***May Contain Spoilers***

December 1886

Mrs. John Watson, Miss Charlotte Holmes, Lord Ingram Ashburton, Mrs. Treadles, and Robert Treadles, Lord Ingram's friend and Holmes's sometimes collaborator are the main characters in this story. Mrs. Treadles's husband had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Lord Ingram believes it had to have been a mistake. Lord Ingram had disappointed Inspector Treadles with his continued friendship with Holmes, given that Holmes was no longer a respectable young lady. He himself had been no less disquieted by this new coolness from Inspector Treadles. But late in autumn, he'd had the feeling that the inspector was trying to see things from a different, less absolute view--and that their friendship was on the mend. In the weeks since, he'd spent most of his time abroad. But all throughout that escapade, he had looked forward to returning home, seeing his children again, and hosting Inspector and Mrs. Treadles at some point after Christmas. Miss Holmes's brother is Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes and his friends were able to clear Lord Ingram's name at Stern Hollow. Mrs. Treadles hopes that he will be able to do the same for Robert, her husband. He tells her she's come to the right place, that Holmes will not let his friends down. Sergeant MacDonald informed Mrs. Treadles that her husband had been arrested for murder, John Longstead's murder. Mr. Longstead is Mrs. Treadles's father's old friend, and worked for Cousins Manufacturing. Her father supplied the funds and was deft at managing the business, but it was always Mr. Longstead's engineering acumen that gave them a competitive advantage. For twenty-five years they were friends, colleagues, and partners. Mr. Longstead's health led to his departure--his physician warned that he could no longer work at the feverish pace he sustained. And he only returned to Cousins as a personal favor to her, after she took up the running of the enterprise. Mrs. Treadles saw Mr. Longstead the night before alive and well in his own house, only hours before Sergeant MacDonald knocked on her door. And as far as she knew Inspector Treadles wasn't even in London--he was away for work. The Inspector barely knew Mr. Longstead. The first person Charlotte's brother would wish for her to speak to would be Inspector Treadles. There was a disturbance next door to Mr. Longstead. The house was unoccupied and the nature of the disturbance had not yet been disclosed. There was a dinner, followed by a dance at Mr. Longstead's. A coming-out soiree for Miss Longstead, his niece. Mrs. Treadles thought that her husband was out of town, not expected for some more time. He must have returned to London at some point during the night, if not sooner. Perhaps he entered the house neighboring Mr. Longstead's--she had no way of knowing. She couldn't tell them anything about his movements--or the rationales for them. Mrs. Treadles's husband left for an investigation in the Kentish countryside Friday afternoon and he was gone until his arrest. Mrs. Treadles's greatest point of contention with the managers is how little she is allowed to participate in the running of her own company. She received two letters from her husband; neither of them were from any post office in Kent, where he was supposed to be. One was sent from Manchester, the other from a little place in Cornwall. Mr. Longstead's country residence is in Berkshire. When Mrs. Treadles went inside her husband's dressing room to get a change of clothes for him, she noticed that his service revolver was missing. He wasn't known to carry it all the time. Inspector Treadles had been supposedly away for business, but Scotland Yard informs Mrs. Treadles that her husband had been on leave. Miss Penelope Redmayne is Mrs. Watson's daughter, her natural father the late Duke of Wycliffe, Lord Ingram's official father. He was the product of the late Duchess's affair with a wealthy banker and was not related to Penelope by blood. Penelope was a second-year student of medicine at the Sorbonne in Paris and enjoyed making light of her anatomy classes. Inspector Treadles is a respected and respectable man. He is considered one of the more promising young officers at Scotland Yard. He is married to a woman in control of a considerable personal fortune. Lieutenants of Moriarty is a dangerous enemy who had used the papers to communicate with their minions, though those notices had ceased at the end of summer. Mr. Myron Finch is Charlotte's half-brother, on the run from Moriarty. Olivia Holmes is Charlotte's sister. Stephen Marbleton is Olivia's beau. Lord Ingram had offered his hand in marriage to Miss Alexandra Greville, though his fervor had been sincere and his idealism real, he had nevertheless seen his heart a gift, a great and precious blessing upon his penniless future wife. Who had instead experienced it as a great and unwanted yoke. Lord Ingram is in love with Charlotte and kisses her. Mr. Ambrose Sullivan is a victim as well as John Longstead. They are uncle and nephew and longtime associates of Cousins Manufacturing, owned by Mrs. Treadles, the suspect's wife. Chief Inspector Fowler, who had handled the case at Stern Hollow had been rather overtly invested in Lord Ingram's guilt. Sergeant MacDonald says he imagines the inspector would kill in self-defense, or in the defense of others, if he must. But he can't see him killing with premeditation. If he was dealing with malfeasance of any kind, he'd let the law handle it. After all, he is an enforcer of the law; his words would carry weight. The victims had been shot. There was a problem with miscreants setting off fireworks in the area. Inspector Treadles questioned the men in some detail about their station house, their supervisors, and their duties, which they answered earnestly enough, given that they still had a revolver pointed at them. And then Inspector Treadles gave his name and rank, and surrendered the firearm and himself. Once the inspector was handcuffed, one constable stayed to keep an eye on him and the crime scene; the other ran back to the station to help. Scotland Yard was on the scene before dawn. Sergeant MacDonald was pulled aside not long after he arrived for work and told to go see Mrs. Treadles. Mrs. Treadles knew that two men had been killed. Yet when she had called on Sherlock Holmes, she omitted any and all mentions of Mr. Sullivan. She seemed completely cut up about the older fellow, said she'd known him all her life and that he'd always been a perfect gentleman. Inspector Treadles had been on leave for a fortnight or so before the events of last night. Inspector Treadles said he was leaving because of something to do with his family and would require that he travel away from London. Both his parents had passed away and Sergeant MacDonald hadn't heard him mention siblings. But the inspector wasn't one to speak of his private life, so he didn't think it was that unusual. But he did wonder when he didn't come back after a week. Sergeant MacDonald saw Inspector Treadles poring over some maps of Yorkshire a while ago. Inspector Brighton will be overseeing Inspector Treadles's case. Chief Inspector Fowler is going to take over Inspector Brighton's new case, so Inspector Brighton could come back to London for Inspector Treadles. Mr. Stephen Marbleton, the young man Olivia Holmes loved, and whom she believed to love her in return, had told her that they were too hopeless a case. That he would no longer keep in touch with her. Reporters and curiosity-seekers thronged the pavement in front of Mrs. Treadles's house. Charlotte disguises herself as a laundry maid. She's there to see Mrs. Treadles who has the police inspector in the drawing room. Mrs. Graycott is Mrs. Treadles's housekeeper. Inspector Brighton is at Mrs. Treadles's house and Mrs. Treadles visited Sherlock Holmes and engaged him to help her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Treadles met at one of Lord Ingram Ashburton's archaeological lectures. Inspector Treadles is honorable, dutiful, and sensible. He is also a voracious reader, very keen on broadening his horizons and understanding the flow of history--of British history in particular. Inspector Brighton asks Mrs. Treadles when she realized that her husband was not happy about Cousins Manufacturing having come to her. He was not greatly pleased but he did nothing to hinder her from assuming her rightful place at the head of the company. Her brother's lieutenants at the company did not welcome her. They resented that she was there, asking questions about how they did things. How they'd always done things. When she gave her opinions, they acted as if they hadn't heard. At every opportunity, they stated that she should return home, that her presence at Cousins was a waste of time to both herself and the men who had been entrusted with looking after that great enterprise. She was made to feel an intruder in her own domain. She never told her husband anything of her difficulty. There was nothing he could have done to help her. And she didn't want to worry him. She was too proud. She didn't want him to know that she had trouble handling her own company. Mr. Longstead was one of her allies at work. She worked more with Mr. Sullivan. They didn't get along very well. He was one of those men who made her life at work more difficult at every turn. Initially, Mrs. Treadles was favorably inclined toward Mr. Sullivan. When the other men, often older and more set in their ways, were openly dismissive of her, he appeared kinder, more liberal-minded. But she was deceived. