This engaging episode of the Lady Sherlock mystery series takes place on the RMS Provence as it sails from England.

Charlotte Holmes has been in hiding since she drew the attention of crime lord Moriarty but has an opportunity that might let her go back to her usual life if she finds some documents that are probably aboard. So, she and Mrs. Watson embark--both heavily disguised--and attempt to find the documents.

Also aboard are her sister Livia and her friend Mrs. Newell and Lord Ingram along with his children and his children's nurse. Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Shrewsbury are also aboard and so is Inspector Brighton of the Metropolitan Police. Worst of all, Lady Holmes and her maid are last minute additions to the passenger list.

Also aboard are Mr. Arkwright, a wealthy Australian, and his sister Miss Arkwright who has had a troubled past. Governess Frau Schmidt and two charges are also aboard. Charlotte suspects that the documents she's searching for are in Fray Schmidt's possession.

Charlotte also needs to be concerned that Moriarty has agents aboard and there are like agents from Lord Remington too.

Evading all the various unknown agents would be difficult enough but then Mr. Arkwright is murdered and Inspector Brighton is asked by the captain to conduct an investigation. Charlotte has one more person to evade while searching and she also feels compelled to discover who murdered Mr. Arkwright.

This was a great story with lots of twists and turns and lots and lots of secrets. I like the way the relationship is developing between Charlotte and Lord Ingram.

3.5 stars

This is an interesting series, based on the premise that the real Sherlock Holmes was actually Charlotte Holmes in disguise. This time out Charlotte and entourage (including her sister and her horrid mother; Mrs. Watson, and Charlotte's lover Lord Ingram) are at sea after faking Charlotte's death to fool the evil Moriarty.

While I like the characters, I do find the plots in these books to be nearly impossible to follow. I have read all the books and can't imagine how confusing this would be if it were read as a standalone. Charlotte is heavily disguised in this outing as they suspect Moriarty has an agent aboard the ship. Soon there is a murder, of course, and the web of interconnections among the various passengers is truly mind-boggling. Charlotte is brilliant, as always, and she and Lord Ingram continue to carry on their affectionate but odd relationship.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Gah, I love this series! For those who haven't read any Lady Sherlock - start at book one! They're Victorian, feminist, gender-swapped tales, featuring the brilliant Charlotte Holmes.

I felt like the last book was a bit farfetched even for Holmes. But this was a classic "locked room" type mystery -- someone is found shot to death as a ship heads from England to Gibraltar. Holmes is onboard (in disguise) on a quest to aid the British government. So is her lover, Lord Ingram. And, they suspect, an agent of Moriarty. As the murder investigation begins (fortuitously, a Scotland Yard Inspector is also aboard) Holmes and Lord Ingram will have to use every bit of their wits to keep Holmes undetected.

I love a locked-room mystery so when I discovered the newest installment of the Lady Sherlock series was set on a ship I knew I'd be all in. Charlotte and her friends Mrs. Watson, Lord Ingram and others are all on board the Provence sailing for Gibralter and points east. When a murder occurs the wheel's of Charlotte's brilliant mind are set in motion. Rest assured, with the help of Lord Ingram and Mrs. Watson the murderer will be found. This was an entertaining story, a bit convoluted at times, but ended as you might expect. As the novel ended I was smiling with all the romantic vibes that subtly appeared. Well done, Sherry Thomas!

The seventh (!) book in the Lady Sherlock series did not disappoint. The mystery takes place on a a ship heading east and is filled with a diverse group of travelers. Charlotte, of course, is undercover (thanks Moriarty!) but has been given the task of finding a secret dossier onboard. Her beau, Lord Ashburton, is on board with his children and their governess, and most surprising of all, Charlotte's mother shows up at the last minute with her maid, and Charlotte's sister Livia. Also on the boat are a brother and sister pair, a married couple, and a few singletons. Soon the aforementioned brother is found shot to death in his cabin... but wait! Charlotte is undercover so she can't take on the case! Instead she must sit by while Ashburton assists the investigation with the Inspector onboard. Things get even more tricky when her mother becomes suspect number one.

This book has no time to get stale, as there are multiple points-of-view, plenty of sneaking around by the passengers, lots of secrets, and some flashbacks that conveniently shed more information on the case... and also make it impossible to solve unless you're Charlotte herself. Once the murder occurs, I didn't want to put the book down. Of course the first person I suspected seemed quite guilty despite lack of motive, and in the end it was someone completely different. I really enjoyed the ending although by that point I had forgotten Charlotte was even looking for a dossier until she found it. Oops! Finally, I simply want to say "GO LIVIA!"

