The Coded Blue Envelope

Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mysteries, Book 23

By: Anna Elliott, Charles Veley

Narrated by: Simon Prebble, Mary Jane Wells

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

A secret code. A ruthless gang of thugs. And an old adversary with a deadly new vendetta.

Narrated by the acclaimed Simon Prebble and Mary Jane Wells.

Milan, 1899. A desperate musical colleague smuggles an envelope to Zoe, Lucy's mother, begging her to deliver it to Sherlock Holmes. When her colleague is killed, Zoe must act quickly to avoid the same fate. She flees to London, only to find she’s been followed by Black Hand thugs determined to retrieve the envelope’s contents - a code that Holmes must decipher.

With Lucy's help, two of the thugs are arrested but set free with the help of a prominent barrister and patron of the London Orchestra. When Zoe, Holmes, and the Baker Street team dig deeper to find who is behind the barrister’s shady dealings, an old foe resurfaces - with a score to settle.

Refusing to live in fear, Zoe determines to face the enemy. Against Holmes’ objections, she poses as an orchestral candidate, hoping to gain information on the barrister and his felonious benefactor. Meanwhile, Sherlock attempts to break the code and thwart his foe’s plan - a feat made all the more difficult with the thugs hot on his heels and anticipating his every move.

The enemy is preparing a fatal strike against Holmes, and he’s headed straight for a showdown with the Black Hand thugs. Will the Baker Street team be sharp enough to beat back the thugs, bring a dastardly evildoer to justice, and keep Zoe safe? Or will all their efforts fall flat?

A fun and fast-paced take on a classic Sherlock who-done-it, complete with thrilling twists, hairpin turns, and an ending that will keep listeners guessing till the end. The Coded Blue Envelope stays faithful to the spirit of the original series but offers new characters and a fresh take on the beloved classics.

©2020 Charles Veley, Anna Elliott (P)2020 Charles Veley, Anna Elliott

Excellent narration

As any parent knows, it’s essential to “get the voices right.” The two narrators of this book definitely know how to do voices. And accents. And perform. Great performance.

Slow start-quick ending

Sherlock and Lucy James Mystery series

This story had a slow start; but, the ending came quick and held a lot of surprises. Focused on Lucy's mother, Zoe, the story was a little different.
Once again, the narrators did an excellent job.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review

Love this series

This is for both the ebook and the Audible

Another enjoyable Sherlock and Lucy mystery. This one has more Zoe in it. Great character, as are all of the main one's. And the Audible was very enjoyable. Much better than text to speak.

I purchased the ebook but I received the Audible free from Free Code. This is a voluntary and honest review

Great series

The Coded Blue Envelope is a great addition to the Sherlock Holmes / Lucy James Mystery series by Anna Elliott and Charles Veley. I think it’s better to read the books in order, but it can be read as a stand-alone. The narration to this audiobook is wonderful. The performances by Simon Prebble and Mary Jane Wells bring the characters and story to life.

A decent addition

~Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy of this book, but I did purchase the kindle copy of the book as well.~

In this book, there are two narrators: the usual Simon Prebble and the replacement for Wendy Tremont King, Mary Jane Wells. While Wells does a commendable job, I must admit that I'm accustomed to Wendy's voice, and the change didn't resonate with me as much.
This book does have more perspectives than the default Watson and Lucy. The opponents facing them also give us insight into what is happening.
This book is one that you will definitely want to have read the previous books to follow properly. Fortunately, I was fortunate enough to have a smooth entry with "Remember Remember," which is perhaps one of the few books in the series where I didn't feel like I missed out on a lot.

Lucy’s family (blood and found) are active participants in this story. There is some insight into Sherlock's relationship with Lucy’s mother.

Cliffhanger endings always annoy me. I did luckily get the next book as a free audiobook as well, but I dislike when a story ends in such a way.

An incomplete mystery

By now it should be clear that I am a fan of the series; this my review here is primarily on how it sits within the corpus. With that in mind … it is decidedly average and more or less what I have come to expect as Sherlock and the Sons of Ra under Lord Sonneborne (the big bad for this trilogy) maneuver around a plot to throw the empire into disarray so that Egypt might gain their independence. The story begins in Milan Italy with Lucy’s mother Zoe before moving back to London to secure the help of Sherlock and Lucy … and it is a marvelous opportunity to explore more of Zoe’s history and personality (and perhaps learn a bit more about how she hooked up with Sherlock so long ago). Jack, Becky and Flynn, as part of the expended caste, make a few minor contributions just so we can stay in touch while the blue envelope macguffin holds an important clue to the ultimate over arching plot that will remove itself one way or another on the next story … and for some reason, that was not enough of an incentive, this story ends in a surprising cliffhanger (minus 1 star) that makes the beginning of the next book more confusing than it should have been. Still it was fun and I continue to recommend this trilogy and the series over all.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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