Any Sherlock Holmes fan will immediately recognize the reference to him with the title of Vicki Delany’s seventh Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery. Readers of traditional mysteries will be pleased with the country house setting in A Three Book Problem. This mystery is entertaining with a cast of suspects worthy of Agatha Christie.
It’s fall in West London, Cape Cod, and the tourist business has dwindled. So, Gemma Doyle, owner of Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, along with her friend, Jayne Wilson, owner of Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room, have time for a weekend away from their businesses. But, their weekend is business as well. They’re providing the food along with the props and background for a Sherlock Homes weekend at the rented Suffolk Gardens House. Police detective Ryan Ashburton even took the weekend off to act as sous chef and spend time with Gemma.
When David Masterson asked Gemma and Jayne to handle arrangements for the weekend, Gemma understood it was to be a gathering of Sherlockians, a weekend of discussion of the detective in books, movies, and culture. She’s puzzled by the small gathering of people. Masterson and a couple other people, including a local friend, Donald Morris, seem to be knowledgeable about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Canon, but Gemma can’t understand some of the guests, sometimes surly, sometimes rude, but with little knowledge or interest in Holmes. Why are they even attending this weekend house party? A model, an actress, and a musician all seem out of place. And Masterson seems to delight in treating some of his relatives as servants, whereas he’s polite to Gemma and Jayne.
Gemma and Jayne are both witnesses when a poisoned dart sails through a screen, ending a life and the weekend party. Ryan morphs from sous chef to police detective, while Gemma is, fortunately, on the scene to observe the suspects. And, there is an entire group of suspects who didn’t seem to care much for the victim.
Delany artfully gathers the suspects several times, allowing Gemma to study the group. Fans of country house mysteries will enjoy this one. And, Gemma has softened in the course of the series. She’s learned to take a little more time to observe. She’s even softened her attitude toward Ryan’s partner, Detective Louise Estrada, although they’ll never be best friends. There’s a grudging respect growing between the two of them, but their encounters are always provocative.
Any fan of this series will welcome the opportunity to spend time as a witness to a Sherlock Holmes country house weekend. But, with Sherlock Holmes, or Gemma Doyle, be ready for murder.
Vicki Delany’s website is http://vickidelany.com
A Three Book Problem by Vicki Delany. Crooked Lane Books, 2022. ISBN 9781643857985 (hardcover), 320p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent an ARC, hoping I would review it.
