“You also wear the jacket because you think it makes you look like James Dean. The eyes are right, but the jaw’s all wrong, and though you’re handsome, you’re no tortured artist. More of a wiry librarian.”
“You are awful,” I said, and even I was forgiving her.
“How am I awful? I want examples. Give me an itemized list.”
This quote just made me laugh for obvious reasons. He never did give her an itemized list. (haha)
I don’t know if it’s because of my shyness or the fact that they are English but they seemed very adult-like to me. Both Holmes and Watson spoke like someone way beyond their 16 years of age. Like I kid you not I thought they were in university and I don’t mean as freshmen, maybe juniors. And of course I kept thinking that throughout the book until they finally mention that they are only 16! Holmes has already developed a drug problem and has been sexually assaulted but she hasn’t even graduated from high school? This girl has dealt with so much, there’s no way you can’t respect her. She speaks like a 30-year old and has the perception and wisdom of a 80 year old (and I mean that as a complete compliment) I know I’m making this all sound like it’s a bad thing but although I feel stupid for not knowing their age, I found this whole attitude and perspective to be refreshing! It was a welcome change.
“We could list our enemies, then.”
“You haven’t got any enemies.”
“I’ve got ex-girlfriends.” I countered. “English ones. American ones. Scottish ones. I could see Fiona with some sort of tartan apothecary for her poisons…”
Holmes raised an eyebrow. “No.”
“The Marquess of Abergavenny,” she said finally. “I set fire to his stables when I was nine.”
“Fine,” I said, and then, in a smaller voice, “Can you spell that?”
She ignored me. “I suppose you could add Kristof Demarchelier, the chemist. The Frenchman, not the Dane. And the Comtesse van Landingham—Tracy never liked me. She didn’t like my brother Milo either, for that matter, but then he did break her heart. Oh, and the headmistress of Innsbruck School of Lucerne, for beating her so often in chess, and the champion table tennis player Quentin Wilde. I suppose you might as well add his teammates Basil and Thom. Thom with an ‘h’, of course. Though I can’t remember their surnames. Strange.”
“Is that it? Or are there peers and MPs that you’re forgetting? Maybe a crowned head or two?”
Like just stop!! This banter is so great! It warms the soul, it really does. Brittany Cavallaro brought to life the very essence of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson that make their stories such a classic. Just brilliant. Charlotte is the embodiment of what I expected Holmes to be, maybe even better. I really like how Cavallaro chose to make the character of Holmes as a girl because that’s a new twist that I haven’t seen and she executed it perfectly (because I can’t stress it enough) Jamie Watson has the budding writer gene that his ancestor was famous for. He is the calm to Holmes’ storm. They compliment one another and as a result need each other for support.
“So, are you the only one who can go incognito, or do I get to wear the disguise next time?”
“Do you have one in mind?” she asked, clearly struggling to take me seriously.
“I don’t get to pull a Hailey on the new girl students?”
She snorted. “Even if I wasn’t done pursuing innocent fourteen year olds, you really are just not pretty enough for knee socks.”
“Well I do a really good impression of a mindless rugger.”
“No, you don’t,” she said. “Thank god. You should tell your therapist that rugby does nothing whatsoever to alleviate your very real anger issues.”
“Not my therapist. My school counselor.”
She hid a smile. “All the same. You really should take up boxing, or fencing---“
“Fencing? What century are you from?”
“—or solving crimes.”
“Are you prescribing me your company, Doctor?”
“Detective, you can read me like a book.”
I’m sorry, yet again but god this chemistry is just undeniable!! It’s so cute and unforced. Yes, Watson is attracted to Holmes at first sight but his shy nature and his want of a true friendship like the original Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson had stoped him from pushing anything on Charlotte and it makes their relationship seem very natural throughout the whole book. An insta-love relationship almost always ruins books for me because it just doesn’t seem real. I want to scream at the characters because that’s not how it works in real life. Love takes time and Cavallaro did that. She let Charlotte and her awkward Holmes behaviour grow into caring for Watson as it should be because that’s how Sherlock was like originally, its there personality and way of life to always be a skeptic, to always question and that’s exactly what Charlotte did. She needed to figure out Watson before trusting him (which was a major problem in this book for them but I mean it was reasonable)
Ok, so speaking of the constant doubt that ultimately proves to be an effective divide in the Holmes/Watson dynamic, I found it believable. They are getting to know each other and then all of a sudden they get thrown together because they are being framed for the murder of their classmate and resident jerk, Lee Dobson. It would only make sense for them to doubt each other because they still don’t know one another that well. Plus wouldn’t you think whoever did do it would try to pit these two against each other because let’s face it they are the only ones who can probably solve this, but not if they aren’t working together. So it makes sense to cast doubt to them, am I disappointed that they let it get to them? Hell yes! But I get it. Charlotte (again just like Sherlock Holmes) kept Jamie out of the loop a lot because she thought that it wasn’t important for him to know. But I chalk that up to how she was raised rather than a slight aimed at Jamie. It wasn’t personal for her to keep him out of the loop and to hide things from him, I believe it’s because she wasn’t use to having someone to confide in and due to the nature of the crime, made her feel more suspicious because they knew things about her that she didn’t tell anyone, like her rape and her rapist, Lee Dobson. Who wouldn’t have trust issues after all that?
Using the culprit’s own M.O against them was absolutely brilliant! Holmes set up the whole situation that copied the story of the “Dying Detective” to get her and Watson off the hook for the crime they didn’t do and the cops played right into it. It was just so smart!!
I didn’t see the Charlotte Holmes/August Moriarty relationship at all! And Watson’s prediction that that was why she had been sent to America was spot on so props to him! I feel bad how inept he feels about being unable to solve anything without Holmes so this was a nice touch.
“The drugs.” She laughed. “No. I’d started with ‘the drugs’ at twelve. I was too soft on the inside, you see. No exoskeleton…What my mother was afraid of was sentiment. Of my being sentimental. With my particular skill set, it’s a liability. With what I felt for August, I became…a worse person. I was sent away to think on what I’d done. It was never about keeping me from the drugs. It was about keeping me away from myself.”
I couldn’t believe what I was reading at first. To think that someone’s parents could do that to their child seemed far-fetched and unbelievable, but then I read it again and it made more sense. That’s why Charlotte can’t trust. Why she lacks empathy. It was because her parents beat it out of her with her Holmes training. It was heart wrenching to read this. It was deep. It was real. And it needed to be said.
“I’m sitting right here, being your friend, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’d be fine if you did,” she snapped.
“I don’t doubt that. But I’m still not going anywhere, and because I’m not leaving, I need you to listen to me. I’m sorry for what happened to you. I am. It’s awful, and the fallout from it was…unreal. And I’m sorry I broke your trust. I never wanted to hurt you. But I only did it because I was desperate.”
Watson said exactly what Charlotte needed to hear.
“I opened my father’s computer and half covering my eyes, put Moriarty’s name into an image search. He was a dork, I told myself, a math nerd; he probably had gelled hair and an overbite. The page loaded slowly. The pictures came up, one by one. He looked like a Disney prince. I shut the laptop hard.”
So realistic and bloody brilliant!! Let’s be honest, who hasn’t googled someone before and had a similar reaction to poor Watson? It was just hilarious and I had to include it!
I am absolutely excited to jump into the next one, The Last of August! I really hope Holmes and Watson are able to get closer to one another without secrets driving them apart because I really like them and I think they would make a great couple without compromising their destiny (to solve crimes together, as a team) So here’s to hoping!