A Study in Honor audiobook

“It’s not as expensive as you think.”Sara Holmes leaned against the entry to the parlor, arms folded and mouth quirked into a smile. The lace gloves on her hands were just visible, though their color had faded to a pale gray.“How did you-”“Deduction. And a certain empathy born of like experience.” god, this was so good. it's a really fucking awesome reimagining of Sherlock Holmes but they're both black sapphic ladies and also, it takes place in a post-Trump era, and also, it's a political thriller. [this feels like it should be a solid recommendation all on its own.]So I have not read Sherlock Holmes, but I do know from general life experience [and from watching this hilariously dedicated literary analysis, like, eight times] that it is episodic in nature. Something this does not do, as an adaptation, is act episodic in nature. Another thing this does not quite do, as an adaptation, is give you the clues and let you figure it all out. Also, Irene Adler is a villain. I think. This is slightly disappointing. However, the element this novel chooses to adapt well is the characterization of the two leads, and personally, I thought that was pitch perfect. So I mean, the plot is fine, but the best part of the book? The characterization. I mean, first of all, there are the two lead characters themselves. Watson is super well-written and one of my new fave characters of the year. She’s the focal character here, disabled and dealing with ptsd and constantly stressed. Oh, and Holmes is this gloriously sarcastic and enigmatic character who also feels human. All of the Holmes-is-completely-a-dick narratives can go fuck themselves; this Holmes is occasionally a dick, yeah, but she's also a genuinely loving and caring person who wants to use her smarts for good.And then there’s the centerpoint of the novel, and the reason I loved it so much: the relationship between Watson and Holmes. Their dynamic is this weird in-between where they're best friends but also Watson is just so Tired™ of Holmes but also they have a vague amount of romantic chemistry, and it's kind of the best thing about the whole damn book. I still kind of want them to be girlfriends, but I… also am happy with their current relationship? Which I actually think is the authorial intent and I. Love. It. I found their dynamic so effortlessly compelling and interesting and fun.This is also the first book I’ve read that feels very much like fiction that is… explicitly a reaction to the Trump presidency. So let’s talk about that. In recent months, we have seen an incredible immigration crisis – in which children, down to preschool age – were separated from parents. This is a crisis author could have in no way known of when she wrote this book, yet the book itself is explicitly a book about an America in which political discourse has become tinged in racism and discrimination no matter which faction you belong to. Which is… harrowing. And accurate.I’m wondering how this novel will hold up in five years, but still, it’s a frightening portrayal of a world gone wrong; just not in the overt, dystopian way. It’s gone just wrong enough that people like Janet Watson, a disabled veteran and a sapphic black woman, would feel it. Would hurt because of it. But not wrong enough that it feels like a far cry from our society, which is perhaps the most terrifying thing of all. We are so complicit when we want to be. The world is horriying and the way that we as human beings use the media we produce and consume to deal with it is fascinating. Anyway. On the whole, I thought this was excellent. Like this year’s earlier Witchmark, despite my feelings that the plot was hovering somewhere around “just good,” the character dynamic is so completely 20/10, and I adored all the themes and various existential tensions so much that I just can’t not five star this. I will definitely be revisiting this when I’m sad and you should definitely pick up your copy immediately when it releases on July 31st.Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube

Soooo.... let me begin by saying that I was given the sequel to this book in exchange for an honest review, but I really hate starting a series anywhere but the beginning. Like, DUH! So of course I then had to track down a copy of this book, which I couldn’t find anywhere except online. Thank God for Amazon! Lol. Anywhoo, it turns out that I actually really enjoyed the book! I really liked the characters and I love how in this version of “Sherlock Holmes” both Watson and Holmes are women! I liked Sara a whole lot more than Janet. I think because she is such a badass! Lol. I can’t help but get attracted to her as I read about all her talent, skill, gadgets, and resources. With that being said though, I am not at all saying that I didn’t care for Janet. I am just saying that I was a lot more invested in Sara’s character if that makes sense.I did sympathize with Janet throughout the book. Anyways, long story short, I recommend this book AND this series!

