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| Author | Brittany Cavallaro |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Charlotte Holmes |
| Genre | Young adult, Mystery |
| Publisher | |
Publication date | March 1, 2016 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) and Audiobook |
| Pages | 321 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-239891-8 |
A Study in Charlotte is a young adult mystery novel written by American author Brittany Cavallaro. It follows the adventures of the teenage descendants of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson, as they are framed for the murder of one of their classmates at their boarding school in Connecticut. The novel was the first in a tetralogy, with sequels named The Last of August (2017), The Case for Jamie (2018), and A Question of Holmes (2019).
The book was well received by readers and critics, being praised for its writing and its characters. It was nominated for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction.[1]
Cavallaro has been a fan of Sherlock Holmes all her life, and was inspired to write the book after realising that there were not many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes where the detective is a woman.[2]
Plot[edit]
Jamie Watson, the great-great-great-grandson of Dr. John Watson, has won a rugby scholarship to Sherringford Boarding School in Connecticut. He is frustrated, because he will have to see his estranged father and is far from his mother and little sister. But he is excited to finally be meeting Charlotte Holmes, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sherlock, who also attends the school.
Their first meeting is awkward and confrontational, with Holmes asking Watson if classmate Lee Dobson put him up to it as a joke. Later, Watson gets into a fight with Dobson over his sexist comments about Holmes. The latter intervenes and admonishes Jamie, insisting that she can take care of herself.
The next day, Lee Dobson is found poisoned to death in his dorm room, and Watson leaves to find Holmes. They agree to work together to find the culprit, and break into Dobson's room to look for evidence. Afterwards, they meet Watson's estranged father, and are interrogated by the police. It is revealed that Holmes has a drug habit, and was sexually assaulted by Lee Dobson shortly before his death.
In their investigation, the Holmes and Watson notice that Lee Dobson's death is reminiscent of a classic Sherlock story, The Adventure of the Speckled Band. With this in mind, they compile a list of suspects. Holmes concedes that August Moriarty, the great-great-great-grandson of Professor James Moriarty, may want her dead because of something that she did to him in the past. She also mentions his brother, Lucien Moriarty, may act on his behalf.
Holmes is reluctant to discuss much of her past with Jamie, even as he begins to develop romantic feelings for her. She invites him to the homecoming dance, but a girl is attacked while they are there by having a diamond shoved down her throat. This is a reference to another Sherlock story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.
After the events of the dance, Watson's father takes them back to his house to stay the night. He reveals to his son that it was actually his idea to have him come to Sherringford, not a rugby scholarship. Watson is furious and lashes out at his father.
To find out if the poison that killed Lee Dobson came from the school, Watson fakes a rugby injury so that Holmes can gain access to the infirmary and investigate the school's nurse, Bryony. She comes up empty handed, but Jamie feels that they are missing something big.
Holmes and Watson have a fight in which the latter is called useless, and he storms back to his dorm room in a huff. There, he discovers that somebody has set up hidden cameras and microphones to spy on him. In a rage, he destroys them. Afterwards he learns that Holmes' lab has been destroyed in an explosion, and that she only started arguing with him to drive him away after his life was threatened by an anonymous note.
Convinced by evidence in the note that Nurse Bryony is involved, Holmes decides to let the police handle it while she recovers. Watson, fed up with being kept in the dark, asks his father to share what he knows about Holmes' past. He learns that August Moriarty was once Holmes' tutor, but she framed him for sneaking drugs into her house when he did not return her romantic advances. Learning that Watson has betrayed her trust, Holmes takes oxycontin and retreats inward. After calming her down and reassuring her that he trusts her, Watson realises that Bryony was August Moriarty's fiancée and that is why she has been trying to frame them.
Watson rushes back to campus to gather his belongings, where he learns that the cameras in his room were set up by his roommate, Tom. He had been bribed by a professor to set them up so that he could learn as much as he could about Holmes and Watson and publish a tell-all book about them. Furious, Watson lashes out at his roommate before he is inadvertently poisoned by a small needle left in his closet. Watson soon loses consciousness outside.
He wakes up in Bryony's apartment, where Holmes and her brother Milo are waiting to bargain with her. Holmes an Watson share a brief kiss before he once again loses consciousness.
