A Study in honor : Janet Watson novels #1 / Claire O'Dell.

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Title:

Author:

O'Dell, Claire

ISBN:

9780062699305

Edition:

First edition

Physical Description:

293 pages ; 21 cm.

Series:

Janet Watson Novels #1

Abstract:

Set in a near future Washington, DC, this novel offers a feminist twist on Sherlock Holmes, in which Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sara Holmes unmask a murderer.

The near future, Washington, D.C.: While treating broken soldiers on the battlefields of the New Civil War, a sniper's bullet shattered Dr. Janet Watson's arm and ended her career. Struggling with the semi-functional mechanical arm, homeless and jobless, Watson meets another black and queer woman: Sara Holmes, a covert agent who offers the doctor a place to stay. Watson finds her new roommate strange--but when they discover that soldiers from the New Civil War have begun dying one by one, and the deathsmay involve the pharmaceutical industry and even the looming election, Watson and Holmes join forces to secure justice for these fallen soldiers.-- adapted from back cover.

Subject Term:

Watson, Janet (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Women detectives -- Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction.

Corporations -- Corrupt practices -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Pharmaceutical industry -- Fiction.

Prosthesis -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Science fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy Fiction Book Paperback	120791002768613	F ODE	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

Winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Mystery

A selection in Parade's roundup of "25 Hottest Books of Summer 2018"

A Paste Magazine's Most Anticipated 25 books of 2018 pick

A Medium's Books pick for We Can't Wait to Read in 2018 list

From debut author Claire O'Dell, comes a fresh re-imagination of Sherlock Holmes, in which Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sarah Holmes, two black and queer women, must discover who is murdering veterans from America's New Civil War using espionage, advanced technology, and deduction.

Set in a near future Washington, D.C., a clever, incisive, and fresh feminist twist on a classic literary icon--Sherlock Holmes--in which Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sara Holmes will use espionage, advanced technology, and the power of deduction to unmask a murderer targeting Civil War veterans.

Dr. Janet Watson knows firsthand the horrifying cost of a divided nation. While treating broken soldiers on the battlefields of the New Civil War, a sniper's bullet shattered her arm and ended her career. Honorably discharged and struggling with the semi-functional mechanical arm that replaced the limb she lost, she returns to the nation's capital, a bleak, edgy city in the throes of a fraught presidential election. Homeless and jobless, Watson is uncertain of the future when she meets another black and queer woman, Sara Holmes, a mysterious yet playfully challenging covert agent who offers the doctor a place to stay.

Watson's readjustment to civilian life is complicated by the infuriating antics of her strange new roommate. But the tensions between them dissolve when Watson discovers that soldiers from the New Civil War have begun dying one by one--and that the deaths may be the tip of something far more dangerous, involving the pharmaceutical industry and even the looming election. Joining forces, Watson and Holmes embark on a thrilling investigation to solve the mystery--and secure justice for these fallen soldiers.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This riveting mystery (fantasist Beth Bernobich's first work under the O'Dell pseudonym), set in near-future Washington D.C., spotlights delightfully fresh adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characters. After Dr. Janet Watson loses her arm in an attack by the New Confederacy, she is discharged from the Army and returns home. She meets the fascinating, if infuriating, Sara Holmes, and they become roommates in Georgetown, Va., where, as two black women, they are not entirely welcome. Watson observes troubling patterns in her new job at the VA, and these, along with prompts from Holmes's top secret connections, send the women on a high-stakes search for answers. As the mystery unfolds, it departs from direct Doyle parallels and takes on an entertaining life of its own. Attention to detail about futuristic elements, such as Watson's mixed feelings about her temperamental mechanical arm, helps construct a believable setting. Readers who pick this up for the novelty of Watson and Holmes as black women will be impressed by how well O'Dell realizes them as full, rich characters. This is a real treat for fans of Conan Doyle and SF mysteries. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

It's genderbent and racebent, and undeniably Holmesian. Watson Janet Watson is, like her Doyle-ian predecessor, recently returned from war. This is the near-future New Civil War, raging in the Midwest. Discharged from her Illinois unit after her arm is shattered by a rebel bullet, Watson returns to D.C. to recover. While she fights the V.A. for a new prosthetic to replace her glitchy, ill-fitting military one, she gets a job as a medical technician. It's not quite enough to live comfortably on, and a friend suggests Holmes, who needs a roommate. Sara Holmes is abrupt, imperious, awkward, brilliant, and often has strange houseguests, but the apartment is too good to pass up. When Watson, not willing to let a patient's death go uninvestigated, finds herself in over her head, Holmes steps in to help. Soldiers dying isn't inherently unusual, but this series of deaths is the tip of an iceberg of political intrigue. There's plenty of action and a burgeoning relationship between the two women to keep the reader invested.--Schroeder, Regina Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

During the New Civil War, Dr. Janet Watson served on the battlefield treating wounded soldiers until a bullet destroyed her arm and ended her surgical career. Having lost her parents, her girlfriend, and now her profession, she heads to Washington, DC, where she meets Sara Holmes, who is also black and a member of the LGBTQA community, but as enigmatic and mercurial as Watson is angry and dogmatic. Holmes offers Watson a home and more questions than answers. Yet when Watson discovers that veterans from the war have begun dying mysteriously, she risks her tenuous position to discover the truth with the help of Holmes's own position as a covert agent. References to politics, race, and veterans' issues enhance a vivid, near-future universe. VERDICT In this intriguing and fresh twist on the Sherlock Holmes mythos, O'Dell (pseudonym for author Beth -Bernobich) brings a heady mix of dystopian sf and strong female protagonists in the first of a new series.-Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.