I was given a copy of this book, free, in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a gender and race flipped Sherlock Holmes retelling. Though I was interested in it, I have to admit that I ended up enjoying it a lot more than expected. Dr. Janet Watson was a surgeon in the army, on the front lines during the new civil war. She was discharged when she was shot and lost her arm during one of the battles against the New Confederacy. Now that she is back in DC hoping to get her metal prosthetic replaced for one more fitting for a surgeon, she realizes that things are not going to get any better anytime soon. Once she realizes that the VA has no immediate plans to replace her metal arm anytime soon, she decides to stay in DC. All she needs is a job and a place to stay. She finds a job with the VA and then a friend introduces her to Sara Holmes, someone she is not sure she can stand. As Watson gets comfortable with her new job, new roommate and new routine, she uncovers a mystery that doesn't make sense, someone is killing civil war veterans. The first third of the book is getting to know the characters, Watson in particular but also Holmes. While it seems like a big deal that civil war veterans are being killed, that mystery doesn't really start until a third of the book. While I wouldn't say that this is a slow book, it is not fast paced either. There were parts of the book that I felt i was making progress only because I continued to read, there were other parts that seemed to fly by. Somehow it works for this book, it fits with Watson's style. The ending was explosive with the action that was happening on the page, but not with the resolution of the mystery. That was a bit more subdued, happening as Watson recovers in the hospital. There were small things that I enjoyed, like the nod to Octavia Butler that occurs once or twice throughout the book. The way that Holmes hair is described in locs and another character's hair is described as being in boxed braids. The way people either see them or overlook them in different situations. Those are the small things that make it apparent that the characters are black. But there was still something that was a bit off, as if the characters were black because the author wanted them to be black and not because they actually were black. I am not sure if that even makes sense.  I really enjoyed this book. It was quiet with its observations even though what was going on around inside the book was very loud. I am definitely looking forward to continuing on with this series. 

What do I even say? It was a slow start but A Study in Honor came alive and made me remember why I, a Holmes and Watson fan, love Sherlock Holmes so much. 4/4.5 🌟's!!

So cool. That's what this book is.It combines sci-fi and Sherlock Holmes in a feminist telling of the Holmes mythos with Janet Watson and an LGTBQA Sara Holmes in a future after a second Civil War. The author has created spins on the characters that are true to their origins. Clearly, author O'Dell is having a blast with the characters. This is Holmes at the Holmesiest. Beyond the Holmes stuff, the story is a frenetic, intelligent mystery. O'Dell has opened up a new world that I hope she revisits. Right now. Is she done with the next one yet?(Review from an early, early review copy.)

I see that I failed to write an actual review of this so, I'm going based off memory! I'll need a reread of this eventually, but for now what I recall this was surprisingly enjoyable. I've vague recollections about this and that's all I have. I've got the book at my library so I may check this out again along with book two so that it's fresher in my mind. 4.5 ⭐

This book had me at queer, black, female Sherlock Holmes honestly.I enjoyed the writing style, and I loved the characters. Especially Sara (Sherlock). Her whole demeanour and personality is phenomenal, every time she spoke I was in love. Janet (John) felt less interesting to me, though I was still drawn to her. The author did a good job with the presentation of her PTSD and kept it consistent throughout, which a lot of books tend to fall short on.The near-future vibes were exciting, but other than vaguely explained bits of technology there was nothing to it. It did still feel like we were in the present day and I would’ve liked that to be accentuated better.The pacing wasn’t particularly fast, but I still found myself unable to put it down at times I was so intrigued by the characters. Obviously, it’s a mystery at heart but I wasn’t even really reading it for that aspect of the plot, I was just really enjoying how the two protagonists interacted and developed throughout. The ending??? Had me on edge. I was SO frustrated. In a good way.As I’m not a black person myself, I can’t fully comment on it but the fact that the topic of race is such a prominent part of the story and the author is a white woman did rub me the wrong way. It almost felt at times the author was trying too hard.Overall though, I really did enjoy this. I probably won’t read the next one any time soon, but this feels like a universe you could dive in and out of comfortably.