A Tempest at Sea will be released March 14, 2023 and if you haven't started this addictive mystery series I suggest you start now. I can't thank NetGalley and Berkley enough for continuing to allow me to read this series in advance. All opinions here are my own.

I really enjoyed the setting of this one - Charlotte and Co. are aboard a ship for the duration of the novel, which picks up not long after the last book ended. There was more of the relationship between Charlotte and Ash, which I loved, and some unexpected surprise guests on the ship that made for some interesting drama. The mystery itself was intriguing, and due to consequences from the last book Charlotte is forced to don disguises to avoid being recognized which lead to some interesting scenes. Of course, someone aboard the ship ends up dead and Charlotte is forced to solve the mystery while remaining incognito. This is a great addition to the Charlotte Holmes series and I eagerly look forward to the next one. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars.

I don’t read a lot of mysteries. In fact, I think this is the only true mystery series that I’ve been invested in.

That being said, I LOVE a good mystery. The time I spend looking for clues to decipher the truth happening in a book is one of my favorite things. Really great books can get me doing some serious conspiracy theory/murder-boarding.

*Let me get out my conspiracy board*

Only seven percent into this book and I was already taking notes on the cast of characters boarding the boat. I knew that someone here was important and I wanted to know everything about everyone.

If you haven’t read Miss Moriarty, I Presume? recently, I’d recommend a refresh of the memory on that one. A Tempest at Sea does bring up the most pertinent point, which I won’t spoiler here; but there is more that I wish I’d remembered a bit more clearly. Also, might not hurt to re-read A Murder on Cold Street as Inspector Brighton makes a return.

In all, there were three large mysteries here. I was wholly invested in each and every one of them. And they kept vying for attention in my mind. As always, there’s no shortage of suspects for Charlotte to wade through, but now she must do it in secret, in disguise, and with no one the wiser as to her even being around.

We get multiple points-of-view, including Lord Ingram’s, Livia’s, and Mrs. Watson. In fact, I think we spend more time in their POVs than in Charlotte’s. I love being with all of these characters, but I do wish that I had more time with Charlotte..

Sherry Thomas also utilizes a flash-back in some chapters to bring us back to the night of the crime in question – these chapters allow us to learn more that we weren’t privy to before knowing what the crime was. I loved how this was employed. For the most part. The one thing I’ll say that I was somewhat disappointed in is that there were a couple of key pieces of information that I wasn’t aware of until nearly the end – despite Charlotte knowing from almost the moment of the crime.

It’s entirely possible that I just missed the clues – I’ve done it before in this series. And even with that, I did get a few things correct in regards to the trifecta of mysteries here. I did say in my review for A Hollow of Fear, that I tend to *hurry* to try to figure things out and that leads me to missing things. So I don’t really hold this against the book.

It doesn’t matter what genre I’m reading, the characters and their relationships are always what will make me read and re-read a book or series. And the developments here with Charlotte, Ash, Livia, and Mrs. Watson are absolutely delicious to read about.

I already can’t wait to see where Charlotte’s masterminding takes us next.

Another great addition to the Lady Sherlock series - love those locked room mysteries (in this case, a ship-at-sea mystery).

Following her fake death, Charlotte must use her newfound anonymity to finish off Moriarty when she is given an interesting offer. Lord Remington wants her to find a dossier that the government has lost, and he will gift her his protection.

Charlotte and Mrs. Watson end up on the RMS Provence along with Lord Ingram, Livia, Mrs. Newell, and horror upon horrors, Lady Holmes. On the night they attempt to search their suspect’s cabin, there also happens to be a murder.

The last thing Charlotte needs is to be enmeshed in a murder. But when the evidence begins to point towards her own mother, Charlotte and Lord Ingram work together to find the real culprit before the ship reaches Gibraltar.

I have read all of Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series as it is one of my favorite series.

I can honestly say after reading Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, this novel felt very light in comparison. Miss Moriarty left my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. This was more like allowing the reader some breathing room to recover but kept the world narrative moving. Sometimes this can hurt the author because the reader is so used action that it almost feels like a let-down. I don’t think it hurts necessarily as it seems more like a set-up for the later action suspense that I hope Sherry Thomas is writing.