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing, a man who seemed attentive and helpful, but in fact did more than anyone else to undermine her position. Mr. Sullivan was the ringleader of the disloyal opposition. Mrs. Treadles never brought up Mr. Sullivan's name at home, nor did Mr. Sullivan ever seek an audience with Inspector Treadles. Mrs. Cousins, the wife of Mrs. Treadles's late brother arrives at Mrs. Treadles's. Sergeant Howe is also there with Inspector Brighton. Mr. Mears is Mrs. Watson's butler. Penelope Redmayne wonders why Inspector Treadles locked himself in a room with two dead men. She also wonders why he didn't open the door when the police came. Charlotte Holmes wonders the same. Lord Ingram and Charlotte are going to see him the next day. She plans to pose those questions to him. Mr. Marbleton gave Olivia Holmes false reasons for his departure. Mrs. Watson accompanied her on her train journey home, after Mr. Marbleton made his farewell. Lord Ingram's visit with Scotland Yard was profitable. Scotland Yard will have no problem viewing the bodies, the collected evidence, or the scene of the crime itself, provided they have an escort from Scotland Yard. They have been granted permission for a short visit with Inspector Treadles the next morning. Lord Ingram expects to learn something useful at Scotland Yard, but not from Inspector Treadles. Mrs. Watson had been wondering the same. Lord Ingram says they have been given leave by Scotland Yard to speak to those who might shed light on the case. Miss Redmayne is going to arrange those meetings. Mrs. Watson will be looking into Cousins Manufacturing which links Mr. Longstead, Mr. Sullivan, and Inspector Treadles. Charlotte says they must see if they can find a motive--a different reason for someone, anyone at all, to want to kill Mr. Longstead and Mr. Sullivan. And that is what she has entrusted to Mrs. Watson that motive--or at least, clues to that motive. Bernadine Holmes is Charlotte's sister. Charlotte Holmes thinks it's strange how many things Mrs. Treadles found in the wake of Sergeant MacDonald's visit, such as the letters from Inspector Treadles, recent and long ago, and the absence of the service revolver from his dressing room. At the time it seemed as if she were intensely interested in Inspector Treadles's whereabouts in the days leading up to the murders. What if she wasn't turning her house over for him, but only found those things because she was looking for something else? It's possible that the previous night, before she came home from the party, she went into 33 Cold Street, where Mr. Longstead and Mr. Sullivan were later found dead. It's possible that she left behind evidence that she was there. If Mrs. Treadles had been there, in an empty house, with either of the dead men--or both--it would have made the jealous-husband motive much stronger. The pathologist has reservations about Charlotte Holmes viewing the two dead victims because they are naked and men. Lord Ingram gives her a glowing recommendation, and he tells the pathologist that they need to examine the scene of the crime and speak with family members--all before noon. Dr. Caulfield is the pathologist. Dr Caulfield acquiesced, but not without casting a disgruntled look in Holmes's direction. Mr. Longstead's wound was through his chest. Mr. Sullivan had a bruise on his right forearm, a cut on the back of his head, and was shot through the forehead. Lord Ingram asks Dr. Caulfield what he thinks the cause of death is. The shot that killed Mr. Longstead was a contact shot. The shot that killed Mr. Sullivan was not fired from such close range. The time of death was between one and three Tuesday morning. A police issue revolver bearing the emblem of the Metropolitan Police and Inspector Treadles's initials were engraved underneath the emblem, possibly undertaken by his devoted wife was found at the crime scene. A pocket lantern had also been found at the scene, along with three spent matches. They had come from Inspector Treadles's box. A fourth spent match had been found at the bottom of the staircase in number 33. But as Mr. Longstead and Mr. Sullivan used the same kind of matches, it was not clear which victim had lit that particular one. A piece of fabric had been found on the fence surrounding the entrance into the service door in front of number 33. Somebody likely the real murderer jumped out from number 33 and got his coattail and whatnot speared by a finial. If Inspector Treadles is charged with murder and tried, he stands a high chance of being convicted. At Scotland Yard, he had an unimpeachable reputation as a man who was both intelligent and hardworking, and who had remained humble despite his rise up the ranks. If he is unwilling to speak on his own behalf, Inspector Brighton sees no reason not to formally charge him before Christmas and let the matter proceed to trial. Mrs. Treadles was in the house the night of the murders. Sherlock thinks she went into the house because she saw her husband enter. If Mrs. Treadles wants Sherlock to help Inspector Treadles, then he needs a motive for the murders, a motive other than her husband's jealousy, real or imagined. Cousins, which links together all of them, is the best possible place to look for the motive. Mrs. Treadles has mentioned Mr. Longstead, but not Mr. Sullivan to Inspector Treadles. They wonder why he lied to his wife about his whereabouts. He says he can't tell them where he was, or when he returned to London, and prefers not to tell them why he lied to his wife. He says he has nothing to say about what he was doing at 33 Cold Street on the night of the murders. He says he did not kill either Mr. Longstead or Mr. Sullivan. Lord Ingram and Miss Holmes spot some buttons in a bush while walking together on the street, buttons that looked exactly like the remaining buttons on Inspector Treadles's coat. Constable Lamb lets Miss Holmes and Lord Ingram into Cold Street number 33. Miss Holmes asks Constable Lamb if the back door was open when the police got there. He tells her only the front door was open. She asks him if the house is unoccupied. He tells her there are no current tenants. She observes that the doormat looks new. He tells her that Miss Longstead uses the house from time to time. Mr. Longstead also owned number 33. The attic was made into a painting studio by the previous tenants. Miss Longstead used it to make extracts, etc. It was turned upside down. The servants from number 31 cleaned it up after Inspector Brighton and the photographers had been, but before that it was full of broken glass and its door had been shot at twice. Lord Ingram noted several footprints, most left by men's boots--the police, heading out the back door to take a look at the garden and then coming back in. He hoped not to see any prints of a lady's--Mrs. Treadles's delicate evening slippers. He didn't, but he did remark a few dark red drops marking a straight line toward the interior of the house. Inspector Treadles, passing through? Miss Holmes hands Lord Ingram her magnifying glass to examine the dust sheet covering the furniture. Several filaments of long, light brown hair, were found almost invisible against the dun-colored dust sheet. Mrs. Treadles had light brown hair. They followed the bloodstains