If you’d handed me A Study in Honor knowing nothing except what’s in the blurb, I’d probably have told you that I’m not really into near-future dystopian political thrillers, even one that’s re-visioning of Holmes and Watson featuring two queer black women. But tell me that [author I love] is coming out with a new series under a new nom de plume and I’ll give anything she writes a try. I would have missed out on a great book if I’d gone just by my usual genre and setting preferences.O’Dell has created two strong personalities with just enough of their literary antecedents that you know what your getting in terms of interpersonal dynamic. One has clawed her way up from a working class background, one was born of privilege. One is damaged to the edge of breaking by her experiences in the war, one is smooth and polished and always so very much in control. But you believe that these two can be thrown together, can survive the initial distrust and conflict, and can begin to forge what we recognize as the enduring Holmes/Watson partnership that has made its way into legend. As with the original canon, we see the events through Watson’s eyes, leaving the internal workings of Holmes’s mind (and her backstory) enough of a mystery to be intriguing.I’m not going to lie about the setting: the line that can be drawn between where were are today and the terrifying vision the book offers of political turmoil and civil war is too believable to be enjoyable. The tech is just the far side of futuristic but the sociology is entirely too familiar. But the story is about human beings and how they make it through, first and foremost by caring about truth, honor, and each other. And that makes all the difference in envisioning how we might recover from such a future.The icing on the cake is that both protagonists are casually and unapologetically queer without needing to insert a romance plot into the dynamic. I long for the day when I can pick up any random book and consider that a possibility. Until then, I’ll always be seeking out books like this that combine representation with rock-solid writing.

lovely dystopian procedural I had forgotten, when I started reading it, that it was a re-imagined Sherlock and Holmes with black women. The characterizations are all delightful and the action builds at a terrific, measured pace. I can’t say I’m unconcerned about a white women writing black lives at a time when black authors are struggling to get published, but the work strikes me as well-done.

