The Art of Theft, by Sherry Thomas

The Art of Theft, by Sherry Thomas

Soooo, how are things with you?

If these past few months have taught—or I guess reminded, as really, I already knew this at my core—me anything, it is that I have no chill and I am super real bad at moderation.

If I’m into watching movies, I’m attempting to watch them 24/7.

If I’m into cooking, I’m doing that 24/7.

Video games? 24/7.

Reading? 24/7.

Lately, it’s been reading. Which is amazing, as I’ve been in a pretty serious reading slump for the better part of… two years now? Getting Beanstack for the library has been part of that for sure, as I am one of those weirdos who gets OBSESSIVE about unlocking digital badges. And so if you put me in charge of CREATING said badges, YIKES.

ANYWAY. The only real connection any of that has to me thinking about The Art of Theft is that due to my Recent Lack of Chill, I couldn’t just read the only one of Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock books that I hadn’t read yet. Oh, no, I had to go back and start from the beginning with A Study in Scarlet Women.

And, you know? I am perfectly okay with that life choice. Because I truly love this series, and all of the installments absolutely stood up to a re-read. I’ve read a lot of re-imaginings and rehashings of Sherlock Holmes, and these are easily, EASILY my favorites.

In the majority of other Holmes fanfic that I’ve read, the Holmes character, regardless of gender, has been physically similar to the original—a tall, dark, string bean of a person—whereas in these, Charlotte is described as looking like someone who walked off of a old-fashioned Valentine’s card. Blonde ringlets, big blue eyes, a tendency towards plumpness. And, it needs to be said, an enormous rack.

All of which, of course, leads people to underestimate her.

Murder on Cold Street, by Sherry Thomas

Sherry Thomas gives her more people in her life, too—there’s Mrs. Watson, of COURSE, but also three sisters, two horrible parents, a (married) love interest, and a police officer who very much doesn’t know how to deal with her—and then there are even more side characters who show up again and again. AND. Unlike in so many of the other Doyle fanfic I’ve read, Thomas switches things up, and doesn’t stick to simple one-to-one parallels—the Mycroft character is entirely different, for example, in terms of actual personality and relationship to Holmes.

The world-building is rich and thoughtful; the characters (primary, secondary, and beyond) and relationships are well-drawn and three-dimensional; it’s funny, it’s romantic, and the mysteries are solid. It’s a fantastic series—my favorite is still the third installment, The Hollow of Fear, for many, MANY reasons, ALL of them spoilery.

Sooo… I guess this post is more about my love for the series itself than it is about The Art of Theft—which was particularly interesting because it TOTALLY switched up the formula and went in more of a caper direction? Ultimately, it felt to me like Thomas is getting everything in place in order to end the series with the upcoming Murder on Cold Street?

But I haven’t Googled around, because I’m avoiding spoilers.

(Which is so rare for me, and usually only happens when I am really, REALLY invested.)

(If that’s the case, on the one hand, I’ll be sad to see it end… but on the other, I’d rather see it end on a high note for the series & as I said above, the re-readability factor is high. And, if it ends, it’ll be fun to see what Thomas does next.)