out of the dining room, to the central staircase, where they were met by the sight of bloody boot prints coming down. Lord Ingram remembered Inspector Treadles's boots, which had looked as if they'd sloshed through blood. Constable Lamb said it was like that up to the attic--the blood drops, not so much the boot prints. At the bedroom two floors up where the murders had taken place, Miss Holmes spent a moment on the door, which still bore signs of having been violently kicked in, before turning her attention to the chalk outlines on the dust sheets which marked where the victims lay. Mr. Longstead's outline was closer to the door. A large pool of dried blood stained the dust sheet underneath him. A smaller pool marked where Mr. Sullivan had been shot in the forehead, at the foot of the covered-up bed, his head under a window that looked toward number 33. A trail of dark red boot prints led to two windows on the far side of the bed, facing the street outside. Inspector Treadles's blood-soaked soles again came to mind. Constable Lamb was on the scene the day before. He didn't discover the bodies, but he was among the men brought back from the station by Constable Wells. Constable Lamb saw how the bodies lay before they were moved and helped move them after the photographer had been. Miss Holmes asked Constable Lamb to demonstrate for them how the men lay. He did. Judging from the way Mr. Longstead had fallen, the killer should have stood facing the door. But if he was to believe the pathologist, then for Mr. Sullivan to have staggered backward and hit the back of his head on the windowsill on his way down, the shot that killed him should have been fired from the direction of the door. If Mr. Longstead had been murdered first, and if Mr. Sullivan had been in the room at the same time, wouldn't he have run toward the door and been shot in the back, rather than on the forehead? If Mr. Sullivan had been fired on first, then why had Mr. Longstead subsequently allowed the killer to march straight up to him and place the tip of the gun right against his chest? Or did Mr. Longstead arrive late enough not to witness the death of his nephew? Inspector Treadles was believed to have been crouched behind the bed, with his weapon drawn and aimed at the constables. Charlotte Holmes asks Lord Ingram if he could have left the house via the window. If he could see, it wouldn't be a problem, but it may have been too dark and foggy for Inspector Treadles to see his way down. Holmes sketches the room. Lord Ingram and Miss Holmes decide to visit number 31. Miss Longstead opens the door. Mr. Longstead was her uncle. She agreed to meeting with Miss Holmes because of the name of Sherlock Holmes. She was absolutely fascinated by his brilliant detection in the Sackville case. She still wishes to hear what the great sage has to say about what happened. Charlotte Holmes tells Miss Longstead that Sherlock Holmes has been engaged by Mrs. Treadles to find out the truth of what happened. The murders took place on the night of Miss Longstead's coming-out party. The party was her uncle's idea. She used the attic in number 33 and the studio to make essential oils and some fragrant extracts. Miss Longstead saw someone enter number 33 from the back during her party. A woman entered number 33. Miss Longstead didn't see either Mrs. Treadles or Mr. Sullivan when she came back to the house. She thought she saw Mr. Sullivan speaking to Mrs. Treadles at one point. But at the end of the dance when she saw her again, she was in the company of another woman. The last time she saw her uncle was when she told him someone had entered number 33. The party was the first time she thought perhaps she might be able to negotiate the outside world on her own. Mrs. Coltrane, their housekeeper, said that the police had requested someone from the household to identify the victims next door. She offered to go but Miss Longstead said she should be the one to go. She discovered that her uncle's bed was empty and had not been slept in. She and Mrs. Coltrane went together to number 33. They were asked if they knew anything about the attic of the house. Miss Longstead told them what she did in the studio. They told her it had been destroyed. They asked if she knew Inspector Treadles. She didn't think to ask herself what he was doing there. After she identified her uncle and Mr. Sullivan for the police, and come down and seen him again, it didn't occur to her that he might have had anything to do with it. She even asked him if he knew what had happened. He shook his head. Her uncle wanted Mrs. Treadles to succeed. He thought it unfair that the managers and directors stood in her way. They should have been helping her, not keeping her from the company that was rightfully hers. The studio has been completely trashed. Miss Longstead's Christmas present from her uncle was smashed to pieces. It was a magnificent pearl necklace. Mr. Longstead enjoyed a good brandy and Miss Longstead wanted to see whether she couldn't distill something decent for him herself. All her efforts were destroyed. Miss Holmes and Mrs. Coltrane have to go through Mr. Longstead's papers. Charlotte Holmes tells Miss Owens, Miss Longstead's maid, that Sherlock Holmes will find out who killed Mr. Longstead. And when he does, it will be thanks in part to her help. Alice Treadles was afraid of Miss Holmes. Miss Holmes introduces Mrs. Watson to Mrs. Treadles. Mrs. Treadles is harassed by Mr. Sullivan at the party. She escapes to the garden to get away from him. She saw a man enter the house next door. He looked like her husband who was supposed to be away from London. She thought that Mr. Sullivan was going to tell her husband lies about her. She thought maybe her husband had told her that he would be out of town so he could observe her in secret. She thought maybe Mr. Sullivan kept coming near her, to give an impression of intimacy where none existed. She ran across to number 33 to follow the man who looked like her husband. She began to feel apprehensive once she got inside number 33. Mr. Sullivan came in while she was there. He forcibly grabbed her and kissed her. She struggled. Then she hear a loud crashing sound. Mr. Sullivan let go of her. She ran. Back into Mr. Longstead's house, into a cloakroom where she could hide. She went through her husband's letters and noticed a discrepancy between where he said he was and what the postmarks on the envelopes attested to, and the possibility of his unannounced presence in London. She noticed her jeweled comb was missing in the morning. Sergeant MacDonald was announced. If her jeweled comb had dropped down inside number 33, it would be nearly impossible to convince anyone that her husband hadn't killed Mr. Sullivan in a fit of jealousy. She ran about the house looking for her comb, and saw that her husband's service revolver was missing from his dressing room. Miss Holmes wants Mrs. Watson to look into Cousins Manufacturing. Mrs. Treadles's brother helmed Cousins for four years. He began when their father was still alive. He'd never been terribly interested in the day-to-day operations of the company and her dad wanted to ease him in over time, rather than thrust the entire responsibility on him all at once. Her father didn't want her to be involved and her brother Barnaby wouldn't have appreciated unsolicited advice. Barnaby didn't like to learn; he resented being corrected; and he despised any insinuation that he wasn't quite the man his father had been. He loved flattery--he needed to be told that he possessed all the cleverness and discernment in the world. He hadn't boasted about his successes. He loved feeling superior. She wanted to see the accounts. She wanted to visit the factories. She wanted to speak to suppliers and customers. She wanted a full audit of the firm conducted at the earliest opportunity. Instead she got a roomful of men who, when they didn't treat her like an infant who'd somehow escaped her bassinet, took great offense that she dared. To imply that they hadn't done brilliantly and perfectly at their positions. They even tried to persuade her solicitors that it would be in their interests to get her to leave things alone, because that would give her solicitors more work and therefore more money. The only things she was able to get her hands on were some abbreviated reports she'd found in her brother's study. And bank statements that showed the movement of funds--though