(Review originally posted on the John H Watson Society website.)General ReviewI think most people could guess by now that I love twists on the classic Holmes story. While I do enjoy the more traditional pastiche—give me a Lyndsay Faye story any day!—there is something that continues to intrigue me about pastiches that do something different to our characters. Holmes and Watson were, after all, men of their time, even if they were eccentric. Pastiches that throw them into different times, different genders, different sexualities, different abilities help shine a light on what makes a Holmes and a Watson intrinsically Holmes-and-Watson, in my mind; they are conductors of light.One can imagine my sheer and utter excitement when, while doing my monthly search for upcoming Holmesian novels, I found A Study in Honor on the list. Holmes and Watson in the near (somewhat dystopian, utterly plausible) future, as Black queer women? I am pretty sure I screamed myself hoarse, and then proceeded to digitally scream on my twitter and Facebook and tumblr. I hopped right over to Edelweiss, which had ARCs available, and requested it. When I didn’t hear back right away, I requested it again. And also reached out to the author to squeal at her. Thankfully, Edelweiss came through, and I soon had a fresh, shiny ARC on my Nook.I plowed this book in a day. I considered savoring it, taking my time with it, but I just couldn’t. The characters were too fascinating; the plot was too intense. O’Dell has created an amazing pastiche, and I cannot recommend it enough.The worldbuilding is, in some ways, sparse—O’Dell doesn’t spend a lot of time providing an info dump, especially given the book takes place in the near future. Yet despite the sparse worldbuilding, it all works, because of how close it takes place to our present. The things described are all too plausible, all too real, for better or worse. A second Civil War is happening when the book opens. Janet Watson is a veteran of that war, her arm destroyed in the fighting and fitted with a prosthetic that feels only one generation removed from current prosthetic advancements (and, in many ways, doesn’t quite live up to current prosthetic science, as Janet is given one that doesn’t quite suit her; much of her struggle throughout the book is navigating the VA, trying to get a prosthetic that actually works correctly for her, something we’ve all certainly read about or perhaps personally experienced). Sara Holmes has a device that allows the Internet to be downloaded right into her brain, something that seems too real as things like Google Glass come onto the market; it’s not too far a stretch to imagine that soon we’ll just have implants in our head.Sara Holmes herself is an enigma, at times frustratingly so. I wish there had been a more explicit conversation about what, precisely, she does, as I found the secrecy around her work confusing for the reader, and not just for Janet, but despite that issue, I found her utterly charming. I can easily see someone falling under her spell and being endlessly intrigued by her. I loved the updates to the classic Holmes; I can absolutely see Victorian Holmes wanting implants that would give him access to all the information in the world. I was tickled by the fact that Sara Holmes plays the piano, rather than the violin. Her solicitous nature with Janet was adorable. Though Watsons are always intrigued by Holmeses, it’s so rare to really see, in depth, a Holmes intrigued by a Watson, as Sara clearly is with Janet. And her masterful quality was hilarious, especially since it always put Janet on her back foot.I will fully admit that I found the plot somewhat convoluted at times. I think a second read through would make things clearer to me, and others may not have that problem; as I said, I read this book so quickly, I could easily have missed things. Despite knowing that I missed things, I found the mystery absolutely heart-wrenching. I don’t want to get into it much, as I feel like anything I write about it leads to spoilers, but the victims are what drive the case, and drive Janet the entire time. Her determination to give them justice drove the story. It was wonderfully done, and I still tear up when I think of Belinda Diaz.I would like to add in a good word for the secondary characters as well. Jacob Bell, RN Roberta Thompson, Saul Martinez, even the weasely Terrence Smith, are richly drawn. I would love to see some of them become recurring characters, because I loved them as much as I loved Janet and Sara.There are two particular things I want to mention about this book that might give people pause. It is a very political book, and if you are looking to escape politics for the time being, you may wish to consider this; and most importantly, this book about two queer Black women is written by a white woman. As a white woman myself, I do not feel qualified to say if she did well by the characters in terms of their race. However, here is what I do know: O’Dell’s editor is Amber Oliver, a Black woman; she lists having taken a Writing the Other workshop in her acknowledgements; she had many readers look over her book. It does appear she has done some work in trying to avoid stereotypes and poor representation.I am very much looking forward to owning a copy of this book when it comes out in July. I suspect it will take a place of honour on my Sherlock Holmes shelves, as it’s certainly one of the most ambitious and intriguing pastiches I’ve read in a while.What About Our Watson?This is entirely Janet Watson’s book. I have read a number of fine Watsons in my goal of providing reviews for the Society. Some of them have even been excellent. But Janet really takes the cake, because she isn’t a strong-willed narrator of Holmes’ adventures, as so frequently happens. Instead, Janet is entirely her own person, with her own hopes and dreams and loves and history outside of Holmes, and the book focuses on her struggles and desires as she steps into a realm that has always been helmed by a Holmes.I want to spend a moment on Watson as a war veteran. One of my ongoing… I won’t say frustrations, but perhaps disappointments, is that pastiche writers don’t do more with Watson post-war. I have always wanted to see a Watson with a more consistent war wound than ACD gave him, one that impacts him in a real way. I’ve also always hoped that some writer (whether of a book or a film/TV show) would explore the idea of Watson having PTSD, as there is certainly fodder for such in canon. I’ve seen the occasional pastiche or adaptation make an attempt, but across the board, it’s been rather half-hearted. A Study in Honor, though, stares unflinchingly at Janet Watson’s war wounds, both physical and mental. Much of Janet’s internal conflict comes from her struggles to get a prosthesis that actually works, and her turmoil over losing her arm and learning to adapt in a world that has little interest in adapting for her. Her PTSD is visceral, in a way that I finally recognize, with certain sounds, phrases, smells, triggering flashbacks and memories. She regularly sees a therapist, and opens up to her, attempting to heal and thrive, rather than remain stuck in her survival instincts. The depiction of trauma in this book, with Janet and with others, is raw and hard and beautifully done.Janet is also a woman who takes no shit from her Holmes, which everyone knows I’m a sucker for. I like a Watson who is willing to push back, to demand respect, to even yell at times at a Holmes. I like a Watson who won’t be steamrolled. Janet is that kind of Watson. While she concedes certain battles (I teared up about the journal), she is also willing to fight back against Holmes and her casual acceptance that she’s in control at all times. I loved the ongoing sneakiness over the text device, for example, and Watson’s dismissal of the gifts that Holmes continued to offer. I laughed heartily over her continued rejection of Holmes’ pet names for her. Janet Watson clearly trusts Sara Holmes, but also refuses to blithely accept her word; she wants answers and explanations, and demands them when Sara is less than immediately forthcoming.Janet is deeply loyal, to her patients, to her military comrades, and Holmes, as well as compassionate; she is also tenacious and stubborn, qualities I do love in a Watson. Her determination to heal, to solve the case, to bring justice to the victims is present throughout the entire story. I can think of nothing better to sum it up than to provide a quote from Janet’s journal (journaling is important throughout the entire book; we frequently get to read Janet’s journal as she writes it): “I WILL HAVE MY VICTORY. I WILL HAVE MY LIFE BACK. I SWEAR IT.”I really can’t ask for more from my Watsons. Janet is an absolute treat, and I think any Watsonian will love her.You Might Like This Book If You Like:Dystopian futures; recovery stories; tough yet vulnerable women protagonists; conspiracy theories

