The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by HarperCollins on February 14th 2017
Genres: Mysteries & Detective Stories, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 336
In the second brilliant, action-packed book in the Charlotte Holmes trilogy, Jamie and Charlotte are in a chase across Europe to untangle a web of shocking truths about the Holmes and Moriarty families.
Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter break reprieve in Sussex after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But nothing about their time off is proving simple, including Holmes and Watson’s growing feelings for each other. When Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the Holmes estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring—the game is afoot once again, and Charlotte throws herself into a search for answers.
So begins a dangerous race through the gritty underground scene in Berlin and glittering art houses in Prague, where Holmes and Watson discover that this complicated case might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.
I loved A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro so when I saw The Last of August was available I jumped at getting my hands on a copy. If you haven’t read book one yet, you should. I loved the characters (as flawed as they are) and who doesn’t love a good mystery??
The Last of August picks up shortly after the first book ends. Jamie and Charlotte are on Christmas break and as Jamie tries to figure out how to interact with Charlotte’s family, the only person he seems to connect with is Charlotte’s uncle, Leander. Unfortunately, he quickly goes missing and that becomes the mystery that Charlotte and Jamie are focused on throughout the rest of the novel.
I have to admit, I loved getting a glimpse of Charlotte’s family. Her mother, father, and brother have all contributed to who she is today and through all of their interactions, both with Charlotte and Jamie, it is no wonder she is who she is. We also get to meet a number of the Moriarty’s…including August.
With the exception of one section, the story is told from Jamie’s point of view and I think it was the right thing to do. It was interesting to be in the same boat as he was when tagging along with Charlotte. She was clearly keeping things from him and I admit, what happens next for these two is really what I am looking forward to in book three. There were times where it was really difficult to not feel sorry for Jamie and the way he was treated by Charlotte but I am hopeful that despite the way things ended in this book that they will figure things out.
A lot actually goes down in this book as the two head to Germany and start digging into what might have happened to Leander. We learn more about August and what he does for Milo (Charlotte’s brother) and it was interesting to see how he and Charlotte interacted. Of course, from Jamie’s perspective, it might have been a bit biased based on his feelings for Charlotte. It gave us a view of how Charlotte and August were together and then Jamie’s reaction to it.
Jamie and Charlotte’s relationship changes through the course of this case. They both care about each other but where Jamie is willing to take a chance, Charlotte has a lot of skeletons and isn’t as eager to jump right in. I thought Jamie did the right thing when it came to Charlotte and her feelings. He forced her to decide if/when anything would happen. Of course, she made her decisions based on things she knew were going to happen because of things she decided early on. I can’t blame her for not opening up to anyone (based on her family) but again, I couldn’t help feeling like she should have trusted Jamie more than she did.
I don’t want to say too much more about the mystery in this one as I don’t want to give anything away. What you should know is that overall I was happy with this installment of the Charlotte Holmes books. If you like a good mystery and some definite YA angst, you should check this series out. Cavallaro has done a wonderful job of developing her characters and the story around them. I am definitely looking forward to the next book as I need to know what happens next for these two!
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy.
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