The Vanished Sister by Sherry Thomas

 

Sherry Thomas, an American novelist  has added another story to her Lady Sherlock series. The ninth novel is, The Vanished Sister, publishing on September 29, by Berkley Publishing Group. 

Charlotte Holmes joins yet another mystery case when her friend Mrs. Watson  is invited to her sister's (Mrs. Carstairs)  party.  The sisters have been estranged for a very long period of time so when Mrs. Watson is personally invited to the guest holiday at the Carstair estate, Mrs. Watson is unsure of attending. When she does decide to go and reconnects with her older sister, she is devastated when her sister vanishes overnight.  No one notices Mrs. Carstairs is gone as she told the staff not to disturb her in the morning. When she is found missing, a woman is also found dead.  Is it Mrs. Carstairs?  Is it another woman entirely? The body is difficult to identify which causes much trauma to all involved.  How will Charlotte solve the mystery?

This was my first experience with the lady Sherlock set of mysteries by Thomas.  I was intrigued by the premise as I love a good murder mystery and cut my teeth on Sherlock Holmes original  stories.  Having not read Thomas's series before, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters involved, even though Thomas included a list of characters and their connections to each other in the introduction of the novel.  I think what made it the most difficult to me was the fact that since this is a Victorian mystery, the characters were identified throughout the book by their surnames.  Mrs...Mr....Lord...etc.  It is simply a personal preference for me in particular, but I found my brain lost track of the people in the story as I was halted by the Mr. and Mrs. instead of primarily referring to the characters by their first names and getting to know them personally this way.

I have no doubt that avid readers of the series, having already learned all the characters and having fallen in love with them will have no trouble in the fluency of the reading. It was just my issue.  

I rated the book three stars, I felt the story didn't flow from scene to scene as well as I hoped. I still enjoyed the book and the premise of the story.  I need to read additional stories in the Lady Sherlock series to become more familiar with the setting and characters. I am certain with more time the reading will be easier to follow.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Sherry Thomas and NetGalley for the Advance Reader's Copy of The Vanished Sister by Sherry Thomas in exchange for this honest review.