I really enjoyed this. Not only is it interesting as a Sherlock Holmes retelling, but I absolutely love how hard the author goes with weaving current events into the story. It doesn't take any great stretch of the imagination to believe that we are currently hurtling towards a second civil war based on similarly racist ideas as the first one, but I feel like most authors would not necessarily outright say that nor would they namedrop so many current politicians while doing so. The mystery part wasn't necessarily the most engaging in my opinion, but I'm usually reading a Sherlock Holmes book for the characterization and relationships so I didn't mind that I sometimes felt a bit lost in that area. I think that Janet is perfectly in character and definitely has the spirit of John Watson but with obvious adjustments made to suit her experience as a queer black woman in America. Sara on the other hand I think needed a little bit of polishing, although she did start to act more like what I would expect towards the end of the book. I'm not sure if I necessarily like the idea of making her actually work for the government instead of being a freelance detective, but I thought it was possibly supposed to be a commentary on what she could 'get away with' due to her race and gender. I mean let's be real, no one would be able to actually act like Sherlock does if they weren't a straight upper class white man. The book didn't go too much into this or Sara's background in general, but I'm hoping the author plans to discuss it in the next book and maybe will bring Mycroft in as well because I think that would be interesting in this setting.I would definitely recommend this both to Sherlock Holmes fans and to people who like near-future sci-fi with a strong political base. A very interesting book and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

While there is some mystery elements here what we do have is a strong and often difficult (in an appropriate way) portrayal of female veteran suffering from PTSD. Our Holmes analog stays fairly opaque throughout the novel and O'Dell creates a stunning and well-rounded character study of Janet Watson. With regards to the mystery Janet feels adrift throughout the novel swept along by events outside her control. This works well as an analog to her PTSD but for me works a little less well in what I had hoped was more of a mystery novel. This modern sci-fi version of Watson and Holmes feels like the prologue to something more and I'm curious to see how the Holmes/Watson relationship develops.