in aggregate, which do not give her a detailed picture of what is happening inside the company. Her brother purchased a number of older factories to be modernized and refitted to their specifications. She concluded that too much money was spent on the endeavor and the returns had not been impressive. The men who oversaw the acquisition and renovation of those factories objected to that conclusion. They spouted all kinds of accounting reasons, amortization costs, etc. to justify why incomes had stagnated. Instead of concrete evidence, she was given only obstruction, complaints, and temper tantrums. Mrs. Treadles's father was able to speak his mind at the company because he built the company from nothing. Her brother was also able to, but she was not allowed to. Mrs. Watson asks her if she believes she has less right to be there than her brother did. Mrs. Watson believes that having been told early and often that she had no place at Cousins, Mrs. Treadles had started to believe it. She goes to take back power at Cousins Manufacturing. Mr. White interrupts her presentation to throw suspicion onto her husband for the murders of Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Longstead. Mr. White is told that Inspector Treadles had been temporarily detained by Scotland Yard for questioning. The investigation was still very much ongoing and she cautions him not to assign guilt prematurely, especially when he could be released at any moment. He tells her that Inspector Treadles was caught with the murder weapon in his hand. She tells him appearances can be deceiving, and that men who are caught with murder weapons in their hands may simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He expected her to announce that she would recuse herself from Cousins because her husband had been arrested on suspicion of murdering two of their finest. He says it is an insult to Mr. Sullivan's memory to have the wife of his murderer there. She tells him to remember he is speaking to the late Mr. Sullivan's employer. His employer, too, she reminds him. He claims that that is a travesty, that Mr. Sullivan did more for the company than anyone except its founders and he was a kinsman of Mr. Longstead's. He says it's an injustice that the company didn't belong to him. She tells him Mr. Longstead sold his stock in the company to her father when he left. He chose not to give it to his kinsman. It doesn't matter what he thinks. Mr. Sullivan was not a stockholder but an employee. As such he was well compensated, and there was nothing noteworthy about his status as an employee while the company remained in her family's hands. Mr. White tells her she doesn't deserve to be there. She puts him in his place again or at least tries to. He tells her he's an indispensable member of the firm. He tells her she's just a woman who doesn't know her place. She tells him he's wrong, she does know her place, that it's right there at the head of the table, and his place is no longer at Cousins. She asks Mrs. Watson to have her men escort Mr. White out. Kingford speaks up and says if Mr. White goes, he does, too. Mr. Pollard tells her that's not how they do things there. She asks him when it became acceptable for a manager to be openly hostile and disparaging to the owner of an enterprise--and expect to keep his position. She asks him when it became acceptable for a man not to do his work, offer a myriad of excuses, and hide evidence that might show that his work had been shoddy. She asks him when it became acceptable for those entrusted with the well-being of the company to condone such conduct, to speak up not at its proliferation, but only when one of its worst perpetrators has been shown the door--and then only to defend said perpetrator. She tells the men if their loyalty is more to Mr. White and Mr. Kingford than to Cousins to leave. Alice turned to the men Mrs. Watson had brought and asked that they may escort Messrs. White, Kingford, Ferguson, and Adams from the premises. Charlotte Holmes and Lord Ingram show up at Mrs. Cousins's house. She was under the impression that Mrs. Cousins and Inspector Treadles didn't get along. She says they don't and she doesn't expect them to. She says that her sister-in-law is a good person, that she proved herself a true friend--the sister she never had--and she would do everything in her power to help her. Mrs. Cousins is acquainted with both victims. Mr. Longstead and her father-in-law were great friends, although he found her husband a disappointment; they didn't see him often--or much at all. He did call on her to offer his condolences. Mrs. Treadles spoke of Mr. Longstead often. She was inordinately grateful that he was kind to her--the only person at Cousins who could be said to be kind. Charlotte Holmes knew that Mrs. Treadles was being threatened by Mr. Sullivan and she knows what she encountered at number 33 the night of the party. Mrs. Cousins and her husband had trouble conceiving; she kept miscarrying. Her husband kept blaming her. She didn't love her husband, but she understood her obligations. She rejected Mr. Sullivan's advances, and he became nasty by calling her names and then she went to speak to her husband. He left her a very small dower portion, not wanting her to have a bigger dower--and then go on to marry some other rich man. Charlotte Holmes goes to see Mrs. Sullivan. She is there as a representative of Sherlock Holmes, her brother, who had agreed to help Mrs. Treadles find out the truth of the case. Sergeant Howe was uninterested and only asked questions she couldn't answer, such as when Mr. Sullivan left that night and whether he knew Inspector Treadles. He didn't come home that evening so she assumed he must have gone directly from work. Mrs. Sullivan said it wasn't unusual for him to socialize without her. He found her to be gauche, not suitable for the kind of crowd he wanted to be associated with. Mrs. Sullivan's husband had told her that he coveted another man's wife. Mr. Sullivan was interested in Mrs. Treadles. Mr. Sullivan had told his wife that her presence at the party would hinder him in his quest to drive a wedge between Mrs. Treadles and her husband since she would be there without him. Mrs. Sullivan told Sergeant Howe that her husband didn't like Mrs. Treadles. He didn't care for her and said she shouldn't have been at Cousins, trying to run things. She feels no sorrow that her husband's gone. Charlotte Holmes calls on Mrs. Treadles. She's not home, but Mrs. Graycott, her housekeeper, points Charlotte to a nearby park. Mrs. Treadles is walking on a narrow path in the intermittent rain. Cockerill, her groom and coachman, is standing watch. Charlotte wants to ask her a few more questions about the night of the party. She wants to know how Mrs. Treadles was able to escape from number 33 that night, after Mr. Sullivan accosted her. She says there was a loud noise that startled Mr. Sullivan and that was how she got away. That was the last time she saw Mr. Sullivan. The last time she saw Mr. Longstead was after she returned to his house and she came across him speaking to Mrs. Coltrane, his housekeeper, before she went into the cloakroom. Miss Holmes wonders whether it was possible that the loud noise had been produced by Mr. Longstead. She could see he and Mr. Sullivan getting into a heated argument after her departure. Miss Holmes thinks Mr. Sullivan killed Mr. Longstead with Inspector Treadles's service revolver, and then shot himself. The shot that had killed Mr. Sullivan hadn't been a contact shot which argued much more strongly in favor of homicide. Miss Holmes asks Miss Longstead if there is any chance that her uncle was killed because of his support for Mrs. Treadles. She says she can see Mr. Sullivan killed for such a reason, but her uncle didn't know how to play games. Miss Holmes says he didn't need to have been playing games. She says he could have been killed for the sincerity of his support with regard to Mrs. Treadles. Mr. Longstead was kind to Mrs. Treadles , but he never gave her the kind of support that would get him killed. Mrs. Treadles had told Miss Holmes that Mr. Sullivan was a false friend to her. He pretended to be sympathetic, but was in fact actively undermining her efforts at taking control of her own company. She asks Miss Longstead if she thinks it was possible that her uncle learned about it, and confronted Mr. Sullivan. Miss Redmayne flags down Miss Holmes and