Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, returns triumphantly to the page in MURDER ON COLD STREET, book five in the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas.  This is such a fun gender-bending reimagining of Sherlock Holmes & Co.!  Charlotte has invented an imaginary invalid brother Sherlock, who she “consults” with so that her staid Victorian clients believe they are being assisted by a proper male investigator.  This allows the brilliant but odd Charlotte to use her massive intellect to independently support herself and her sister, and to escape the confines of polite society.  Charlotte is ably assisted in sleuthing by Mrs. Watson, who when in disguise as Sherlock Holmes’ landlady or housekeeper, goes by the name of Mrs. Hudson.  Charlotte also works closely with Lord Ingram, her childhood friend and now lover, who is of great assistance in her investigations.

I was first introduced to Thomas from her romance novels, which I adore.  There is a slow burn romance going on between Charlotte and Lord Ingram, which is quite lovely.  The prime focus of the Lady Sherlock books, however, is very much historical crime fiction.  Moriarty lurks deliciously in the background as Charlotte works to exonerate Inspector Treadles, her close acquaintance from Scotland Yard who has been accused of killing two men.  The gender-swapping of many Sherlockian characters allows Thomas to examine the many ways in which women have been disadvantaged by the patriarchy, but not in a manner at all preachy.

There are some ongoing jokes and humor in this series, which always tickle my fancy.  Charlotte loves her desserts, and is always judging how many desserts she can eat in one go based on her “Maximum Tolerable Chins.”  Reading these books always make me want to bake!  Little details such as this enliven the murder mysteries, and make the characters fresh and engaging.  MURDER ON COLD STREET delivers Thomas’ signature period authenticity with adept women investigators and lots of enjoyably conniving crooks.