Body on Baker Street: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

I enjoyed this latest installment of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series.Gemma is a fascinating, yet sometimes annoying character, much like Sherlock Holmes himself. She's well-rounded and complex, but sometimes her mannerisms are just a little too over the top for me.  I don't want to give any spoilers away, but there's a particular spot in this book that I wanted to give Gemma a "Gibbs-slap" (from NCIS for you non-tv watchers) to the back of the head to try to get her common sense going again before she attempted something totally idiotic!I love the side characters too. Jayne and Ryan are wonderful. I'm liking Ashleigh more and more as each book goes on. I even like Louise more and more as the series goes on.The setting descriptions are always well-done. I feel like there's enough for us to be able to imagine the setting in our mind, but not so much that we're overwhelmed as readers. That's a hard balance to find, but I think Ms. Delany does it well in this book.The plot moves along well. I had no idea who the villain was until he/she was revealed. As Gemma explained her logic behind her deduction, I could see the way the clues lined up, but the villain definitely wasn't on my radar before that.All in all, it was a good book. It didn't have that pizzazz that I look for in a 5-star book and Gemma's stupidity in some things caused me to give it a 4, but I still recommend it to cozy mystery lovers!*** Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for providing me with an ARC. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions are my own. ***

Dollycas’s ThoughtsGemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are back and again find themselves in the middle of another murder investigation. This time an author, Renalta Van Markoff, comes to the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium for a book signing and dies while signing a book. All eyes fall on the man, Donald Morris, that questioned her about her content during the Q & A Session. He is a huge fan of the original Sherlock Holmes and cannot abide by what she has done with the characters. Gemma knows he has strong beliefs about Holmes but she knows he wouldn’t kill anyone. She again teams up with her friend Jayne for a little sleuthing of their own.Gemma is a unique character, very independent, strong, and super observant. She notices things everyone else seems to miss and she has no trouble at all speaking her mind, not only giving her opinions but pointing out the facts as she sees them. She can be a little much at first but readers quickly realize how much like Sherlock Holmes she really is. Jayne is the perfect Watson to her Sherlock and together they make a wonderful team.The new cast for this story was very well fleshed out. The larger than life Renalta Van Markoff, her mousey personal assistant, Linda, and her protective publicist all come to life quickly in these pages.The bookshop the author has created for Gemma is fantastic and it is described in great detail making it very easy to imagine in my mind. I love that is has a tea room connected. It is the perfect place to pick up a book and venture next door to read while enjoying a pot of tea.The mystery was very well plotted and written but I had an alternate theory pop into my head almost immediately after the victim died and that theory was never realized in the story which surprised me. Instead, there was a clear set of suspects that emerged and there were several twists and turns before the actual killer was revealed. Once I let my theory go I narrowed down my suspects and figured out whodunit right before Gemma. But I was wrong about the motive 🙂 It was a fun mystery to read and follow along with Gemma. I will say Gemma is like a dog with a bone when she sets her mind on something. She puts herself into dicey situations because of that.I love Gemma and Jayne and am Sherlock Holmes fan so this story/series really shines for me. I don’t think you can go wrong with any book by this author. She is a great storyteller who does her research to bring her readers fabulous stories. This one is no exception.

Body on Baker Street by author Vicki Delany is the second book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series. This cozy mystery was so well-written that I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it - not something I do very often! Gemma Doyle and her Uncle Arthur Doyle (possibly related to the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) own the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop in West London, Massachusetts. Whilst Uncle Arthur is travelling down the East Coast in his vintage Triumph, Gemma is left at home running the bookshop and emporium, as well as their half interest in the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room (which they co-own with Gemma's best friend, Jayne). Celebrated bestselling author Renalta Van Markoff (love the name!!!) is unfortunately murdered during her book signing at the shop, and West London resident and dedicated Sherlockian Donald is arrested for the crime. It's up to Gemma, once again, to discover the murderer and clear Donald's name. I really liked the first book in this series - Elementary, She Read, but I think that I enjoyed this follow up even more. It was very well-written, fast-paced, suspenseful, and as I mentioned it kept me up reading until the wee hours of the morning. Very highly recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to future installments in this series. Nicely done, Ms. Delany! :-)

I really enjoy the Sherlock holmes Bookshop. Well written, enjoyable characters, and lots of good interaction with the various characters. The mystery is developed and I enjoy those types of mysteries that keep me up at night because I just 'got to know who did it'. I like that I do not figure it out until the very end. Makes for an enjoyable read. I read this author under another name and liked the writing style and was glad to jump on board this series.

bring an avid Sherlock Holmes reader I thoroughly enjoyed the books in this series. While the 1st was a little disappointing in the fact that Gemma obervational skills were of little use in the; here in the 2nd story, showed a little more of them to help solve the crime. I am hoping further stories in the series allows for more use of that skill and a further appreciation of them from the other characters

Excellent book