A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

She has plans for her life and they don't include marriage.  When she shares this news with her father, he agrees if she waits for a few years to come of age, he'll pay for her college so she can become a school administrator.  Then he changes his mind...

Berkley sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can grab a copy now.

Since he won't honor his promise to her, she takes things into her own hands.  She gets another woman's husband to sleep with her and make her no long suitable for marriage.  She didn't expect to get caught by his wife and mother in the act but that just made sure everyone would know about it.  Her family is scandalized.  They plan to send her to an old cottage they own in the country where she can suffer in silence.  She beats that by leaving early and surviving on her own.  She doesn't have much money but she has plans.  Unfortunately, most of them go to pieces when they find out who she really is and the scandal she hid.

I enjoyed the detective work she does by creating an entity known as Sherlock Holmes and taking cases by mail and then appointments.  You also learn why she doesn't wish to marry.  The man she's in love with is married to someone else.

There are three deaths that appear to be related to each other but the causes of death are different and it's almost impossible to find the connection.  The police work is interesting.  They can't press too hard because important people are involved.  This was a very unusual case with repercussions from the past haunting the story.

I like reading stories set in Victorian times but I'm even more appreciative about not living in that time period.  I understand Charlotte's frustration with trying to lead her own life.  I'm also ready to read more in this series.  I wonder if she will ever get the man she really loves?