The Last of August (A Charlotte Holmes novel) – Brittany Cavallaro, HarperCollins, (9780062398949), 2017.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 1-5: (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Genre: Mystery
What did you like about the book? Descendants of the original Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty continue to match wits in this multigenerational homage to the Sherlock Holmes genre. Picking up shortly after the events in A Study in Charlotte, teens Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson investigate the disappearance of Charlotte’s uncle Leander. He had gone undercover to expose a European art forgery ring with possible ties to the Moriartys. The mystery is satisfying, but the real draw is the tension, both dramatic and sexual, between Charlotte and Jamie. Though mutually attracted, their efforts to connect physically are short-circuited by Charlotte’s continued trauma from her rape that readers learned about in the first book. To stir things up even more, August Moriarty, Charlotte Holmes’ first love enters the scene. Unlike many who write for young adults these days, Cavallaro challenges readers to keep up with her smart characters and hairpin plot turns.
Anything you didn’t like about it? The ending was disturbingly bleak.
To whom would you recommend this book? Recommend to mystery lovers in high school and up, especially anyone that enjoyed Cavallaro’s earlier Holmes mystery, A Study in Charlotte.
Who should buy this book? High school libraries and public libraries.
Where would you shelve it? Shelve in general fiction or with Mysteries if you have genre shelving.
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Put it near the top of your pile if you are a fan of the Sherlock Holmes genre.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Mary Melaugh, Marshall Middle School Library, Billerica, MA
Date of review: 3/6/17
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