Lord Ingram's coach, and asks them if they've come to a conclusion yet about how many people had gone in and out of number 33 that night before the police discovered Inspector Treadles in a room with the dead men. Mrs. Styles lives across the street, and two houses down from number 33. She thought she saw someone leap from number 33 the night of the party shortly after eleven. Miss Holmes and Lord Ingram get into a coach together and go to see Mr. Bosworth, Mrs. Styles's grandson. Mrs. Watson when in disguise as Sherlock Holmes's landlady or housekeeper, went by Mrs. Hudson. Miss Redmayne similarly went by Miss Hudson when she was out and about on Sherlockian business. Mr. Bosworth didn't even know about the murders until he came home the next evening and heard a paperboy shouting about murders on Cold Street. He has two alarm clocks, one which reads the correct time, and another which reads eleven o'clock all the time. He wants his grandmother to think she's getting her medicine at a certain time when in actuality, it could possibly be much later when she receives her medicine. He does not remember when he gave his grandmother her medicine on the night of the murders. Which meant the person who jumped could be the murderer. He saw a white and black painted carriage go back and forth several times that night. Alice goes to visit her husband in jail. She tells him she fired four of Mr. Sullivan's most staunch supporters the day before, thanks to Mrs. Watson who gave her enough backbone for it. He warns her not to look into the doings at Cousins. Charlotte and Miss Redmayne had placed a notice in the papers promising a significant reward for the return of a jeweled comb bearing the inscription, to my beloved R. Miss Hendricks shows up with it. She says she found it at the park on Rosmere Road three days ago when she took the girls out for their morning walk. Three days ago was the day of the party but before it had taken place. Miss Hendricks and the children live on Rengate Street which was one of the streets that enclosed the private garden 31 and 33 Cold Street backed onto. Houses on Rengate Street were across from houses on Cold Street. Depending on where on Rengate Street Miss Hendricks lived, she might have a decent view across the garden to number 31 and number 33. The belief is that she saw a man she assumed was her lover and followed him to the house only to discover a female's haircomb on the floor which she assumed to belong to another woman who was going to rendezvous with her lover. Mrs. Treadles shows up at Charlotte's. It is believed that Mr. Woodhollow is the secret lover Miss Hendricks followed into 33 Cold Street the night of the murders. He saw a woman go in at five minutes to midnight. It couldn't have been Mrs. Treadles who went in at 12:30. Nor could it have been Miss Hendricks, who entered only after Mrs. Treadles had left. He thought it was Miss Hendricks. He heard a man and woman talking below. He left through a window. His coat got caught on the fence. He made copies of the keys. Lord Ingram doesn't understand why Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Longstead were killed together. Miss Holmes is going through Mr. Longstead's appointment book finding several discrepancies in the entries. He had never mentioned his call of condolence to Mrs. Cousins. Miss Holmes goes to see Mrs. Sullivan to question her about her whereabouts the night of the murders. But Mrs. Sullivan refuses to answer any questions, so she poses her questions to Mrs. Portwine instead. Mr. Sullivan bought the house for Mrs. Portwine, his mistress. Mrs. Portwine is good friends with Mrs. Calloway, Mr. Sullivan's previous mistress. Mrs. Calloway wished to part ways from Mr. Sullivan. Mrs. Portwine was between protectors. She appealed to her for help and she took over from her. Mrs. Sullivan says Mrs. Calloway didn't want to go anywhere; Mr. Sullivan was the one who tired of her. At work, Mr. Sullivan could make men fall in line because he had Mr. Barnaby Cousins's ear and he was mean-spirited to those below him. And for women, he could buy the likes of Mrs. Calloway and Mrs. Portwine. Miss Holmes finds the black and white carriage which is really dark blue and white. On the night of Miss Longstead's party, Whitmer, Mrs. Portwine's coachman, had driven to 31 Cold Street, and then picked up Mrs. Sullivan and brought her to the same spot. Mrs. Sullivan got out. She tried the front door of number 33, then she climbed over the garden gate between number 31 and number 33 about a quarter to midnight. After she went in, he drove twice around the garden. When he came around the second time, she came out of number 33, from the front door. She asked him to bring her back to Mrs. Portwine's. He drove back to Cascade Lane, a few streets over from Cold Street. A little before two, someone from the house came and said carriages had been called because the fog was getting bad. He went behind the others so he could park farther away on the street: Mr. Sullivan didn't mind being seen occasionally in the carriage, but he didn't want to be too obvious about it. He waited. But all the other carriages drove off and he never did come out of the house. He didn't know what to make of it. He waited until the lights shut off in number 31 and then he drove round the garden a few times, looking for him. When he still didn't see him, he came back to Mrs. Portwine's, thinking maybe he went back to his own house in someone else's carriage. When he reported it to Mrs. Portwine, she shrugged, but Mrs. Sullivan was worried. She said they ought to go back to Cold Street. Mrs. Portwine said that was rubbish. She said that Mrs. Sullivan should go home because if she went any later, she'd get lost in the fog. Mrs. Sullivan, after she got into the carriage, still wanted to go to Cold Street. He was worried about Mr. Sullivan, but the fog was getting too thick and no one ought to be about. So he said he had to do what Mrs. Portwine told him and took her home. Miss Holmes wishes to test Mrs. Sullivan's lock-picking skills. Mr. Sullivan told Mrs. Sullivan that Miss Longstead's coming-0ut party would be a circus. He said that he'd sent a note to Inspector Treadles and that the inspector would go into number 33, see how his wife conducts herself in his absence, and fly into a rage. But it wouldn't stop there. Mr. Sullivan anticipated that Inspector Treadles would then march into the party, make a nasty scene, ruin Miss Longstead's night, and forever rupture relations not between himself and his wife but between his wife and Mr. Longstead. She climbed over the garden gate when the front door to number 33 proved to be locked. But the back door was open. She groped her way from floor to floor, hoping for an open room with windows that would give her a good vantage point. All the rooms were locked. She came back down to the ground floor, where the windows didn't face those of number 31. Mr. Sullivan had lied. He said Mrs. Treadles fancied him. But when he approached her, she couldn't get away fast enough. She left through the front door, because she wasn't going to climb the gate again. Whitmer drove her there. But later, well past two o'clock, when Whitmer came back alone, she wondered whether Mr. Sullivan hadn't told her some truth after all. What if he had summoned Inspector Treadles? What if, instead of turning his wrath on his wife or Mr. Longstead, Inspector Treadles had gone after the true culprit? She wanted to go back to Cold Street, but Whitmer said it was too dangerous and took her home. She fretted and paced. She never imagined that her husband would be dead. She thought he'd be lying on the pavement, hurt and bleeding, after a solid beating from Inspector Treadles. But she couldn't go out and get him in the fog, so she took some laudanum and went to sleep. She closed the front door as she left number 33. Mr. Sullivan fatally wounded Mr. Longstead and the latter, in his final moments, rallied and shot Mr. Sullivan in return. Mrs. Cousins's husband was believed to have died from malaria, but was convinced he had cancer. Someone gave him a "cancer remedy" which was mostly arsenic. Mr. Longstead suspected it, so he obtained from Mrs. Cousins a piece of mourning jewelry which contained her husband's hair. Mr. Barnaby Cousins passed away recently enough that his hair could still be analyzed for the presence of arsenic. Inspector Treadles was released just before sunset.

