It's elementary to like this novel! I love Sherlock Holmes. Yes, the originals that capture the imagination and challenge the mind. This book, based on that, is just a fun cozy read. The main character is more abrupt and closer to the standard Sherlock Holmes. I bet she warms up in later books, but as it is, I enjoyed this fast read.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Gemma Doyle returned to West London in New England to help her Uncle Arthur run his bookstore, a huge homage to Sherlock Holmes. Her uncle prefers buying trips to the actual running of a business, so her presence really helps him out. The tourist town is a stop for buses and weekenders alike, many who enjoy not just the books, but Holmes knick knacks that Gemma carries. In fact, I can only imagine how many people will check out Laurie R. King (a longtime resident of my own TBR list) after repeated mentions in the story. A hidden, bound periodical sets Gemma and her friend Jayne (owner of Mrs. Hudson's teashop and shared wall), into quick a bit of murder, mystery and suspense. Gemma's biggest character flaw may be in knowing how observant she is. I have not read all of the Holmes canon, so don't know if this follows any one particular book, but suffice to say, Gemma must be the one most like the famous detective, even though it is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that her uncle purports to be distant cousins with. All in all, a good start to a new series.

I throughly enjoyed this homage to Sherlock Holmes. It tells the story of two friends, one who owns a bookshop that sells mystery novels along with Sherlock Holmes themed memorabilia and the other who is the "Watson" in the story and owns an adjoining tea shop. After a customer leaves behind something amongst the books on a shelf, they are propelled into a hunt for the woman which ends in murder.

Gemma is an Englishwoman living in West London, Cape Cod. She helps her Great Uncle by managing his Bookshop and Emporium and assisting with the next door tea room of her friend, Jayne. The bookshop does not often have rare, first edition Sherlock books but it has a good collection of knick-knacks featuring the famous detective and his stories.

The shop is filled with a tour group when a strange woman slips in and out. Gemma is the type who is extremely observant of people and situations. She noticed the woman and after the store cleared she discovers what might be a valuable early Sherlock magazine that was tucked in one of the bookshelves. Gemma doesn’t understand why the woman left the item and, finding a clue to the woman’s lodging, Gemma drags Jayne along to the hotel to return the magazine. When they knock on the door, Gemma steps in to find the woman dead!

Gemma manages to assess the crime scene before being removed with a bit of suspicion focused on her for being there. The officers sent to the crime scene turn out to be a detective, Ryan, she has a past with, and his new partner who immediately suspects Gemma. Gemma isn’t convinced that the police will do a proper investigation, especially since they are focusing on her. In spite of objections to her involvement, Gemma sets out on her own investigation of the family drama behind the rare magazine. Needless to say, Gemma has an eye for detail and a nosey bent that gets her into trouble.

I greatly enjoyed Gemma’s obsession with detail, even as it might drive some people nuts. The author carries the detail well in settings and crime clues. There are a couple of suspects and even Gemma misses a clue or two until it is almost too late. I enjoyed the tone of the story and the deductive reasoning with Jayne adding a bit now and then, - very reminiscent of Sherlock and Watson. (There is even a character named Moriarty who doesn't like Gemma.) I enjoyed the hint of chemistry between Gemma and Ryan and have hopes for more of that to develop in future books.

The writing moves along well, even with the compulsive details. I found the read to be quick, fun and engaging. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy Sherlock Holmes mysteries, enjoy attention to detail and like cozy mysteries.

I received this title from NetGalley for Great Escapes Book Blog Tours.

Lots of fun! If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, you will enjoy this one. Gemma and Jayne are good characters for an amateur sleuth setting. Gemma is always getting in trouble with the police, but this case may need a mystery lover to help solve this whodunit. I'm definitely on board with reading the next book because I want to know more about uncle Arthur, and hope we'll see more of him in upcoming books instead of the glimpses we get in this one. I think it will be interesting if he gets a more prominent role in one of the books.

Difficult to get into, but had a fun main character. This was just not the title for me.

A great start to a new mystery series. I can't wait to read the next book about Gemma and the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop.

