Sherry Thomas has dropped book 4 of the Lady Sherlock series into our eager hands, entitled THE ART OF THEFT. This wonderful gender-bending mystery series features Charlotte Holmes and Mrs. Watson as the great consulting detective and her sidekick. Charlotte has concocted the ruse of an infirm brother Sherlock who she “assists,” allowing her to function on her own in the restrictive time of Victorian England. Charlotte uses her massive intellect and keen logic to solve the cases brought to her “brother,” allowing her to support herself and her psychiatrically ill sister. Thomas doesn’t shy away from showing us all the ways that Victorians hobbled females, and I love the solidly historical feel of these books. I also enjoy the subtle critiques not only of the patriarchy but of colonialism.

This is a series best appreciated by reading in order, as there are overarching plot threads and character relationships which are carried forward from the previous books. All of my favorite secondary characters appear here, including Charlotte’s love interest and fellow investigator Lord Ingram, as well as all of her sisters. Moriarty plays a continued shadowy and menacing role. Charlotte’s latest case is brought to her from Mrs. Hudson’s past, in the form of a maharani who was Mrs. Hudson’s former lover, currently being blackmailed by persons unknown. It’s fabulous how nonchalant Thomas is about giving Mrs. Hudson a bisexual past. Charlotte and her posse travel to the French countryside to extricate the maharani from the clutches of her blackmailer, only to find a much bigger international intrigue than they expected. It’s great fun to have so many layers of complexity piled onto the initial mystery.

Thomas deftly weaves the tale of a classic English house-party mystery mixed with the intrigues of Moriarty’s criminal bunch battling rival gangs. The romance between Charlotte Holmes and her childhood companion Lord Ingram slows somewhat here, which may frustrate those who cheered for the romantic progression Thomas gave us in The Hollow of Fear. My understanding is there will be ore than five books total in the series, so I eagerly await the next cracking book in this terrific series. Fans of alternate Sherlock Holmes stories will be sure to be pleased by Thomas’ clever presentation of such a beloved literary figure in THE ART OF THEFT, with an absorbing mystery and compelling characters.