I received a complimentary advance reader copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I thought there were more characters in the story than needed to be, because there were side-plots which had nothing to do with the main story. I give this book four stars and look forward to more from this author.

Witty and disarming, Sherry Thomas' Charlotte Holmes continues to enchant readers with her stone cold logic and insatiable curiously. A strong cast of secondary characters and inventive story lines only serves to help this series push beyond it's boundaries. Fans will also heave a sigh of relief as a long running story line soon begins to bear fruit.

When Charlotte's friend is accused of murder after being found in a locked room with two dead bodies., Charlotte leads the charge to find the real killer. But as her investigation deepens, she soon learns that some secrets aren't meant for the light of day.

Murder on Cold Street is a delightful addition to Lady Sherlock series. If you are a fan of historical mystery, it is time to pick up the first installment of this series. Readers will be rewarded with a perceptive kick-ass heroine accompanied by a lovely cast, and the most agonizing slow-burn romance.

Inspector Treadles has been accuse of a murder. The book will explore his relationship with his wife Alice as Charlotte Holmes and co. unravel the truth behind these gruesome murders.

I am one of the minority that did not really care for the “The Art of Theft.” The previous book personally did not deliver any romance endorphins. I was also not keen on the heist plot either. However, rest assured, Murder on Cold Street delivered what I was looking for. This is certainly an upgrade.

Murder on Cold Street is likethat filler episode in an Anime that was not in the Manga. It was good but not in the same caliber as the first three books, which has been my standard of goodness. However, do not be deterred because while I was not satisfied with the plot, I love everything about the romance development.

Lord Ingram has finally decided he is ready to bare it all for Charlotte Holmes. Whatever The Art of Theft lacks, Murder on Cold Street delivers. Charlotte is not afraid to gratify her own physical pleasure but is she ready to accept what her senses has been telling her? Bonus content: flashback memories of teenage Charlotte and Ash. I cannot articulate how this book made me feel giddy so let me leave you one of my favorite quotes:

The first time Charlotte Holmes had kissed Lord Ingram, she’d been thirteen and he fifteen—and she’d blackmailed him into it by threatening to lure a horde of unruly children to the ruins of a Roman villa that he had been in the middle of excavating.

She remembered very little of the kiss itself. For a girl who possessed near-perfect recall, that had been a grand anomaly, as if for the duration of the kiss, her brain had suffered some sort of catastrophic mechanical failure.


Overall, the strongest point of Lady Sherlock series is the romance followed by the engaging and well-developed cast. The detective-fiction part comes third. If you have your own priorities in order, you would like to add these books in your TBR. As always, Kate Reading, the narrator of the audiobook, is a marvelous storyteller.

Review also posted at Hollywood News Source.

I liked the mystery a lot in this book. Unfortunately, the lack of romance growth in terms of Charlotte's relationship was disappointing. It feels like the author is just playing with our emotions at the moment.

Lady Sherlock Strikes again. The lady Sherlock series has to be one of my favourite historical mystery series. The characters are well fleshed out, the mysteries are engaging, and the setting is exemplary. You feel like your there along side Charlotte. Oomph and the romance Ms. Thomas has definitely given us a treat in Murder on Cold Street. Overall, Murder on Cold Street is an outstanding addition to the Lady Sherlock Series and cannot wait to read about more of the escapades Sherlock and Co. face

Stevie‘s review of Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock, Book 5) by Sherry Thomas
Historical Mystery published by Berkley 06 Oct 20

The adventures of Charlotte Holmes, her companion Mrs Watson, and their various friends and relations have proven consistently delightful over the course of the series so far. After the previous two cases took us out of London and across the English Channel most recently, this time we’re back in the Capital for a locked-room mystery. Chief suspect in this case of double murder is none other than the long-time associate of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and of Charlotte’s old friend (and sometime lover) Lord Ingram: Inspector Treadles. Not only does the Inspector have connections to both victims by way of the company his wife recently inherited, but he was found in said locked room with them, holding the gun that killed them – his service revolver. Things look bleak, but fortunately Charlotte is only too happy to take on the case, even though Treadles is being less than cooperative in offering an explanation for his behaviour.