I also like that Lord Ingram and Charlotte appear to be thinking more about their relationship. It is not the focal point of the novel, but it is in the background, and I love it. I believe Charlotte has already proved to everyone that she is more than capable of taking care of herself, but she also is showing growth in understanding other people. I believe she’s beginning to get to the point where she realizes that it’s okay to let others take care of her.

The murder mystery itself felt somewhat convoluted. Lord Ingram spends the whole novel thinking of Moriarty, Livia is torn between her mother and wishing for her Mr. Marbleton. Then the ending added in more names and characters that, honestly, I was like who? Once they said who, I was like oh yeah. But I forgot about their “mission”. Maybe if that had blended within the story a little more smoothly, I would have been alright. There was also how the whole solution was based mostly on witness statements rather than physical evidence. There is some and it is important, but this is more of a story within a story.

Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

There are certain perennials in the publishing industry, and one of these is Sherlock Holmes. No matter how many variations on Sherlock one encounters, there always seems to be room for more. Nonetheless, some authors are more creative than others, and although in general something of a curmudgeon when it comes to books that revisit other people’s universes (Jane Austen spinoffs, I’m looking at you), once in a while I come across one that I can’t resist.

Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series is one of these exceptions. Charlotte Holmes, a Victorian noblewoman of limited means, sets out in book 1, “A Study in Scarlet Women,” to craft her own future—as a result of which she eventually encounters Mrs. Watson and sets up a detective agency in the name of her fictional brother Sherlock. Charlotte is a delight: on the surface as different from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock as a person can be, she matches the Great Detective in her piercing intelligence and dispassionate view of the world. The mysteries she solves are fiendishly complicated, and the numerous tongue-in-cheek references to the original stories as well as the expanded role assigned to Moriarty guarantee the appeal of these novels to any lover of historical mysteries.

In this seventh installment, Charlotte has embarked on a steamship headed for Egypt and, ultimately, India. Her latest run-in with Moriarty has left her in a difficult position, but her lover’s brother Lord Remington, a high-ranking government official à la Mycroft Holmes, has promised her protection if she succeeds in retrieving a secret file folder for him. A man is murdered, and an investigation takes place—all highly inconvenient for Charlotte, who is traveling in disguise. And if that is not enough, her mother joins the cruise at the last minute and manages to make herself a suspect. It’s all great fun, and the final twist took me by surprise even though you would think after reading six of these books, I would have learned never to take anything for granted.

I’ll be hosting a blog Q&A with the author on my blog in late March. It will be the top post at the link below.

After feigning her own death in Cornwall to escape from Moriarty’s perilous attention, Charlotte Holmes goes into hiding. But then she receives a tempting offer: Find a dossier the crown is desperately seeking to recover, and she might be able to go back to a normal life.

Her search leads her aboard the RMS Provence, sailing from Southampton for the eastern hemisphere. But on the night Charlotte makes her move to retrieve the dossier, in the midst of a terrifying storm in the Bay of Biscay, a brutal murder also takes place on the ship.

Instead of solving the crime, as she is accustomed to doing, Charlotte must take care not to be embroiled in this investigation, lest it become known to those who harbor ill intentions that Sherlock Holmes is abroad and still very much alive.

Dabney and Caz - both big fans of Sherry Thomas - read A Tempest at Sea, book seven in the Lady Sherlock series, and got together to discuss their thoughts on the book.

Caz: This installment in the Lady Sherlock series is very much like one of those mid-season stand-alones in a long-running TV series, when the story arc is mostly suspended in favour of a single, self-contained episode.  As it happens, that self-contained episode is an interesting “closed circle” mystery set aboard ship,  combined with some well-observed character interactions and insightful commentary.  It’s a welcome change from the previous book (Miss Moriarty, I Presume?) which I described (in our review) as “a culmination of all that has gone before”, a drawing together of all the puzzle pieces so far laid out that made, ultimately, for a pretty dense read.  A Tempest at Sea feels lighter in tone.  The threat to Charlotte is still very much in existence, but it’s less prominent here and the murder mystery takes centre stage.

Dabney: Um…. no. For me, this was an even less pleasant read than Miss Moriarty, I Presume? It took me months to finish this book. I found it both dull and confusing. As much as it pains me–and, honestly I can barely believe I’m writing this–if this is what Sherry Thomas is writing these days, I’m simply not interested.