Watson awakes to find Bryony in the next room, where she confesses to Dobson's murder, having done it to punish Holmes for ruining her fiancé's life. While she is distracted, Holmes points a gun at her and forces her to admit that Lucien Moriarty was the mastermind. Lucien himself then calls Milo's phone to talk to them. He admits that he was behind everything, and remarks that Holmes has fallen in love with Watson, which will make him a target in the future. The antidote for Watson's poison arrives, and Bryony is arrested.
In the epilogue, Holmes and Watson reminisce about their experiences and what is in store for them in the future. Watson agrees to bring Holmes to stay with his family in London over the winter break.
Characters[edit]
- Jamie Watson: The novel's narrator and protagonist, James "Jamie" Watson is the great-great-great-grandson of John Watson, the companion of Sherlock Holmes. In the world of the novel, Dr Watson wrote and published his accounts of his adventures with his friend Sherlock under the pseudonym Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Jamie is sixteen years old, and has just begrudgingly accepted a scholarship to Sherringford Boarding School in Connecticut. At times in the book he says that his therapist has diagnosed him with anger issues, and he plays rugby as an outlet for this aggression.
- Charlotte Holmes: The other protagonist of the novel, Charlotte is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes. Like Jamie, she has been sent to live at Sherringford Boarding School, though she was sent as a punishment. Her tumultuous childhood in the dysfunctional Holmes household led to emotional issues and a drug habit that Charlotte is forced to confront in the story.
- James Watson Sr.: Jamie's father is estranged from his son, having lived with his new wife and children in Connecticut for several years. He means well, and wants to reconnect with his son. He provides some assistance to Jamie and Charlotte throughout the story as an olive branch, with mixed results.
- Lee Dobson: One of Jamie's fellow rugby players at Sherringford, Dobson is a misogynist who spends much of his time tormenting Charlotte. This culminates with Dobson sexually assaulting her while she is under the influence of oxycontin. He is later murdered in an attempt to frame Charlotte and Jamie.
- Tom Bradford: Tom is Jamie's roommate, and one of his few friends at boarding school. He is not always loyal to his friends, and is insecure about his position at Sherringford as his family is not as wealthy as many of the other students'. Charlotte's roommate, Lena, takes a liking to him.
- Lena Gupta: Lena is Charlotte's roommate, and her only other friend at Sherringford besides Jamie. She gladly assists her in her detective work, as well as encouraging her to make new friends. Despite his obvious shortcomings, she is attracted to Tom, Jamie's roommate.
- Milo Holmes: Charlotte's brother Milo is the head of a shady company headquartered in Berlin. He loves his little sister, but she does not want him to fight her battles for her.
- Lucian Moriarty: Brother of August Moriarty, whom Charlotte wronged in her past, Lucien is the head of a large criminal network and is a prime suspect in the case.
- Bryony Downs: Bryony serves as the school nurse of Sherringford.
- Elizabeth Hartwell: Elizabeth is a fellow student at Sherringford who asks Jamie to the homecoming dance.
- Detective Shepherd: A local detective assigned to solve the mystery. A good man, but ultimately out of his depth.
Reception[edit]
A Study in Charlotte received praise from both critics and readers. It currently holds a rating of 3.76 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Kirkus Reviews called it "An explosive mystery featuring a dynamic duo."[3]
The book won several awards, including the Junior Guild Library Selection, the Spring 2016 Indie Next Pick, the 2017 ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, and a host of other honours.[4]
The book's sequels went on to be featured on the New York Times Bestseller List.[5]
Connections[edit]
Shortly after the book's publication, the CBS show Elementary aired an episode titled "A Study in Charlotte."[6] Elementary, like A Study in Charlotte, is a modern-day update of the Sherlock Holmes stories concerning the detective and Dr Watson solving mysteries, this time in present-day New York City.
See Also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "A Study in Charlotte". Goodreads. Goodreads. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "Interview with Brittany Cavallaro". 30 North. WordPress. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "A Study in Charlotte". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "A Study in Charlotte". brittanycavallaro.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ Cavallaro, Brittany. "About". brittanycavallaro.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "A Study in Charlotte". IMDb. Retrieved March 24, 2024.