I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I will watch or read pretty much any adaptation or retelling! I gobbled up the first books of the Lady Sherlock series and loved them but after that my high opinions of the books started to dwindle. It's been years since I read from this series and I missed the last two books but when I saw the newest installment on NetGalley, I decided to give it one more go. I couldn't remember what made me put them down in the first place, apart from the excessive descriptions of what Charlotte likes to eat and wear, so I went into it with an open mind. It didn't make me want to read the two books I've missed or continue with the series. It's not a bad book but I feel like the series has gone on too long and Thomas is now over complicating little things and adding more and more characters in an attempt to keep things fresh. She does do a good job of bringing the reader up to speed with the events of past stories, which I found very helpful, but I don't particularly like that in series if I have been keeping up to date on all the installments. I feel like it means the author doesn't trust the reader's intelligence to figure it out for themselves or even they can't keep it straight cause they have so much going on. All in all, I'm glad I read this book to catch up with the characters but I won't be reading any more from this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As always, this series is a delight! I enjoy the way Sherry Thomas plays with time, in proper Sherlockian style.

Simply amazing! This series just keeps getting better and better with each one. Sherry Thomas has done a phenomenal job writing these books and bringing these characters to life. I loved everything about A Ruse of Shadows!

Charlotte, Mrs. Watson and Lord Ingram have so much going on. They're in the middle of several plots and deceipts, with Charlotte always one step ahead. She is being forced to help Lord Bancroft, searching for a missing person and solving an old murder case.

I loved the addition of some new characters in this book. I also loved the way peices of this story fit into past investigations, and as always, I adored Charlotte and Lord Ingam's ongoing relationship.

I was invested in this mystery all the way through and truly enjoyed seeing how everything fell into place. This is an absolutely brilliant series, and I am eagerly anticipating the next installment.

Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sherry Thomas can do no wrong and neither can Charlotte Holmes... ugh I just absolutely adored this addition to the series and watching Charlotte, Ash and Mrs. Watson working together. These books are just perfectly plotted and written! I recommend this series to everyone!

Thank you for allowing me to read this one early!

This is the eighth volume of the excellent Lady Sherlock series. This one opens with Charlotte being accused of killing the very clever Lord Ashcroft Ashburton. Through a series of flashbacks a typically complex evolves involving Lady Sherlock’s usual team and some delightful new members. Recommended.

Another winner from Sherry Thomas.. Sherry is the master of all things historical mystery. Engaging, thoughtful and always an enjoyable read. I look forward to Charlotte Holmes books probably more than any other historical mystery series that I read.

Another great addition to the Lady Sherlock series, though I have to admit it probably would have been better if I had reread the previous one more recently than I did - there were a lot of references to previous mysteries and past characters that I did not fully remember, so was in a bit of a fog for some of the time. Still, always fun to read about Charlotte and her entourage.

Another installment of the highly enjoyable Charlotte Holmes and her skill for solving crimes. An intricate plot and familiar cast of characters makes this a must read for fans of the series.

I meant to hold off on reading Sherry Thomas’ newest Lady Sherlock novel until this spring, but I just couldn’t help myself! A Ruse of Shadows is every bit as brilliant and delightful as the rest of the series (if not more so).

In contrast to the seventh installment, which was a contained murder mystery on a cruise ship, this eighth installment is possibly Thomas’ most broad and sweeping addition to the series. In A Ruse of Shadows, “Sherlock” is faced with a new mystery to solve and also must grapple with Lord Ingram’s brother, Lord Bancroft (who is stirring up new trouble for Charlotte), and, in the background, continue to match wits with Moriarty.

In my experience, reading A Ruse of Shadows required more focus than prior books because it juggled multiple mysteries, included alternating time lines, and heavily drew on pieces from prior novels in the series. However, this also felt like one of the most satisfying Lady Sherlock books because it incorporated the full cast of beloved characters and managed to advance everyone’s storyline, especially that of Charlotte and Lord Ingram.

If anything, the eminently satisfying nature of this book sparked a tiny bit of fear that we might be nearing the last book in the series (please, say it isn’t so!).

To future readers, I think you’ll enjoy this book more if you refamiliarize yourselves with the first seven books. I am currently rereading the series with friends on Bookstagram and know I will appreciate A Ruse of Shadows even more the second time. And if you haven’t read the first book in the series, A Study in Scarlet Women – what are you waiting for?!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

I enjoyed this installment of the Lady Sherlock series a lot! I do wish I'd had some sort of review of the previous books before starting, though, because I quickly realized how much of the intricate detail of the past few I'd managed to forget since reading them. I really liked the convoluted structure of this one, though: it made the mystery even more fun to tease out, and it almost made the story feel more cinematic in a way.

