The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany
Vicki Delany nails it again with The Sign of Four Spirits, the latest entry in her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series.
The setting is West London, a small town in New England where we find Gemma Doyle, co-owner of the authentic and quaint Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. Her uncle is a silent (and absent) partner. He’s spending his golden years traveling – seeing the world.
Gemma’s noticed the uptick in customers visiting the book store. West London is now hosting its first Psychic Fair!
The town is bustling with an onslaught of tourists attending the fair. There’s seminars, palm reading, seances, tarot card readings and crystals – but perhaps the biggest draw is a well-known medium, Madame Lavalier with her assistant, Mary, in tow.
Gemma dismisses the fair as a bunch of nonsense and trickery. No way is she going to waste her time even checking it out! Nope – she’s firm about it! No way! No how! Period!
But when her good friend and shop assistant, Ashleigh, literally begs her to come to a séance hosted by the psychic fair medium, Gemma re-considers. It seems Ashleigh’s mom, a huge pop star in her younger years, has recently reunited with her estranged daughter. She’s roped Ashleigh into attending the séance and now Ashleigh has roped in Gemma to tag along for “moral support!”
It’s a table for 12 at the séance – a mix of locals and out of towners. One thing they all have in common: each one of them is anxious to speak to a loved one that has passed on to the other side. One wants to know the whereabouts of some hidden money. Another wants her deceased manager to help her get her career back on track. Others miss loved ones and just want to talk to them “once” more.
Gemma’s waiting patiently out in the hallway as the séance begins. Apparently Madame deemed her a non-believer and Gemma’s negative presence would just be too disruptive to the spirits. But after the séance begins, Gemma suddenly hears screams coming from the room.
When she burst into the room, it’s complete chaos plus one dead body slumped over the table! With her highly skilled powers of observation, Gemma almost immediately realizes this is murder. Until the police show up, she’s already doing her own analysis of the crime scene.
Being that some of the attendees are Gemma’s friends and associates, she can’t help but work with her boyfriend, Detective Ryan, to help close the case to clear them. Rumors are flying that a malevolent spirit hell-bent on revenge showed up at the séance and struck down an old adversary. But both Gemma and Ryan know that this was a flesh and blood calculated killer that needed to be stopped before they could strike again.
There’s something special about this series and The Sign of 4 Spirits. Vicki Delany’s psychic fair sets up a unique plot – the Holmes bookshop is filled with atmosphere and charm – the characters are highly entertaining – AND 11 solid suspects for readers to pick from! This cozy is sure to please not only Sherlock Holmes fans, but also any cozy mystery fan looking to curl up with a good book.
A copy of this book and cover photo were provided by Crooked Lane Publishing.