Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation

By: Brad Ricca

Narrated by: David Bendena

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Mrs. Grace Humiston was an amazing lawyer and a traveling detective during a time when no women were practicing those professions. She focused on solving cases no one else wanted and advocating for innocents. The first female US District Attorney, she made groundbreaking investigations into modern-day slavery, and the papers gave her the nickname of fiction's famous sleuth. One of her greatest accomplishments was solving the cold case of a missing 18-year-old girl, Ruth Cruger. Her work changed how the country viewed the problem of missing girls, but it came with a price: she learned all too well what happens when one woman upstages the entire NYPD. 

In the literary tradition of In Cold Blood and The Devil in the White City, this true-crime tale is told in spine-tingling fashion and has important repercussions concerning kidnapping, the role of the media, and the truth of crime stories. But the great mystery of this book - and its haunting twist ending - is how one woman became so famous only to disappear.

©2017 Brad Ricca (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Meanders then is excellent then falls off the rails

3/4 of this book is masterful. It is a incredible story of a woman succeeding in the race of adversity, in a time when women did not succeed. It meanders a bit in the beginning, but quickly finds its footing. Then, (no spoilers) when it should have ended it meanders for 2 plus hours. There are stories that go nowhere and numerous tangents that have nothing to do with the main character or very little to do with her. The author obviously had a wealth of information and instead of editing himself he crammed it into this story and nearly ruins the book. If you listen for the first 10 hours and feel like you’re running out of patience you can stop. There’s nothing left to it if import to the main story. The middle 8 hours are incredible. The beginning 2 hours are interesting enough to keep listening. The final 2 are nonsensical drivel.

A very well done piece of history

I was hooked on this story from the beginning. The author must have done a lot of research to have captured the spirit of the age so well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, and biographies. In addition to the story of the mystery of a missing girl, there is also a portrait of an extraordinary woman. In fact, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the development of feminism in the US in the early 20th century.

Outstanding narrator

I interesting story but tons of detailed legal. I tried reading but it was much easier to follow with this narrator doing various voices. I think it is a 3.25 for me. There’s enough information to make a couple books. I liked that it was true and enjoyed most of the legal and detective work but I think it needed a narrower focus, leaving out side cases and all the history on all the characters would have made it not so overwhelming.

random

presented in a random way that is hard to follow. I often had no idea what the book was talking about

It was pretty good

overall I enjoyed it but there did seem to be too much story that was not about Mrs Sherlock Holmes. Those parts dragged a little but not enough to keep me from finishing it.

More people need to know about this amazing woman!

Id like to know more about Mrs Sherlock Holmes herself. A good book - not great - but good.

Excellent book

Narration is excellent
The author does a great job describing the life of Mrs Sherlock Holmes, definitely worth your time

wonderful

well written, kept me interested, loved the historical aspect, the postscript was a wonderful way to end.

A women ahead of her time

Outstanding! Why have I not heard of Grace before?
She was fearless! She open doors for women to pursue their calling!

A Captivating Read

It is a fascinating and detailed account of a historical account and an amazing woman.

Fascinating

This is a fascinating account of a real woman who fought against injustice in turn of the century USA. It is brilliantly read and I found myself being drawn into the story. Interesting and gripping with cases that I felt invested in. Can Highly recommend.

mixed reviews

first half great but it diced after the plot mystery reveal...shame as I enjoyed it at the start.