Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookstore and Emporium, has a problem. A little girl in the shop wants to hire Gemma to find her missing cat, Snowball. Lauren Tierney is even willing to pay Gemma to search for the missing feline, Gemma turns down the job because she won’t make a promise she can’t keep. On a walk with her dog Violet, Gemma finds Snowball and Lauren is happily reunited with her cat.
A week later Lauren returns to hire Gemma again; this time Lauren wants Gemma to clear Lauren’s mother Sheila of a murder charge. Sheila is accused of murdering Anna Wentworth. Both women belonged to the West London Garden Club. Sheila accused Anna of having an affair with Sheila’s husband, David. Sheila also accused Anna of destroying Sheila’s garden, ruining her chance of winning the coveted best garden trophy. Shelia made the accusations in front of garden tour members and the two women ended up in a physical altercation and had to be pulled apart. Now Anna is dead, and Sheila is the prime suspect in the murder.
Gemma promises her boyfriend Detective Ryan Ashburton she won’t get involved and will tell Lauren to let the police handle the case. But Gemma’s curiosity won’t be ignored and so she sets out to see what she can discover and do the job Lauren hired her to do.
The Sherlock Holmes references throughout the book make it a fun read. Delany’s writing makes the case a difficult one to solve. Recommended.
Published by Crooked Lane Books
Jan 12, 2021 | 304 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4| ISBN 9781643854748
Copy provided by #Netgalley
#acuriousincident