British expat Gemma Doyle moved to New England to take over half of her Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop in the quaint Cape Cod town of West London. The store not only sells books and reprints by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but Sherlock Holmes souvenirs, television and movie promotions, and other works inspired by the genre. Gemma, a distant relation of Conan Doyle, finds herself in the middle of a real-life mystery after a woman leaves an original 1887 Beeton’s Christmas Annual in her store. A copy of this rare magazine, which has the first Holmes story published, is worth a fortune. Gemma uses her keen attention to detail and detective skills to trace the woman but is shocked to find her strangled dead in her hotel room. The victim, Mary Ellen Longton, was the nurse to recently deceased millionaire recluse and renowned collector of Holmes memorabilia Kurt Kent.

Gemma is surprised to find her ex-boyfriend Ryan Ashburton has returned to West London's police force and is heading the murder investigation. With her freedom at risk and some ego involved, Gemma devotes herself to solving the case with the help of her best friend, tea shop owner Jayne Wilson. Suspecs include angry heirs, Longton's son and other desperate Holmes collectors.

This is a fun debut mystery that will delight both Holmes fans and other mystery readers.
I obtained an eARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books.

Vicky Delaney's Elementary, She Read is the first book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. Gemma is an Englishwoman living in Cape Cod and running her uncle's Sherlock Holmes themed bookshop. Her friend, Jayne, runs an adjoining tea shop. Gemma's super observation skills get her in trouble when she discovers two bodies. I adored everything about this new series. The characters are charming, and the setting is almost perfect. Readers do not need to be Sherlock Holmes fans to enjoy this book. I look forward to reading more in this series!

Great new cozy mystery. Gemma Doyle runs a bookshop devoted to all things Sherlock Holmes. A priceless magazine shows up, murders occur, an old boyfriend returns to town and Gemma is in the middle of it all, but with the help of her best friend Jayne Watson everything gets solved. Kept me guessing until the end. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

ELEMENTARY, SHE READ by Vicki Delaney
The First Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

Gemma Doyle manages the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium for her great Uncle Arthur and is part owner of the adjoining Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, run by her friend Jayne. After a bus tour leaves the shop Gemma discovers a magazine among the disarray the crowd left. The magazine is not part of her stock however, and it looks to be an exceedingly rare edition possibly worth a fortune! Gemma uses her keen perception and deductive reasoning to find the woman who left the magazine. With Jayne along, Gemma does find the woman-murdered in a hotel room. Finding herself a prime suspect, Gemma looks to solve the mystery herself, but will her inquiries solve the murder or make her another victim?

Vicki Delaney took a calculated risk with Gemma Doyle. In cozies the protagonist is generally someone readers can relate to, someone we like, someone with whom we'd want to be friends. Yet in Gemma, Delaney created a character quite similar to Sherlock Holmes himself. Someone so observant, so honest, and above most social niceties as to be distant, aloof, and not very likable. While these qualities make for a great detective they don't exactly promote friendship. If readers don't care for the protagonist, will they not care what happens to her? Is there no vested interest? I believe the author's risk paid off, however. While I may not care for Gemma my analytical mind became engrossed in the mystery and the methods Gemma employed to solve it. As the story progressed I also found myself warming up to her a bit and by the end I did care what happened to her.

ELEMENTARY, SHE READ is a finely crafted mystery imbued with the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. You don't have to be a Sherlock fan to enjoy this series, but if you are you'll appreciate it even more!

What a great find for a Sherlock Holmes fan! Elementary She Read is the first in a new series about Gemma Doyle, who runs a Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, which I very much wish I could visit in real life. When the owner of a rare magazine is murdered and Gemma finds the body, she becomes the prime suspect. Gemma and her friend Jayne investigate to clear her name. This was a well written mystery with a charming setting and some unique characters. I’ve loved Vicki Delany / Eva Gates’ other mysteries, and this is now one more to add to my always-buy list.

Ah, the pleasure of enjoying first class diction, elegance of punctuation, good spelling and accurate grammar while perusing a volume replete with wit, charm, close observation and red herrings which fool even the sleuth! Told in the first person by Holmes--oops, sorry! Gemma!--she none-the-less has her Watson, Jayne, who follows our intrepid heroine as they stumble upon corpses.

