public’s admiration in the early 1900s and how depressingly little it took to lose it.
sionna's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I do not often read true crime-- in fact this might be the first or second I've read all the way through. I picked this one up because it sounded interesting and I needed to read a true crime novel for one of the reading challenges I'm doing.
I read this in chunks as to not bore myself or dislike the book and truly, that helped.
I enjoyed reading about Grace and how she became the first female U.S. District Attorney and many of the crimes that she was able to solve. I will say that at first I didn't like how the book went back and forth in time-- Ruth has gone missing, then to Grace is getting her law degree. I didn't understand, but then it worked for me. Ruth's case ties in to Grace's career and looms over her future, without her even knowing or suspecting that a missing person's case will drastically change her life. AND, at the end how things kind of come to together, made me realize that the kidnapping and slavery cases she took part in throughout her career tie in to it as well.
I thought the writing was well done. True, I was bored at times, but I'm not a nonfiction reader, so considering I was interested in the book at all is a huge plus. The first chapter didn't make much sense to me-- I don't think it is needed, especially since it almost lost my interest in the book. And the title, which is what interested me in the book, doesn't really seem to fit....
The ending does drag a bit, although I'm not sure if I should blame the writing or history. Life isn't fair to women, can turn on them in an instant, and it probably made writing this book difficult...
I'm glad I read it though and I do recommend it to people who enjoy historical novels and true crime.
I do not often read true crime-- in fact this might be the first or second I've read all the way through. I picked this one up because it sounded interesting and I needed to read a true crime novel for one of the reading challenges I'm doing.
I read this in chunks as to not bore myself or dislike the book and truly, that helped.
I enjoyed reading about Grace and how she became the first female U.S. District Attorney and many of the crimes that she was able to solve. I will say that at first I didn't like how the book went back and forth in time-- Ruth has gone missing, then to Grace is getting her law degree. I didn't understand, but then it worked for me. Ruth's case ties in to Grace's career and looms over her future, without her even knowing or suspecting that a missing person's case will drastically change her life. AND, at the end how things kind of come to together, made me realize that the kidnapping and slavery cases she took part in throughout her career tie in to it as well.
I thought the writing was well done. True, I was bored at times, but I'm not a nonfiction reader, so considering I was interested in the book at all is a huge plus. The first chapter didn't make much sense to me-- I don't think it is needed, especially since it almost lost my interest in the book. And the title, which is what interested me in the book, doesn't really seem to fit....
The ending does drag a bit, although I'm not sure if I should blame the writing or history. Life isn't fair to women, can turn on them in an instant, and it probably made writing this book difficult...
I'm glad I read it though and I do recommend it to people who enjoy historical novels and true crime.
renwoo's review against another edition
2.0
The timing for the book was not good for me. I didn't realize this was a true story and I was in the mood for something a little lighter. It was an interesting book with a lot of information but it was more like reading a documentary vs someone telling a story. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, just saying that I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this style of writing.
kellertson3's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting Info - but the writing style was hard to read.
drjorgensen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.25
annamariescott's review against another edition
5.0
Such an amazing book.
Also, the women! THE WOMEN! Stories of real women superheroes, who were not perfect but fought for justice. Yes! Yes! Yes!
I listened to most of this on hoopla and highly recommend the audio.
Also, the women! THE WOMEN! Stories of real women superheroes, who were not perfect but fought for justice. Yes! Yes! Yes!
I listened to most of this on hoopla and highly recommend the audio.