Sophia Rose reviews: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

Today Sophia Rose reviews, A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas, #7 in her Lady Sherlock series. Stop by and see why this is one of Sophia Rose's favorite historical mystery series.
Enjoy!

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

#7 Lady Sherlock

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Berkley

Published: 3.14.23

Pages:  364

Rating: 5 stars

Format: eARC

Source:  NetGalley

Sellers: Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Blurb:

Charlotte Holmes’s brilliant mind and deductive skills are pulled into a dangerous investigation at sea in the new mystery in the bestselling Lady Sherlock series.

After feigning her own death in Cornwall to escape from Moriarty’s perilous attention, Charlotte Holmes goes into hiding. But then she receives a tempting offer: Find a dossier the crown is desperately seeking to recover, and she might be able to go back to a normal life.

Her search leads her aboard the RMS Provence, sailing from Southampton for the eastern hemisphere. But on the night Charlotte makes her move to retrieve the dossier, in the midst of a terrifying storm in the Bay of Biscay, a brutal murder also takes place on the ship.

Instead of solving the crime, as she is accustomed to doing, Charlotte must take care not to be embroiled in this investigation, lest it become known to those who harbor ill intentions that Sherlock Holmes is abroad and still very much alive.

 

Sophia Rose Reviews:

Playing dead, pursuing a political intrigue, relaxing on a voyage at sea, and then a murder has to go and complicate it all.  One of my most anticipated books and the latest installment of a highly acclaimed Victorian era mystery series was a smash hit for me.

 

A Tempest at Sea is the seventh installment of a series that has built to this point with several ongoing threads so that this does not make a good standalone though there is a standalone murder mystery in each book.

 

Charlotte Holmes is in hiding from the threat of brilliant villain, Moriarty, but she is not idle.  She’s building slowly bit by bit a relationship with Lord Ingram, working on a ticklish political espionage case with Ingram’s older brother in exchange for protection against Moriarty, caring for the needs of her dysfunctional family, and trying to keep her love of food from causing her to reach maximum double chins.

Combining business with pleasure, Charlotte and Mrs. Watson are settling sail on the passenger steamer RMS Provence where they will look for a secret German dossier that is hopefully hidden among the goods of a certain German governess aboard while enjoying a holiday trip with Lord Ingram and his party consisting of his children, Charlotte’s sister, Livia, and her companion.

But, their plans get three added complications- Charlotte and Livia’s mother shows up unexpectedly, a temperamental wealthy businessman gets murdered, and Inspector Brighton who knows them from a previous case is there to spot Charlotte even in disguise if she is noticed solving the murder.  But, the murder must be solved so the voyage doesn’t draw Moriarty’s notice or Brighton’s suspicions.

 

I had such a good time with this one.  I love murder mysteries set on a ship which heightens the suspense because they all know they are stuck with a murderer.  And, I loved that there were lots of moving parts so that more than one mystery is being investigated and Charlotte and the gang have several suspicious characters who have secrets and maybe have something to do with their cases.

 

But, an added layer of deliciousness is seeing Charlotte and Ash’s relationship progress and the intriguing family complication of Lady Holmes stirring up trouble.  Charlotte’s disguise as Mrs. Ramsay was a hoot. 

 

A splendiferous outing with this latest installment and the disappointment of needing to wait another year for the next release in the series.  Aside from the delight of a gender-bender Sherlock Holmes set up, historical mystery fans would enjoy a rousing good mystery with each book so I most emphatically recommend these.

 

Author Bio:

 USA Today-bestselling author Sherry Thomas decided that her goal in life is to write every kind of book she enjoys reading. Thus far she has published romance, fantasy, mystery, and a wuxia-inspired duology. Her books regularly receive starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications, including such outlets as the New York Times and National Public Radio. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award.

Sherry immigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.

Author photo by the lovely and talented Jennifer Sparks Harriman at

Website:  https://www.sherrythomas.com/index.php

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSherryThomas/

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose