Book review of Sherlock’s sisters

Book review of Sherlock’s sisters

This book review of Sherlock’s Sisters will be highly influenced by my own taste of course. Like any literary fan with respect for myself, I appreciate a good mystery. And as a fan of the whole detective with good reasoning skills-narrative, this book had me on sight. Sherlock’s Sisters is a collection of short stories which were either written by and/or feature female detectives. All written in the same era as Sherlock Holmes gained popularity.

Sherlock’s sisters by Nick Rennison

Sherlock Holmes was the most famous detective to stride through the pages of late Victorian and Edwardian fiction, but he was not the only one. He had plenty of rivals. Some of the most memorable of these were women: they were “Sherlock’s sisters”. This exciting, unusual anthology gathers together 15 stories written by women or featuring female detectives.

The above text is kindly borrowed from the back of the book.

Detectives and narratives

The clever detective trope has always been a favorite type of narrative for me. I love how logic, language and deductive reasoning skills, can take apart a cleverly crafted mystery. It doesn’t even have to be complex or grand on a political scale. So naturally, I was in love with this book even before really reading it.

Upon reading Sherlock’s Sisters, it became clear to me that I felt robbed by not having these stories in my life earlier on. How cool would it not have been, seeing just a few of these kick-ass ladies solve mysteries and crime in the Victorian/Edwardian era? All this hype and popularity has trickled down into “just” Sherlock Holmes remaining, until a movie about his actual younger sister, Enola Holmes, surfaced a few years ago.

There are just as many detectives as there are mysteries to solve. This anthology proves that being a female detective is just as varied and contain a multitude of other possibilities too.

Mysteries and skirts

I love a good detective and I found that a lot of these detectives played into being female in a world where it could both be a hindrance and a help. It was a great way to see what the other side of the coin could be, and to see that they would be just as popular.

Some of the detectives in Sherlock’s Sisters are very feminine, with big skirts or dresses, mingling with high society. Some of them tend to insist on wearing trousers for the practicality of it, and some of them are definitely queer to some extent. This anthology really highlights the importance of diversity in protagonists, so we can all see ourselves reflected as a top-tier detective. This book will definitely be a good addition to any bookshelf – especially if you like a good mystery!

Because the mysteries and crimes depicted are actually mostly interesting and well-paced, and just short enough that it’s still a tea-time read per story!

Are you a Sherlock fan?

Then I’m not going to tell you twice – get this book at once, you won’t regret it! Sherlock’s Sisters earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf, and I can hardly wait to read it again!

If you’re curious and want to browse through other book reviews on this page, feel free to have a look at my collection of book reviews right here>>

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