Of course everyone involved in the mystery has secrets that they would rather not share with Charlotte, and most are also hiding truths from their spouses and families. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s estranged parents are making life difficult for the one Holmes sister still residing with them, while she is mourning the apparent ending of her relationship with one of Charlotte’s previously close associates. On the positive side, Charlotte’s relationship with Lord Ingram is developing favourably, since he is soon to be freed from his estranged wife, and there are several happy interludes between the pair, in between a lot of investigation into the movements and motivations of all the potential suspects.

Marriages – unhappy ones in particular – feature prominently in this story. Treadles has been attempting to repair the rift that developed with his wife when she took control of her family’s manufacturing business, but this renewed happiness has been placed in jeopardy not only by his arrest, but also by Mrs Treadles’ subsequent discovery that her husband has been less than truthful as to his actions and whereabouts over the preceding weeks.

Charlotte soon realises that all is not right at the factories, and it seems likely that this is what the Inspector was investigating away from his regular police work. Fortunately, she has all her usual companions to call upon to track down every potential witness and suspect, an almighty task given that the murders took place while a party was taking place in the next house, with several of those present having access to both properties. Newspaper ads and coded messages played a large part in the story, to my delight, and I was greatly taken with the varied and diverse cast of new characters that we got to meet this time around. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of Charlotte’s various costumes, the interiors of the houses she visited, and the hot-water bottle covers she was making.

All in all, a particularly excellent addition to the series and I very much hope it continues for as long as there are new adventures for the characters to embark upon.

Grade: A

Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock series gets better and better as we learn more about the main characters and the battle with Moriarty continues.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am a huge fan of the Lady Sherlock series, and this latest installment, MURDER ON COLD STREET, was an excellent continuation.

Inspector Treadles has been found at a murder scene, murder weapon in hand. He chooses to remain silent upon his arrest, giving no explanation for his presence. Mrs. Treadles enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes (aka Charlotte) to free her husband. The case is a bit of a jumble - lots of people entering and exiting the scene, several potential motives, a few red herrings. Charlotte follows the clues, with the help of some brain-powering reticule cake, to find the sinister truth.

I love Charlotte. I love her unapologetic adoration for sweets. I love that her vanity occasionally forces her to eat a Brussels sprout or two before indulging in dessert. I love that she is brilliantly abnormal. I love that she has surrounded herself with people who understand her and believe in her. In this fifth novel, we definitely see more of the confidence her associates have in her abilities. There's little doubt in any of their minds that Charlotte can figure it out in time to save Inspector Treadles.

In MURDER, we also get to see Charlotte become more playful. It's almost as though she's settled into herself. No longer does she need to worry about maintaining her freedom and her livelihood. Instead, she can focus on her friends, chosen family, and her love. Which brings me to the best part of MURDER: Ash and Charlotte declaring their love (in their own ways) to each other. They've been circling each other since the first novel. Ash has refused to engage in Charlotte's longed-for affair because of staid, patriarchal principles. After recent events showed him how short the good parts of life can be, he has thrown caution to the wind and embraced his love and desire for Charlotte. I can't WAIT for the next book.

Was MURDER ON COLD STREET perfect? Probably not, but I love the characters so much that I can't help but give this five icing-covered stars.

4 out of 5 stars - I'll tell you to read it, if you ask me

I really enjoyed reading this book about Charlotte Holmes. This is the first book in the series that I have read, but it is book #5 in the Lady Sherlock series. I look forward to going back to read more about how we got to the current state of things.

Charlotte Holmes claims to be Sherlock's sister, but in reality there is no Sherlock to speak of. She works "on his behalf, as he is an invalid", mainly because she knows most would not work with a woman detective.

In this story, Charlotte is faced with helping her friend, Inspector Treadles, to determine who killed the 2 men with whom he had locked himself in a room. The men worked with his wife, who had recently taken over managing the family business.

The story had several twists and turns, and I really enjoyed the side jaunts that you thought might lead somewhere, but weren't the answer!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader's Copy.

First: I read an ARC, and I don't expect perfection and precision of editing, but there were an awful lot of instances where one letter was substituted to create a different (confusing) word, or a letter was missing from the word.

I have found the previous four Lady Sherlock books to contain mysteries that were almost unbearably convoluted, so I was relieved to find that Murder on Cold Street was a little easier to follow. Did I wish that Inspector Treadles had actually cooperated with the investigation? Did I wish that we had uncovered some of the reasons behind the murder a little earlier? Yes to both. I also wondered if Inspector Brighton was a dropped thread, because he seemed like he would initially impede Charlotte's investigation only to completely drop out of the narrative.

But what keeps me coming back to Thomas's series is the characters, so I was pleased with what we got on that front. Charlotte and Lord Ingram seem to be disembarking their UST train! Poor Livia is breaking my heart. Mrs. Watson remains the best.

I enjoyed this story when I read it a month ago, and absolutely loved it in audio. My full length audio review will be posted after it appears at AudioGals later this month.

With each book I read in Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock series, the more I fall in love with it. In Murder On Cold Street, we are treated to a somewhat insular mystery as it involves many characters we were introduced to in previous books. The few characters we are introduced to, including Miss Longstead and the further development of Mrs. Treadles, are worthy of future cameos.

The close to home nature of the mystery works as it also doubles as a holiday book. The progression of Charlotte and Lord Ingram is enough to satisfy and yet not feel out of character for either. Best of all for me, it ended with things on the horizon but our reasonably characters content and happy.

Charlotte Holmes (in her guise of Sherlock Holmes) is hired by Mrs. Treadles to help unmask the murderer of two men. Her husband, Inspector Treadles of Scotland Yard, has been arrested for the murders, having been found in a locked room, with the bodies, and a gun. Lord Ingram, in love with Charlotte Holmes, assists her as she begins her investigation. As she looks into the murders, many secrets emerge about the two men and the people within their sphere, many of whom are less than truthful in talking to Holmes. As the investigation widens, Holmes helps Mrs. Treadles find her strength and protects the secrets that are spilled. Another entertaining read in this series.

I’ve been putting off writing this review for almost two weeks now. This is the first Sherry Thomas book that I haven’t given five stars to, and it actually pains me a little.

For anyone who absolutely adores an author, like, truly thinks they’re a master of their craft and has all the confidence in the world that their work will stand the test of time, and then you read something from them you don’t love, you know how I feel right now.

I did not love this installment of the Lady Sherlock series. Seeing as how this is my favorite ongoing series, these three stars are a pretty big disappointment.