Caz:  I admit, it takes quite a while to get going and I really struggled through the first forty percent or so until things picked up, and once that happened, I started to enjoy it.

Can we talk about the overarching plot?  Although I enjoyed this book a bit more than the last one, I’m finding it hard to remain invested (or interested, really) in the whole Holmes vs. Moriarty thing.  I feel like I’m being asked to take it as read that Moriarty is a threat to Charlotte simply because he’s Holmes’ accepted nemesis.  He’s pulling strings behind the scenes, but I’m not getting an overall sense of menace because I don’t really know what he wants - other than Charlotte out of the way, of course.

Dabney: I really no longer have any idea what Moriarty wants or even what the players involved - the list of characters connected to his machinations became even longer in this story - in his enterprise are trying to achieve. It rather reminds me of SPECTRE in the early James Bond films - they’re EVIL but one never really knows a thing about them. No one could make sense of this book without having read every other book in this overly long series - and I’d advise having taken copious notes. There’s a big reveal at the very end of this book that baffled me simply because I genuinely couldn’t recall who the person is in the larger scheme of things.

Caz:  I’m struggling with all that, too, although I was a bit more impressed with the reveal at the end than you.  I do agree that this is a series where you need to have read every book and be able to recall many, many intricate details in order to be able to follow and appreciate things in the latest installments.  And speaking personally, I just don’t have time to re-read them all each time there’s a new Lady Sherlock book due out!

Dabney: As the plot has become more abstruse, the characters have become less interesting and that’s a big problem. This book showed us nothing of Charlotte’s interior life nor of Ash’s. Livia’s concerns are all about her overbearing mother - Lady Holmes is a borderline caricature - and Mrs. Watson is nothing but someone to pour the tea. I was particularly irked by Charlotte’s repeated references to Ash as her lover - there are no love scenes and no relational development between the two.

Caz:  The stand-alone mystery worked well for me once it got going, but I think that was mostly because Ash gets to take centre stage; he ends up assisting Inspector Brighton (Murder on Cold Street) - who is also one of the passengers - with the murder investigation, so he gets a lot more page time and we’re privy to more of his thought processes.  That said, when I say I enjoyed the book, I’m judging it as a mystery; I’ve pretty much given up on the romance in this series by now, although I did appreciate seeing Charlotte at last becoming a little bit more self-aware of the nature of her feelings for Ash.  But… dare I say, it’s too little, too late?

Dabney: It’s interesting that you liked the mystery. I am a mystery reader and I found this one to be annoying. There were no real clues sprinkled through the story that would have led one to suspect the culprit–the denouement of the story came out of blue. I deplore that in suspense. The second death was never really explored and those in the story that behaved overtly badly waltzed away with no consequence. None of it wowed me in the slightest.

Caz: I read it as a fairly good example of ye olde Country House Mystery (but aboard ship).  I remember when we spoke about it before we started this PB, that you found the feel of the mystery rather stilted, whereas I didn’t feel that; it was very familiar as a very particular type of very “English” mystery.

Going back to what you said about the romance - or lack thereof - a lack of romance is why so many historical romantic mysteries series run out of steam (pun unintentional!) for me - Lady Julia, Lady Darby, Wrexford & Sloane, Veronica Speedwell… once the couple is together, I start losing interest in the rest of the stories, no matter how clever they are.  And that’s kind of happened here; Charlotte and Ash haven’t got their HEA yet, even though they’re sleeping together and Ash is clearly head-over-heels for Charlotte and always has been.  But I think their will-they-won’t-they has run out of steam, too, and I’m not sure I’m invested enough in the rest to want to continue with it any longer.  Like you, I’m a huge fan of Sherry Thomas’ historical romances, and I admire her hugely as a writer, but… I think I’m done with this series now.

Dabney: I agree that this relationship has no steam or heat. They’re lovers whose hearts are fairly obscure and whose physical relationship is firmly closed door. Can I just say I so miss Sherry Thomas as a romance writer? This love story in this novel is threadbare and yawn inducing. It’s a big bummer coming from someone with her outrageous talent.

I’m curious–do you have any idea what happens next? At the end of the book, we’re told that Ash and Charlotte don’t know when they’ll see each other again and I wasn’t sure why? Is this because she’s still officially dead so that she can’t be found by Moiriarty?

