Gemma Doyle and her Uncle Arthur, run the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium and her friend Jayne runs Mrs. Hudson's tea shoppe. Gemma and Jayne with a few friends and her boyfriend Ryan head to London England to do the town, accept an award for Arthur, and visit with family.
Shortly after arrival, Gemma is accosted by a stranger and given a note for her mother. She later learns that the stranger was her uncle Randolph, whom her mother has been in contact with ever since Randolph stole the family treasure.
Gemma's father, Henry, an retired policeman, later is seen arguing with and warning Randy to stay away from his family. Is there any surprise that Gemma while looking for her father discovers Henry hovering over the body of Randy with no idea what has happened?

This series isa a great deal of fun with great characters and well developed plots. ( )

This was SO much fun! I am so glad I plunked myself down on the library's waiting list long before it was actually in print, so I got one of the first copies here in Durham, NC.

I really like Vicki Delany's writing, as well as her well-plotted stories, her characters, and evocative settings.

There are cozies enough to fill up Albert Hall (ha ha), but so many of them tend to be hollow, formulaic, and .. hate to say it but .. not very well written.

Not so for this author! Whether it's her Eva Gates persona or as Vicki Delany, she is a warm, engaging, intelligent writer whose research and care for her subject shines.

Thank you, Vicki! I can hardly wait for your next mystery, wherever you take us! ( )

Gemma Doyle, along with her great-uncle Arthur, own the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium in West London, Massachusetts. She, along with her friends Jayne, Donald, Grant, and boyfriend police detective Ryan Ashburton, are in London, England to attend a banquet where Arthur is to be given an award and Gemma is going to accept it for him. She's also planning on doing some shopping for the bookshop and visiting with her parents and older sister Pippa. While attending the expo, she comes across a man who seems to know who she is and gives her a message for her mother, Anne. But Gemma doesn't do so, and finds out from her father that he's her uncle Randolph, who absconded with the one thing her grandparents wanted. No one has heard from him since.

Then her father has a public scene with him, telling Randy to stay away from his family and they leave. But after the banquet, Gemma goes looking for her father and finds him standing over Randy's body looking dazed. The police detective on the case has an old grudge against Henry and decides he's guilty of murder. But when Pippa asks Gemma to get involved - telling her she can't be involved herself due to her job - Gemma, with the help of her friends, determines to find the guilty party, even if it means staying in London indefinitely....

This is probably my favorite book in the series. I have to say that while it started out slow (so slow I put it down a couple of times) once the action picked up, then I continued on to finish it in one sitting. In this book we get to meet Gemma's parents and sister, and it helps us understand more about her upbringing and why she is the person she is. I did enjoy the rapport between them, and the closeness they share as a family. It's delightful not to see a mother who harasses her daughter constantly, as many books portray them.

We also get to see parts of London through Gemma's and her friends eyes, and that's rather fun. Especially when it came to Gemma trying to ditch her friends while she played detective, much to the consternation of Ryan, who wasn't happy that she was investigating, especially since she wouldn't allow him to help.

The plot was done nicely, with the 'villains' in full view but still not so easy to find. The red herrings thrown throughout kept us busy traveling the streets of the city hunting for the person who wanted Randolph dead, and the reasons why. When we finally come to the climax of the book, with Gemma finding her prey, it's rather interesting and fun, and watching it all come to a head is worth the wait. I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended. ( )

Gemma Doyle, a London native now residing in New London on Cape Cod, returns home to attend a Sherlock Holmes conference. Her father's presence by the side of his estranged brother-in-law leads an incompetent DI with a grudge against his former colleague to arrest him. Gemma's father was hit over the head by the real party, and he doesn't remember how he ended up in the room. Several Americans came with Gemma, including Jayne and Ryan. Gamma's sister Philippa's high-ranking governmental connections prove useful. I have not read previous installments, but I want to go back and read them so I can understand the allusions and back story a bit better. I suspect knowing it would enhance my enjoyment. It's still a solid mystery, and I look forward to going back and catching up. ( )

Bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Gemma Doyle returns to her hometown of London England to visit her parents while attending a Sherlock Holmes conference. She takes on the investigation of the sudden death of her estranged uncle Randy when his body is discovered at the conference hotel. Her father Henry, a retired police detective, is found standing over the body with no memory of how he got there. The two men were seen shortly before then arguing with each other. Gemma's investigation takes her into Randy's background, a rather unsavoury one, and she encounters several oddball potential suspects. However, the police investigation is led by a detective with a grudge against Henry and he is charged with murder and imprisoned awaiting trial Gemma and her friend Jayne continue to pursue other leads, while working hard to get Henry released from prison.

The whodunit mystery puzzle occupies most of the story. The London setting gives plenty of opportunity for the author is identify "things-to-see" for a first-time visitor, like the Victoria & Albert Museum. Her knowledge of the city lends authenticity to her story-telling too. It's like a visit to the city.

This is the fifth in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Bookshop series of mystery novels. The previous ones have been set in Cape Cod to where Gemma emigrated after selling her London-based mystery bookshop. There's sufficient backstory in this book to make it readable as a standalone. Several characters from previous books feature here as fellow travellers to London with Gemma.

This is a "comfort" cozy mystery story set against the local colour of London. It is a suspenseful story with an exciting conclusion that demonstrates the author's superior story-telling ability. She knows how to tell a story and makes this an enjoyable read.
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I requested and received a complementary advance reading copy of this book from the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, via Netgalley. The comments are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to review the book. ( )