“Don’t you?”
I have to remember to stop saying that. Jayne says it annoys people when I point out things they’ve overlooked. I think that if people don’t bother to observe the things around them, then they shouldn’t fault me for doing so.
But, I’ll try to behave in future.
My name is Gemma Doyle and I am the owner and manager of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium located at 222 Baker Street, West London, Massachusetts. Along with my best friend Jayne Wilson, I also own Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room next door at number 200 Baker Street.
Jayne also says I can be exasperating to be around. I have to try to remember not to be that too.
I came back from my regular afternoon partners’ meeting with Jayne over tea and scones next door and had the following conversation with my shop assistant, Ruby:
I gave the shop a quick glance before slipping behind the counter to help pop items into paper bags with our store logo on them.
“I’m going to have to reorder The Beekeeper’s Apprentice,” I said to Ruby. “I see you had a rush on it. As well as four of the boxed sets of the complete canon. And that hideous Robert Downey Jr. puzzle moved at long last. Nice to see the Jeremy Brett poster was sold, and three sets of playing cards and two of that Scotland Yard game.” The game didn’t actually have anything to do with Sherlock, but we pretended it did.
“The puzzle didn’t sell,” Ruby said. “I put the mugs on top of it.”
I was horrified. “How many times have I told you, don’t do that. How am I supposed to keep inventory if things are always moving around?”
“Most people these days keep their inventory on the computer,” Ruby said.
“The computer is a functioning backup,” I admitted.
Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany
Even my attempts at keeping track were for naught when that woman’s bridge group bus tour hit the shop. They touched everything, moved almost everything, put things back where they didn’t belong. But all was forgiven when they bought and bought and bought, everything from original Conan Doyle books to the latest pastiche novel to a Benedict Cumberbatch action figure and a set of mugs.
Finally, they left and we have to tidy up.
What’s this concealed in the magazine rack? It’s not ours, and it wasn’t here earlier. It looks very old.
It couldn’t possibly be. . . Could it?
You can read more about Gemma in Elementary, She Read, the first book in the NEW “Sherlock Holmes Bookshops” mystery series.
Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop–located at 222 Baker Street–specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.
The highly perceptive Gemma is the police’s first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare books expert, the dead woman’s suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it’s a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight in the sleuthing duo of Gemma and Jayne in Elementary, She Read, the clever and captivating series debut by nationally bestselling author Vicki Delany.
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About the author
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of twenty-four published 
crime novels, including standalone Gothic thrillers, the Constable Molly Smith series, the Year Round Christmas Mysteries, and books for adult literacy. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she is the national bestselling author of the Lighthouse Library cozy series.
Vicki lives and writes in Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Connect with Vicki at www.vickidelany.com, on Facebook, and Twitter at @vickidelany and @evagatesauthor.
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Elementary, She Read. US entries only, please. The giveaway ends March 15, 2017. Good luck everyone!
Elementary, She Read is available at retail and online booksellers.
I love the Vicki Delaney books and would love to win a copy.
I love this author’s books. Thanks for the chance to win.
Vicki is one of my favorite authors; I especially love the Molly Smith series. This sounds like a great idea for a new series, and I’d love to win this. Dru, thanks for your always interesting blog. I learn so much from you.
Looks like an exciting read. Do so hope to read this sooner. Rather than later. Thank you for the chance to make it so
YAY – a new series by a favorite author! I need to read and hope to win.
Excited to read this new series! Love Vicki’s books!!
Love Vicki’s books. Would like to win a copy of her newest.
I’ve been waiting for this release for a long time! Would love to win a copy!
Great series. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
I absolutely love Sherlock Holmes and I am really excited about this series. I can’t wait to read it. Thank you for the chance to win Dru!!
How creative to play off the Sherlock Holmes mystery books in the title. My fingers are crossed that my name is pulled.
This is most definitely a book that I need to add to my home library. Toss my name into the Magic Hat please Dru.
Vicki’s novels are captivating and special. Thanks for this wonderful feature and giveaway.
I love Vicky’s book and I love Sherlock Holmes. Thanks for the opportunity to win Vicky’s new book.
This book sounds good! Thanks for offering a chance to win it!
New author for me, and it sounds like a fun book! I will have to give it a try.
Thanks Dru Ann and Vicki fir the post and the chance to win a copy.
My MIL and the women at the nursing home devour books like this and I’m always trying to get new ones for them.
I love the bookstore!!! Glad to see it carries all Sherlock books. I love the Berkeley’s Apprentice.
Thanks very much for hosting me, Dru Ann. And thanks for the many kind comments, everyone.,
Sounds like a great read.
I really enjoyed A day in the life of Gemma Doyle, and love that she owns the Sherlock Holmes Bookstore and Emporium, and the tearoom next door — a mystery and a cuppa… Such a great idea for a series, and I cannot wait to read it!
I enjoy all her other books. This one sounds like a good read also and with the Sherlock theme.
Oh! I want to read it! Sounds so good!
This has been on my wish list since I first read it was coming out. I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the chance to win.
Doesn’t this sound like the best thing ever!? I can’t wait to read it and thanks for a chance to win a copy of my own!
I always like to try mysteries with a Sherlock Holmes tie in aand I usually like them. Thanks for the contest.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I can’t wait to read this book.
I loved the lighthouse mysteries…I would probably like this series too.
Thanks for the chance.
I would love to win a copy of this book! I really enjoy when bookstores are the place in which the mystery takes place. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
Sounds like a winner.
I know this will be a great, fun read. I have read others by Ms Delaney. She writes very well and I love her characters. The premise sounds so interesting and the main characters are always real and people you enjoy getting to know, and there’s always humor. This sounds like another winner.
WOW….this sure does sound like an awesome new book!! I love, love, love all of Vicki Delaney’s others books, so am looking forward to this new series! What a great cover on the book too! Sure would love to win a copy of this new book! Thanks so much dearest Dru Ann and Vicki for the chance to win. God bless you girls!!
“Elementary, She Read” sounds like a great start to a new series. Biok sounds amazing, can’t wait to read. Thanks for the chance.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
I love Vicki Delaney’s writing and Sherlock Holmes!! This is a win win combination, and I would love to be a winner as well. The book sounds amazing and I look forward to enjoying it!!
That is one spooky cat! Thank you for the contest!
What a great sounding story. Love the “blurb” and looking forward to reading the book. Thanks for the contest. embam1969@comcast.net
This is one on my reading list for sure. Would love to win. Thanks for the chance!
Vicki is one of my favorite authors and her new series with one of my favorite characters – Sherlock Holmes has me hooked. Fingers crossed.
This sounds like a wonderful book. Thanks for this giveaway.
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium seems like a great place to hang out for the day.
This sounds like a super series, and I’ve always been terrified to work in a book store. I’d owe them money each payday. Thanks so much for the chance to win, and for introducing me to a “new-to-me” author.
Everybody adores Sherlock Holmes. I just know that Vicki Delany has done well by him in “Elementary, She Read”.
Sounds like a great start to a new series.
I am so excited for this book…..
Thank you for the giveaway……
Looking forward to get aquianted with these ladies and their cat. The series sounds like a big winner
Who wouldn’t love a mystery set in a bookstore? I know I would! Thanks for the chance to win a copy of Elementary, She Read.
I love the lighthouse books, so I’m looking forward to this series.
I look forward to reading this book. I love Sherlock themes.
What a fun concept for a mystery series! Thanks for the chance to win!
What a fun sounding series. Love all this related to Sherlock!! Thank you for the chance to win a copy
**** WINNER ****
of Elementary, She Read is Vicki Highley
Congrats