Caz: I have no idea.  I remember the author saying, in response to a comment I made in my review of The Art of Theft, that there would probably be ten (I think) books all told, and this is number seven.  I assume that the remaining three books will be spent dealing with Moriarty in some way, getting Olivia and Marbleton together and finally giving Ash and Charlotte their HEA, but for now, yes, she’s still officially “dead”- as was Conan Doyle’s Holmes, although that was because the author decided to kill him off - and I have no idea what’s in store next.  And quite honestly, I’m not sure I’m going to be jumping up and down to find out.  Time was when the latest Charlotte Holmes was a must read, but the last two have been a slog and there are other books I’m more interested in reading.

I did like this more than you did, though, and am giving it a B, mostly because I enjoyed the mystery and the writing is incredibly good, but it’s not a book I feel I can recommend to anyone who is looking for romance along with their historical mystery.  How about you?

Dabney: While this is my least favorite Sherry Thomas book, it is still a Sherry Thomas book. As usual, her writing is assured, witty, and intelligent. I give it a C simply because even a dull work by her is an English major’s dream. I mean, when was the last time you read a romance where the author quoted Beowulf?

Buy it at: Amazon
Visit our Amazon Storefront

As always, Sherry Thomas does not disappoint in the newest addition to the fantastic Lady Sherlock series. Charlotte is traveling incognito on a mission for the crown which leads her and Mrs. Watson aboard a ship on a recovery mission. To their surprise, also on board is Lord Ingram, her sister, her mother, and a police sergeant from their past. Things become even more interesting when there is a murder on board and Charlotte carefully involves herself while making sure that nobody suspects that Sherlock Holmes is back from the dead. Twisty and delightful!

An enjoyable addition to the series. With everyone trapped on a boat it has the feel of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile only with the twist of Charlotte Holmes having to stay hidden from the other passengers. It's a tightly woven plot that kept me guessing -- not an easy feat anymore. I very much enjoyed the reunion with familiar characters and introduction to new ones. A great read for those who love historical mysteries with an edge of suspense

#ATempestatSea #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

Wow. I've been reading Lady Sherlock since the beginning and once again, Sherry Thomas delivers another solid entry in the Lady Holmes Mystery.

Charlotte and company are sailing on a ship that was rocky before they even set foot on the boat. There are surprising guests and questions of loyalty. Is Moriarty's agents on this boat? How did a surprise guest show up that was never on the guest list? When there is a murder, it seems unlikely the murderer will be found as everyone has just a slightly different story.

I yelled as I read this. I tried to parse out who did it. The twists and turns kept me turning pages and I hated to have to put it down (I usually have to have a weekend to read this). I'm sad that another great story has come to an end but what is Charlotte plotting now? This book deserves all the stars. What a fantastic ride! When I have the chance to recommend it, I do. You do not want to miss this series.

Charlotte has some freedom now that Moriarty thinks she's dead. She agrees to assist the Crown in tracking down information leaked from a spy by following a governess and her wards on a cruise. On the same ship are her charming co-conspirators Mrs. Watson and Lord Ingram, her unsuspecting sister Lydia, and her despicable mother, Mrs. Holmes. A murder happens on the ship and Charlotte in her disguise and team seek to track down the perpetrator making her mission more suspenseful.

This was an extremely fun new book in the Lady Sherlock series. I am a sucker for mysteries on ships, so perhaps it's unsurprising that I enjoyed this one so much. In Thomas's trademark style, we get so much interesting character development on top of the mystery that I was left both satisfied and excited for more. I can't wait to see what Charlotte and the gang get up to next (and I really hope it involves Mr. Marbleton, for Livia's sake!).

This is one of the weaker entries in this still charming series. Two convoluted puzzles are presented, one disappearing for great stretches at a time, the other unfolding in a Murder on the Orient Express-style round of interviews, but with characters who are not as intriguing. And the belatedly introduced reliance on flashbacks in order to solve/explain the main mystery is disappointingly clunky and nowhere near within the bounds of "fair play" if you prefer that in your mysteries. Still, it's enjoyable to drop in on the group of series regulars. I hope they have more page time and a better mystery to work with in their next outing!

This installment did not disappoint. There were so many twists and turns in this intricately plotted story with alter-egos and well-developed characters. A can't put-down story.

I so enjoy the latest Lady Sherlock mystery! It makes the reader want to curl up in an armchair in front of a fire with a cup of tea and get lost in the latest antics of the group!