I was looking for a good cozy mystery and the cover caught my attention, the blurb sounded interesting, and this was a new author for me, so I selected it from Netgalley and am utterly delighted with myself and looking forward to more in this series. In fact, I'd love to see a prequel . . .

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book which means I will not be able to review it. I truly appreciate the opportunity and apologize for the inconvenience the lack of review may cause you.

This is a fun book to read. I liked the concept surrounding Holmes. Good core of characters that I expect will be in next book in series. Definitely recommend to readers of cozy mysteries.

Elementary, She Read is a great start to a new series by author Vicki Delany. Full of quirky characters, red herrings, and twists and turns, the reader is kept fully engaged and sitting on the edge of their seat. There are a multiple threads within the mystery that the author provides that seem unrelated then, masterfully, everything comes together into an "A-ha" moment.

Gemma is painfully observant to the point that she tends to alienate herself and the people around her. She does so without malice and that's what makes her character quirky and lovable. She pulls some hair-brained schemes in this book that I read with disbelief while asking myself - did she really do that? Our cozy mystery heroines lack common sense sometimes but it all works out in the end.

The supporting characters really round out this great cozy mystery. Gemma's best friend Jayne is her reluctant partner-in-crime. She allows Gemma to pull her into some really thoughtless situations but in the end she has Gemma's back regardless. Ryan is a police officer assigned to the case involving Gemma's discovery of a rare magazine stashed in her shop and the murder of the woman assumed to have placed in there. He and Gemma have a history that she would rather leave in the past, but now that he's back from Boston, the chemistry between them becomes noticeable, even if the pair try not to acknowledge those feelings.

The only large issue I had with the book was the "A-ha" moment. That moment seems rushed and a bit lackluster. Because I'm not a writer, I have no suggestions as to how that part could have played out better; all I know is that the moment built up and deflated really fast. However, I did NOT suspect who was behind everything or the reason. The author did a great job masking all of that and bringing in other contenders who fit the bill, too.

I enjoyed Elementary, She Read and can't wait to see what Gemma gets involved in next.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of the book provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Vicki Delany has written a wonderful cosy Elementary She Read in which a bookstore with a Sherlock Holmes motif becomes the centre of two murders. The store owner is under suspicion for murder and has to solve the two crimes. Meanwhile potentially very valuable Doyle items are missing or under police supervision.

When I first read the blurb I had to read this. I love that the setting is in a bookstore. Everything seems fine and fun with sharing the space with her friend who set up a tea shop. Among the books of Sherlock Holmes and other memorabilia, Gemma finds an magazine that is valuable sort of hidden and she didn't put it there. So she sets out to find whomever put this precious magazine within her bookstore. When she does finally find the woman....she's dead. The story was cozy before, then add on the element of mystery, then add on the element of murder mystery! This was such a cool and cozy read. The author created such a fun backdrop and Gemma is such a character! Once you get into this story, you want to continue turning the page to find out why this woman hid the magazine, in her shop no less, and why was she murdered?! If you love cozy mysteries, you'll love this!

Elementary She Read by Vicki Delany will appeal to the bookworm as well as the cozy mystery fan!

Gemma Doyle is very much like the Sherlock to whom her bookstore pays homage. Sharp powers of observation, keen deductive reasoning, and a lack of tact in delivering them, etc. But you forgive what could be annoying because she’s such a hoot. She’s unintentionally funny and awkward, and you just want to hug her. Though, I don’t think that would go over especially well.

The back-and-forth between Gemma and her best friend (and business partner) Jayne is stellar and lots of fun. Particularly when it comes to Gemma’s British English and Jayne’s corrections and/or translations for the Americans of West London, Massachusetts.

Bottom Line: Elementary She Read is a cozy mystery with all the token elements – but in this case, under Vicki Delany’s supervision, they don’t feel token. They all come together naturally and with wit to form a great story that will have you smiling. The mystery is intriguing and the characters are engaging. I’m ready for the next book!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.)

This is a great book; this is the first book in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series written by Vicki Delany. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.