A Three Book Problem is the seventh book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. The story follows Gemma Doyle and her friends as they spend a weekend working at a local manor house where a wealthy Sherlockian is hosting an English country weekend. Gemma and Jayne are in charge of catering and Sherlock based activities, but soon begin to notice the tension in the air. For a weekend that is meant to serve as a catalyst for discussions about Sherlock Holmes, very few of the guests seem to actually know much about him. Despite the tension, Gemma and Jayne go about their jobs, until they are called to meet with the host of the weekend and they find themselves dealing with death.
This cozy mystery was such a fun read! While I have not read any of the other books in the series, I did not find myself lost in any way. In fact, it made me very interested in reading all of the other books starring Gemma Doyle. Gemma was likable and funny, and it was interesting to watch the way she saw the world around her. Her demeanor would seem off putting in other situations, but when coupled with her observational skills, they were endearing. The rest of the cast bounced off of our main character well. The suspects were well rounded and well thought out. The dislike and distrust each of them had for one another added to the atmosphere of the country manor house.
Now, for the important part, the mystery. The death surprised me in the way it happened as well as when it occurred. It was a bit of a twist to have the victim die right in front of our protagonist. From there, bits and pieces of information were then strung along through Gemma’s very insistent questioning, despite the fact that she is just another normal person, and not anyone officially investigating the murder. While I appreciated the mystery a great deal and enjoyed following along, the pacing was a bit off in a few places. The questioning and running from here to there seemed to take a long time and took away from some of the urgency of the matter, even though it happened just a couple days worth of time. Normally, I can guess the solution, but this one kept me on my toes. I flew through the last few chapters of the book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are unbiased and my own.
⅘ for a fun read that encourages me to read the rest of the series! I can’t wait to see more of the characters!
The Novel Llama 