Claire O’Dell presents Sherlock Holmes and Watson as African-American women in a near-future dystopia. The United States is beset by a New Civil War. The New Confederacy disrupts day-to-day activities. And cults like The Brotherhood of Redemption attempt to assassinate the President. Sara Holmes (aka, Sherlock) is suspended from her consultant role with law enforcement after her transgressions in the first book in this series, A Study in Honor (2018). You can read my review of A Study in Honor here.
Janet Watson, with a new high-tech arm, struggles to learn how to use it so she can return to being a surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital. But, Watson finds herself involved in the swirling plots that involve Nadine Adler and mass destruction. Claire O’Dell’s vision of a divided America and violent political movements is both accurate and scary. I’ll be counting the days until the third book in this series shows up! GRADE: B+
I think she got lucky with the covers of both books (I like the blue one), but in both books they have the WRONG arm missing!
Jeff, I like the blue cover better, too. Yes, the wrong arm is problematic.
I think these are terrible covers. They look like YA books.
Steve, you might be right about the covers marketing the books to a younger audience. But, these are adult books with adult themes.
Definitely not a YA book. And double definitely not a YA cover.
George, I don’t yet have a contract for a third book, but since A Study in Honor won a Lambda Literary award, I have my fingers crossed.
Claire, good luck with the contract for the third book in this series! I can’t wait to read it!
George, Thank you! If I do get to write a third book, I can guarantee more on-screen time with both Sara Holmes and the bookstore owner.
Meanwhile, I am deep into writing an epic fantasy novel. 🙂
Claire, I review epic fantasy novels, too! I’m guessing there will be some strong female characters in that novel! And, I’m curious to learn what Sara Holmes will be investigating next!
Awesome! The first in my epic fantasy series comes out next month. It’s A Jewel Bright Sea. Pirates. Magic. Occasional goats. A bit of romance. I’m writing the sequel now.
Claire, you had me at “pirates”! I’ll order a copy of A JEWEL BRIGHT SEA right now! And I’ll post my review in September or early October. Love the cover!
BAH!
Rick, I think your “BAH!” is a more succinct opinion than the two comments you made about A STUDY IN HONOR last year.
Interesting. You didn’t mention it, but Amazon says they are lesbians. How much does that play a part in the books?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.
Jeff, there is no romantic relationship between Holmes and Watson in either A STUDY IN HONOR or THE HOUND OF JUSTICE. Watson is romantically involved with a bookstore owner in THE HOUND OF JUSTICE but it doesn’t affect the plot.
No fucking way in Hell!