Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Tempest at Sea

I find the Lady Sherlock series quite diverting, something sorely needed in this time when the daily news is so terrible. The books are light and funny, and it’s always entertaining to read about a female Sherlock Holmes gallivanting about in Victorian England.

It’s a locked room mystery in that everyone is on a ship in the Bay of Biscay. Charlotte, aka Lady Sherlock, is constrained in that she’s hiding from her enemy Moriarty and must either remain in her cabin or wear prosthetic makeup that damages her skin. As such, the author relies on the character of Lord Ingram to carry much of the story. The plot unfolds in a series of interviews with Lord Ingram taking notes for a police inspector who happens to be aboard.

A lot of the characters are pretending to be one - or sometimes two - other people. There’s a lot of tension due to the fear of being unmasked, not to mention the concern of being trapped in the middle of the sea with a murderer.

A satisfying story. It made me want to read the entire series again from the beginning.

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allbookedupwithrosie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a fun cozy murder mystery at sea, giving my ‘Death on the Nile’ vibes.

While I have since found out this is the 7 book in the Lady Detective Series, this is a book that I was very excited to read. This novel did not disappoint. I loved the twists & turns and of course the ending in this novel.

The narrator, Kate Reading, did a fantastic job portraying all the different characters in the novel.

I’m excited to go backwards and further read the beginning novels in this series.

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yourbookishbff's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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jenn_reads's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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searchingforhappilyeverafter's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Step aboard the RMS Provence, and get ready for a thrilling sea voyage, full of secrets, mystery, hidden identities, and a splash of swoony romance!

A Tempest at Sea picks up right where the last book ended, with

Charlotte Holmes in hiding after feigning her own death to escape from Moriarty.

Charlotte has just received a tempting offer from an agent of the crown. The mission is that in exchange for locating a dossier that the crown is searching for, she will receive protection and the chance to return to a normal life. While searching for the dossier, Charlotte ends up on the same sea voyage as her friends and finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation.

Sherry Thomas’s latest installment in the Lady Sherlock series is masterfully crafted. The murder mystery and all the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat.

Since Charlotte can’t risk exposing her identity, she isn't able to conduct an investigation herself and has to work behind the scenes to solve the murder as quickly as possible. As a result, Lord Ingram takes a larger public role in solving this case, and so we get more of his POV. Everyone who follows me on social media probably knows by now that my heart and soul belong completely to Lord Ingram Ashburton.

So it is not surprising how much I loved this book, especially the tender moments that Ash and Charlotte share. I love that they are each growing and changing in subtle ways and understand each other so well. Their romance is progressing very nicely and in a way that makes sense for them and their circumstances. The last line of this book hit me right in the feels.

The entire Lady Sherlock series is phenomenal! With outstanding writing, wonderfully nuanced character development, brilliantly crafted mysteries, and a deliciously slow-burn romance, I highly recommend reading this series. Unfortunately, now there is a magnifying-glass-shaped void in my life. Book eight can’t get here fast enough.

Thank you to Berkley and Net Galley for the eARC.

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overflowingshelf's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

CW: murder; blood; suicidal ideation

I’ve been a huge Lady Sherlock fan for years now as it falls perfectly into my favorite (made-up) genre – lady detectives in Victorian England. Truly, we are so blessed that Berkley gave us a new Veronica Speedwell and a new Lady Holmes story within a week of each other.

A Tempest at Sea marks the seventh entry in Sherry Thomas’ incredibly smart spin on Sherlock Holmes. This book, more so than the previous few books in the series, feels like a lighter adventure – if you could say murder is light. In many ways, this feels like a classic detective story in the vein of Christie’s Death on the Nile. The stakes are lower as the threat from Moriarty has lessened after the events of Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, so it’s a nice change of pace to have a self-contained murder mystery aboard the RMS Provence. Now, that’s not to say the threat from Moriarty is gone entirely – he’s still lingering out there, but it’s nice that he’s not at the center of the mystery this time.

I found this mystery to be super fun, with plenty of red herrings and misdirections to keep you guessing until the end. I had my suspicions on who the murderer may be, and I was thrilled that my guess was correct. I loved the end of this when all the accusations were formally presented and the evidence was laid bare for everyone to examine – it was brilliantly done as Thomas interspersed scenes from Holmes’ investigation with the testimony helping to put all the final pieces together. I also loved how Thomas worked the murder mystery into Charlotte’s broader reasons for being on board, tying in some larger series plot points at the end, which was super fun.

Now, I do have one small tiny complaint with this book – there wasn’t enough Charlotte! Charlotte is in disguise for most of this book as Mrs. Ramsay, a delightful older woman. But given that she’s in disguise, most of her detective work happens behind the scenes. It felt like most of the scenes with her “detecting” were in flashbacks, and we didn’t get as many scenes from her perspective as I’m used to. Lord Ingram plays a much more central role in this book, filling in for Charlotte in many ways as her eyes, ears, and hands during the investigation. Much of the information in this book is revealed through police questioning of the various suspects, with some flashbacks of Holmes and Ingram investigating, which did lead this book to feel a little different in style from other Lady Holmes novels. That’s not necessarily bad, but it gave this a different feeling and vibe than the other books in the series. I wanted a tad more of Charlotte being her brilliant self than we got to see.

One thing I loved about this book was the continued progression we saw in Livia Holmes. As much as the Lady Holmes series is Charlotte’s story, it’s also Livia’s. The growth we’ve seen in Livia over the previous books really comes to a head in this book. I was delighted to see her gain the confidence to stand up for herself, especially against her TRULY odious mother. She literally had me cheering for her, and I may have said, “You go, girl!” at the end of the book, as she made me so proud. It’s been a joy watching her realize her self-worth and value, and I hope a happily ever after is in the cards for her and Mr. Marbleton soon!

Speaking of happily ever afters, the progress in Charlotte and Lord Ingram’s relationship in this book was a delight. While the romance may not be center stage, and we spend less time with Ash and Charlotte together than in some previous books, what we got felt monumental, even if what was said was relatively small things. I cannot wait to see where Thomas plans to take their relationship in future books as it continues to grow.

Despite feeling like there wasn’t enough Charlotte, I still found myself really enjoying A Tempest at Sea! Sherry Thomas is such a beautiful writer. I’m always in awe of her mastery of the mystery and plot, plus her ability to create such rich and nuanced characters. She’s breathed such new life into the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I will read as many of these books as I can get my hands on! Here’s to hoping this series won’t end anytime soon!

Thank you to Berkley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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