A Curious Incident

This was my first venture into Vicky Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series, and it won't be the last. Very satisfactory reading!

The story opens with Gemma Doyle explaining to Lauren Tierney that no, she is not a consulting detective, and she can't help Lauren find her cat. One things leads to another, Gemma does find Lauren's cat, and Lauren thinks Gemma is the best thing since sliced bread. Shortly thereafter, Lauren is again asking Gemma for help - this time, in proving her mother innocent of murder.

I simply adore Gemma! For starters, she owns a bookstore. That right there makes her my kind of people. Also, she calls it like she sees it. I imagine she's seen as somewhat abrupt by people who don't know her well (and maybe sometimes by those who do). But her slightly prickly exterior hides a genuinely caring heart. She tries her best not to get involved here, either in finding Lauren's cat or in clearing her mother, Sheila, of murder. But events seem to conspire to pull her in, and so she investigates to the best of her ability.

I haven't read the entirety of the series, so maybe I'm missing some backstory on Gemma and Ryan. I can see where he might want her to keep clear of investigations so he can do his job, but sometimes he seemed more callous toward her than the situation would warrant. That rubbed me the wrong way. Gemma can do better. And Estrada is just plain ugly to Gemma, even when Gemma is trying to be kind. I don't really care for mean girls, and Estrada is one. She gets my dander up every time I read her name on a page.

It was fun seeing Gemma's relationship with Lauren start to grow. Should the storyline ever allow for Gemma having children of her own, after seeing her with Lauren, I think she'd be a good mom. And it was fun getting to know Mrs. Ramsbatten. It would be a treat to live next door to her.

I'd love to see more of Gemma's Uncle Arthur. He sounds like quite a character. I'll have to start at the beginning and see if we get to know him other than knowing that he's off traveling someplace exciting. And I hope we get to see more of Jayne and Andy and their budding relationship. They are so cute!

This was a delightful read, with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing just about until the big reveal. Four stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance reader copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books that I don't actually like.