Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Summary from Goodreads:

When James Mycroft drags Rachel Watts off on a night mission to the Melbourne Zoo, the last thing she expects to find is the mutilated body of Homeless Dave, one of Mycroft's numerous eccentric friends. But Mycroft's passion for forensics leads him to realize that something about the scene isn't right--and he wants Watts to help him investigate the murder.

While Watts battles her attraction to bad-boy Mycroft, he's busy getting himself expelled and clashing with the police, becoming murder suspect number one. When Watts and Mycroft unknowingly reveal too much to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den--literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning to Rachel Watts again...

Review:

I’m a little late to the game on this series. I have read so many glowing reviews for this book, I had to purchase it. I bought it a long time ago though. Really, what was I waiting for? It was such a fun take on Sherlock.

I have to admit I’m a huge Sherlock fan. My latest obsession has been the show Elementary. I’ve been binge watching it on Hulu, and I just can’t get enough of these Sherlock Holmes retellings. I was so happy to not only hear of a YA retelling, but to hear of a YA retelling that everyone in the world seemed to love.

It took me a little longer that expected to get into the story. I think some of the Australian language was hard to wrap my brain around at first. Though, the setting and language soon came to be one of my favorite components of the story. I love reading books that take place in other countries. I just do. It also took me a little longer than normal to get to know the characters. I just wasn’t clicking with Watts at first. She clearly had some deep-rooted family frustrations and came off as kind of snotty to me. But, I did grow to really like her.

I found Mycroft fascinating. I wanted all the details that weren’t given about his past. I love how eccentric he was. He was friends with tram drivers and homeless people. I liked that he was known for being intelligent, but he didn’t seem quite as cocky or conceited as the actual Sherlock Holmes. Maybe he’ll grow into that? He felt more human.

I loved the romance. I loved the slow-building, friends-first type romance. It’s the best kind. I was shipping these two from the very beginning. I’m excited to see where things go from here.

I found the murder mystery to be quite interesting. The side characters were great. The artists, the zoo workers, the best friends, and Watts’ brother were all very believable to me. The other characters made this book feel more like a contemporary YA than a murder mystery, and I guess that just made for a super good mixture.

Not all the goings on of the police department were very believable to me. Though, I guess, how could they be in a teenage Sherlock Holmes story? I liked that it wasn’t all about the mystery. It was also about family, first love, the concept of home, and friendship. These contemporary themes really made this novel stand out to me. I really enjoyed this. I give it a 9/10. It would have been a 10, but it did take me a little time to get invested in it. And I’m only just starting to really like Watts. I want to like her more. I’m hoping I will in the next installment, which I need to get my hands on now.