Sherry Thomas did it again! I am a huge fan of the Lady Sherlock series so as soon as I saw this installment, I had to have it. This is one of my favorite alternate version of Sherlock!

The characters, as usual, are well thought out and the period settings are on point.

I think you can read this as a stand alone, but I will defer to others who read this as one.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!

Sherry Thomas is so smart y’all. I knew that with book one but she only gets smarter and writes more complex plots. I think she is outpacing me. I don’t think I know how to read. I think I just memorized a lot of words.

She is writing the next Hercule Poirot and she’s succeeding. My literal one qualm is that you do have to start from the very beginning to know what the heck is going on; you can’t pick one up at random like you can with Poirot. I think she’s trying to write these books like you could, but that’s because she doesn’t realize how smart she is. I read all these books and I’m barely keeping up.

Here’s the thing. Sherry. You’re a genius. You are certifiably brilliant. This book was written with the most convoluted time/POV structure I’ve ever encountered. It laughed in the face of linear storytelling. It chortled at the mention of structured split-time. I understood 10% of everything that happened. You don’t need to impress me, Sherry. You proved you were smarter than me 7 books ago. I am here til the blissful end. You just keep writing ‘em!!

Thank you NetGalley, you are the backbone of the publishing industry, and we don't deserve you.

I have loved every single moment in every book of this series, but this is the first one that has brought me to tears. Charlotte and Mrs. Watson and Lord Ingram are juggling plots and deceipts and sleight of hands better than any magician I have seen. With her sister having been kidnapped by mercenaries, Charlotte must now play Bancroft's dangerous game on his terms. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Oh my frickin’ life!! Another for the favourites shelf, for sure! This book was completely and utterly awesome! I’m going to need a few minutes to compose myself. I’ve literally got sad-tears-turned-happy-tears streaming down my cheeks. Yes. It was THAT good! The whole book was amazing but the ending was off the chain! I was addicted to Charlotte and Lord Bancroft from the get go.

Charlotte and Bancroft are true soul mates. I’m crying even as I write this because what they have; their chemistry, connection, it’s just so powerful. So often, I’d be reading a scene that wasn’t even sad but suddenly tears would be pouring down my face just from emotional overflow. Sherry Thomas has done it once again,

Sherry Thomas does it again!! This was an excellent installment in the Lady Sherlock series. It is fast pace, thrilling, and tense. With the stakes higher than ever, everything from the series is coming together! Loved the multiple timelines. Well done!!!

I love the Lady Sherlock series so was excited to read this ARC and get it early! Charolette Holmes is an incredible fmc who is smart but interesting and even 8 books later it still feels fresh. I love the little side mysteries woven in Roth the overall bigger mystery (no spoilers but it’s so fun to come up with theories with long running books). I’ve never been a huge mystery book fan but this series is just so easy to get into and would recommend for sure if you are looking to read a mystery or something different.

Oh Charlotte Holmes, how I love thee! (Let me count the ways). Another compelling and imminently readable entry into this series! Following along with Charlotte I can never manage to see all the twisting paths until they are masterfully revealed at the very end. (Something that I find to be true of very few mystery novels!).

I find that Charlotte Holmes is the most interesting and well-rounded iteration of Sherlock that I've ever come across. Another magnificent entry into this series! A world I relish being able to revisit again and again (and one of the few series I will read and re-read).

I received an eARC of the book courtesy of Berkley publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the next installment in the Charlotte Holmes series. It is definitely necessary to have read earlier books in the series as, increasingly, each book relies on knowledge gleaned from previous stories. The book definitely gets into details that are more and more intricate. I do wonder how the author keeps them all straight!!

I like that each book has a contained mystery (or mysteries) and then there is the broader mystery concerning Moriarty. The contained mystery in this book is definitely connected to Moriarty, and it will be interesting to see how the series will evolve to solve the broader mystery.

In this book, there were smaller mysteries that came together into one overarcing challenge for Charlotte and her friends to solve. The details were well done, leading to a logical conclusion and there was a role for most people to play in solving the 'whodunnit'. I wish there had been more for Livia to do, but hopefully in the next book there will be a more active role for her.

I enjoy Charlotte's ongoing relationship with Lord Ingram and how it continues to grow on their terms. They each continue to be vulnerable with another and in this book, a fairly significant step is taken at the end in their relationship that stays true to both the characters and what we have gotten to know of them over the series.

A fun read and I think long time fans of the series will be pleased!