Listen this book is so good i just love it so so so much

Sherlock Holmes is the world’s best known, and possibly most popular, detective. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” in 1887. Over the next forty years, Doyle went on to write fifty-five additional short stories and four novels about Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. John Watson.Holmes and Watson have become icons for both Great Britain and the mystery genre, and their adventures did not end when Doyle stopped writing. The characters have provided a type of playground for other writers shortly after the publication of the first Holmes stories. Over the years, hundreds of tales concerning Holmes and Watson have been written by almost as many authors. Nor did their exploits remain limited to words on a page. As new technologies developed, and the ways to tell stories have increased, Doyle’s characters have provided source material, ranging from existing stories being stories retold and reinterpreted to new stories of which Doyle would never have thought. They have been presented on the stage and in motion pictures, radio plays, television series, video games, and almost every other medium imaginable.With such a catalog of existing material across such a breadth of formats, it would be easy to believe that after 131 years nothing new or unexpected could be done with these classic characters. But Claire O’Dell’s A Study in Honor proves that imaginative writers are still able to pleasantly surprise fans of Holmes and Watson.A Study in Honor begins with Dr. Janet Watson arriving in Washington, DC to attempt to pick up the pieces of her life and career. She was a surgeon, but that life ended when a bullet shattered her arm while she was tending to the wounded in Oklahoma. She’s been honorably discharged from military service, but the VA is so overrun with soldiers returning from the Civil War that is threatening to destroy the US that they simply can’t be bothered with the fact that the mechanical arm, with which she was fitted on the battlefield, neither fits nor functions. Jobless, homeless, suffering from PTSD and with few to no prospects to help her gain her footing and create a new life, Janet cautiously welcomes an introduction to Sara Holmes, a mysterious, myopic, and often down right maddening person of uncertain, but considerable, means who offers to share her Georgetown townhome.With a place to live, Janet is able to start a new job working at the VA hospital as a medical technician. But Janet is still a doctor, even if not in the eyes of the VA, and she begins to notice an alarming trend: soldiers returning from service in the war are dying. And those deaths cannot be explained and appear, if one attempts to look for answers, to be actively covered up. After yet another patient dies inexplicably, Watson decides she needs to find out why this is happening. And it just so happens that Sara Holmes, Watson’s obnoxious new roommate, may be exactly the person to uncover the answers that she needs.Beth Bernobich, writing under the pseudonym of Claire O’Dell, has taken the familiar tropes of Doyle’s Holmes and Watson and turned them into something completely new: the main protagonists are now queer women of color, their base of operations is Georgetown and the setting is a frighteningly familiar U.S. struggling to survive another civil war being fought between the extremists of the Left and the Right. The result is a compelling story with rich, well drawn characters in a world that is all too believable.O’Dell’s characterizations of Holmes and Watson are fascinating. While both stay true to the basic elements necessary for a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, they are also complex characters in their own right. With Watson, O’Dell emphasizes the effects of being a wounded war veteran to a much stronger degree than is typical in most Holmes' stories, but the resulting character is a strong, competent woman struggling to find her place in a world that has used her until it no longer needs her, and then discards her, hoping she will simply disappear. (A story that is all to sobering a truth for many contemporary veterans.) Holmes, on the other hand, is a brilliant, egocentric, at times verging on the incomprehensible, and yet always in control of any situation. And while she describes herself as a “challenge,” she is actually insufferable and infuriating (as almost every iteration of the character ultimately is!).The mystery presented is satisfying, but it is important to note that it is not the focus of this novel. This novel is about the women who take on the challenge of solving the mystery and, in that pursuit, discover themselves, each other, and the familiar pairing that the world has grown to love.A Study in Honor is the first book in the The Janet Watson Chronicles, with the next book, The Hound of Justice, due out in 2019.Reviewed by Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library