Books 2 and 3 in the Charlotte Holmes series

I read these books back-to-back, mostly because book three became available through my libary’s audiobook app while I was finishing book two. So, there you go. Usually I don’t read series back-to-back, especially if I like them. Sounds counterintuitive, but I like to stretch out my enjoyment of the characters, especially if it’s a trilogy or a shorter series. With book four coming out next year, I know this won’t be the last of Charlotte and Jamie.

The Last of August picks up in the summer after the first book ends, with Jamie visiting Charlotte at her home in England. Charlotte’s uncle, Leander Holmes, disappears while he is visiting, which kicks off this book’s mystery. Their search for Leander takes them into a counterfeit art ring, many disguises, and several brushes with death. You know. The usual. August Moriarty, he of the lineage of the evil nemeses of the Holmeses, helps the dynamic duo discover what his family is up to, but as the title suggests, might be in over his head.

In The Case for Jamie, the book alternates chapters between Charlotte and Jamie. The audiobook is read by two different voices, which I actually enjoyed. The action picks up a few months after August ends, with Jamie back at school, and Charlotte overseas, up to her usual. Poking around Moriarty business, wearing disguises, wooing the teenaged son of a customs agent just to gain intel … again, typical Charlotte. Jamie has cut Charlotte off from his life after the events of August made him feel like a pawn in her game. But things start happening to him at school — his schoolwork gets erased, his laptop destroyed, and then he is accused of stealing $1000 from a girl at a party — that make him suspect someone is out to get him. Cue a long sequence of strange events that eventually lead Charlotte and Jamie back together to defeat the bad guys (hint: last name starts with “M”).

Although I am writing this review slightly tongue-in-cheek, mostly at the utter preposterousness of the situations, I really enjoy this series, and the dynamic between Charlotte and Jamie. How she possesses some of her famous ancestor’s aloofness, his predelictions toward substances abuse, and of course her genius-level detective skills. And how Jamie is the perfect Watson … smart in his own right, absolutely devoted to her. The sexual tension between them makes the stories even better, in my opinion.

Can’t wait for #4!