A lot of other readers criticized the first book in this series as being too slow. In fact, that’s the chief complaint I’ve seen of any installment. I have never felt that way about any of these books. I have a long attention span and am a self-confessed history nerd, so where some people were put off by the minutiae of 19th century London, I was drawn in by it.

This book was too slow, even for me.

There’s no easy way to say it: the pacing is damn near glacial. Every microscopic aspect of the case is examined in frustratingly close detail. Even ones that felt extraneous or unimportant. Even ones that were extraneous or unimportant.

All of the witnesses are lying, so they’re interviewed, interrogated, and then interviewed again, dragged toward the truth haltingly by Holmes and her companions.

I think part of the issue is the person that Holmes is trying to prove innocent is a completely unsympathetic side character. I was sort of glad to see him moldering in a jail cell.

There is also very little movement on any of the overarching plots within the book. The two love affairs I most looked forward to reading about felt stagnated. The big bad villain of the previous books was barely mentioned until the very end, and even then, it felt a bit rushed. And the fate of a rather important side character who fell into peril in the last book is totally excluded.

Where is he? How is he?

All in all, this felt like a layover.

Like a pause in the story of Charlotte Holmes and her companions. And I think that has something to do with the momentum built in the previous installments. In those, you know the characters are drawing closer and closer to something dangerous. Something that not even Charlotte’s genius might see them safely through.

There was action, danger. Several times throughout I read at breakneck speed, terrified that something was about to happen to one of my beloved characters.

This book fell flat compared to them. Between the slow pacing and the utter lack of any sort of tension, I was bored while reading most of it.

One last thing I need to mention is that the ARC we received of this was not in great shape, editing wise. Whole paragraphs were incorrectly italicized. Words were missing. Shifts in perspective weren’t properly marked.

I’m chalking it up to Covid. I’ve seen more of these issues from big publishing houses in the past few months than ever before, and I really hope they’re fixed in the finished copies.

So, no, I didn’t love this book. But I still love Sherry Thomas. I still believe in her wholeheartedly, and I am still going to be desperate for the next book in the series to be released.

I'm still working through this one, I love the concept, but just think that I need to be in the right mindset. It isn't pulling me in and I'm halfway through. It could be that it just seems a little on the long side for me. I'm definitely going to pick it back up soon, but didn't want to not say that this is how I am currently feeling. I will reupdate this and post my review on other platforms if/when I end up finishing it!

4.5/5

I am so in love with the Lady Sherlock series, I can't possibly express my feelings for it no matter what I say. I had high hopes for Murder on Cold Street and once again, Sherry Thomas delivered with just the story I was expecting.

If you want my opinion on these characters, please check out my previous reviews. I don't want to be too repetitive so I won't dwell on the characterizations but know that Sherry Thomas is a master at what she does. With every book, I fall further and further in love with Charlotte and every facet of her personality. Though she remained whip-smart and quirky, we also begin to see her try to understand her emotional side more. Lord Ingram, my fictional husband, also continued to be the steadfast support that Charlotte needed not only in her investigations but also her life in general. Charlotte's relationship with a certain beau that has a strong foundation in their friendship continued to be the highlight of this series for me. In Murder on Cold Street, we finally (FINALLY!) see some progress in the relationship. They have been dancing around each other for 4 books now and I think Murder On Cold Street took that relationship one step further. When I say that I want to fangirl scream whenever the two even share a touch or a gaze, I'm not even exaggerating - I just love them so much. This has quite possibly been one of the most deliciously torturous ship, but it has been truly worth the patience for me. Only Sherry Thomas could have gotten me this invested in this relationship.

Moving on from the romance ... I've enjoyed all the mysteries in this series, but the one in Murder On Cold Street is my favorite so far. The case had Charlotte and her friends working together to help Inspector Treadles, who has been accused of murder. It was my favorite case for two reasons 1) readers were presented with the opportunity to learn about Inspector Treadles and his life and 2) the locked room case was one full of unexpected, but cleverly crafted twists. I am in constantly in awe of Sherry Thomas' mind and in this one, my face throughout the entire book closely resembled the mind-blown emoji: 🤯! I was also pleasantly surprised by the character of Mrs. Treadles, Inspector Treadles' wife, who proved to be a fascinating character with her own strengths and secrets to rival those of Charlotte. We see terrific growth from her and I hope we do see her again down the line.

While each book does feature its own mystery, there's an overarching plotline that involves Moriarty. Therefore, I don't recommend reading these books out of order. Plus, readers will certainly miss out on some impressive character and relationship development. Murder on Cold Street ended on an exciting note for me, and I'm eager to see where the Moriarty storyline is heading. Knowing Sherry Thomas, it's bound to be mind-blowing and I can't wait.

Fifth in this excellent series and the best yet!

The arc of this storyline is that Sherlock was actually a woman: extremely intelligent, observant, and brilliantly analytical. The crimes are confounding, and the humor is always just at the right moment.

The mystery in this latest story seems insurmountable, and it does turn out to be quite complicated. But the continuing development of the major themes, the continuing characters and relationships between them, and the new characters introduced make reading the entire series, in order, QUITE worth the reader's time.

If you haven't begun this Lady Sherlock series, you must.
If you haven't read this fifth and latest episode of Charlotte, you MUST!
(just published Oct 6, 2020)

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the pleasure of an advance read!

An excellent addition to the Lady Sherlock series. I love all of the character development, and as always, the story was engaging and interesting. I listened to this on audio, as I have with all the others, and it was excellently narrated by Kate Reading. My one note is that this story suffers a little bit from character bloat; it got a little difficult to keep people straight near the end.

Still, it was a delightful read!

Disclaimer: I got this from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review!

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Enola Holmes!

Are you a fan of female detectives? Yes, then this is perfect!

Murder on Cold Street is the fifth book in the Lady Sherlock mystery series. This time Inspector Treadles has been arrested for murder and his wife has asked Sherlock to investigate and clear her husband’s name.

This newest book by Sherry Thomas is well-written and it has an intriguing plot that is well-designed. There are a variety of characters, some of which are quite dislikable. It is an admirable addition to the series. However, there were some things that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. While I’ve always liked the relationship and chemistry between Charlotte and Lord Ingram, this time it was a bit more than I felt was necessary. The nearly constant reference to her attraction to him became stale, as did the constant reminder that Charlotte is a unique personality that is difficult to understand or appreciate. The added storyline about Charlotte’s sister, Olivia, and their mother felt a bit random, even though I could see why this topic was pursued. And, it’s clear to me that this series is most enjoyable when all the books are read in the order they are written.

All in all, I enjoyed Murder on Cold Street, even though I sometimes felt a bit adrift.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.